Are you ready?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
(Luke 12:40 (NIV))

Preparation is essential in just about any undertaking.

It means that you have an understanding of what is needed to succeed at what you desire to do. It means that you have done your best to get ready. It means that you are prepared mentally or physically for some experience or action. It means that you are available and willing. It means that you are anticipating what you have prepared for!

Are you anticipating the coming of the Son of Man?

Are you currently available and willing?

Are you prepared mentally, physically, but most importantly, spiritually for the coming of Jesus?

Are you eager to see Jesus face to face? Do you long to sit at His feet? Do you hunger and thirst for His righteousness? Are you ready to say goodbye to this sinful, fallen world and spend eternity in His presence?

God loves us so much that He has made it easy to get ready!

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))

Have you believed in Jesus?

Are you ready?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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There truly is great power in His name!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
(Mark 13:26 (NIV))

I just watched a live sermon from a tent meeting. The focus of the sermon was on the power and authority that Jesus possessed and that He still possesses. Sadly, today’s church focuses on Jesus as love and they ignore the power. How do you think that Jesus was able to cast out demons? How do you think that Jesus was able to heal the sick? How do you think that Jesus was able to raise the dead?

After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out;
(Luke 8:1-2 (NIV))

Mary Magdalene followed Jesus because He had saved her from seven demons. She followed Him because she was grateful. She followed Him because she had been forgiven much through His actions!

Jesus exhibited great power and authority with His miracles, but I think it is safe to say that when you think of any of the healing miracles, you fail to recognize the fact that demons, in many cases, were cast out first and then the healings took place. Why do we only focus on the fact that Jesus has power and authority over the physical world and completely ignore the fact that He also has power and authority over the spiritual world? Why do we ignore the fact that the two worlds are closely linked and that He is Lord over all?

I did a search for the word “power” and I was surprised to find that in the NIV, some variation of the word was found 335 times. I realize that not every occurrence refers to the power of the Lord, but most instances do. What saddens me is the fact that we have sugarcoated these instances, or we have completely ignored them.

What do you think of when you think of the power of the Lord?

How do you think that this power will manifest itself when He returns?

How can this power manifest itself now?

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
(John 14:12 (NIV))

Did this passage come to mind? It should! If we profess a faith in Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, we have the power to take on the enemy. We have the power to conduct spiritual warfare. We have the power to call upon the name of Jesus to drive out the enemy!

There truly is great power in His name!

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you ready for Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
(Matthew 24:27 (NIV))

Do you ever sit outside and watch the lightning as a storm approaches? Everything gets dark as the storm begins to build. The darker it gets, the worse the storm. Then, out of what seems like nowhere, lightning breaks forth and illuminates the sky. You never know where and when it will come, but you know that it will. You sit there in anticipation of the lightning. You sit there in awe of the splendor and the power. You sit there and watch in amazement at the lightning in the distance and you know that it is coming your way.

Take a serious look at the darkness of the storm that the world is currently facing. I am certain that some people will remember dark periods in their lives. There have been dark periods in not too distant history. The one thing that gave the world hope was a resolve to defeat the darkness. Today, too many people are more than willing to embrace the darkness.

We need the lightning!

We need Jesus!

I don’t know about you, but this passage gives me a mental image of Jesus coming in power and in light. He breaks the darkness with just His presence. He touches people here. He touches people there. His coming is like the lightning. It is a magnificent vision for those who have called upon His name as Lord and Savior. For those who have denied Him, it is one of sadness and fear.

Some believe that the Body of Christ will see this from the earth. Some believe that we will be by His side as He comes down from heaven. Either way, I can rest assured that this will be the most glorious entrance that the world has ever seen. It will be the most powerful display in all of history.

It will be a lightning show magnified by a heavenly host.

It will pierce the darkness. It will be a resounding victory just as we have been told.

Are you ready for the lightning? Are you ready for the power? Are you ready for Jesus?

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

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
(Luke 12:35-40 (NIV))

We can not always be physically dressed and waiting for Jesus to return. We can be spiritually dressed, though. We can put on the full armor of God and be prepared to face whatever the enemy may send our way. We will also be prepared to receive Jesus when He returns, for we will know of His impending return and will wait to greet Him just as in the parables retold by Luke.

Jesus often spoke in symbolism. Being dressed and ready for service is a symbol of being spiritually prepared for service in the army of God. Are you spiritually dressed and ready to do what God would have you do?

If Jesus were to return for His church at this very moment, would He find you dressed and ready for service?

Are you truly ready?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you serving Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
(John 12:23-26 (NIV))

This may seem off target for this verse since it speaks of Jesus telling His disciples that His time has come. However, the words that Jesus uses speak to all of us.

The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
(John 12:25 (NIV))

Memorial Day started back in the 1860s as a way to remember those who had given their lives in battle. Originally it was called Decoration Day since the way that people honored the fallen was to decorate their graves. Regardless of what it is called, we owe these men and women a debt of gratitude and honor for their sacrifice. Many people do not agree with war, but the truth is that these people stepped up to take the responsibility of righting something that they did not agree with and they were willing to give their lives for that calling.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
(John 15:13 (NIV))

Most of us never knew these people throughout our history, yet we owe them so much. I can honestly say that it is a certainty that not all were believers in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, still, I believe that they carried a spark of the Light that Jesus brought to this world. You cannot be exposed to the Light without having some of it take root.

Jesus laid down His life so that we could have life. These men and women did the same thing in their own ways.

We must never forget to honor those who have gone before us and stood for the truths that we, as the Body of Christ, hold fast to. They answered the call when an answer was needed. Would we be willing to answer a similar call today? Would we rely on the Light of Jesus to guide us in that answer?

Are you serving Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you sharing the true Jesus with others?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
(Luke 19:10 (NIV))

What have you been taught about Jesus? In particular, what have you been taught about the reason that He came into this world?

Did He come to be a social justice warrior? Did He come to advocate for the poor? Did He come to spread peace and love, or did He come to call a lost and sinful humanity to repentance?

I realize that Jesus did many things when He walked this earth, and many of those things can be classified as falling into these categories that I listed, but they were all ways to reach the lost. Did Jesus teach on being just and fair in our dealings with each other? I can point out many situations where He did just that. He pointed out our sinful nature in these matters and asked us to seek God and follow His commands. Not following God’s commands is a sin. Jesus was telling us to repent and follow Him. Did Jesus teach on helping the poor? If you look back at Old Testament laws, that was already in place. A landowner was not supposed to harvest all the way to the corners of his fields. This was to be left for the poor. In other words, love your neighbor as yourself. Not doing so is a sin. Jesus was calling us to repent of our sin. When asked what the greatest commandments are, He responded that you are to love God and love your neighbor as yourself. The example that He gave involved a Samaritan man. In the culture of the day, Jewish people hated the Samaritans. In other words, Jesus was telling us to repent of our sin of hatred.

What is your definition of being lost? According to God, being lost is being a sinner.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(Romans 3:23 (NIV))

And being a sinner has drastic consequences!

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 6:23 (NIV))

Jesus walked among us telling us to live according to what God had planned. He called us to repent of our shortcomings, our sins, and to turn to God in all things. He used every situation that He was in as a teachable moment to drive this home. Repent in your dealings with others. Repent of your treatment of the poor. It is possible to do these things yet still miss out on the only reason that Jesus came. All of these can be labeled as works of the flesh if we do not have a repentant heart and a desire to follow Jesus in all that we do. A repentant heart is a result of the most important aspect of why Jesus came. Jesus calls us to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself. When we do this, our desires change. Our actions are no longer selfish in nature. We see ourselves and others as God sees them.

We are called to also seek and save the lost by sharing Jesus with them.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV))

Sadly, I believe that we, as the church, have missed the mark. We share Jesus only when we are comfortable, and we don’t emphasize where Jesus tells us to teach people to obey everything that He has commanded. We sugar coat it, and as a result, we see people developing incorrect images of Jesus. I know that this hasn’t been a saying in several years, but we must pay attention to “What Would Jesus Do?” According to the words recorded in Luke, Jesus clearly said that He came to seek and save the lost!

Are you sharing the true Jesus with others?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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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.
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Do you know the heart of God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
(Matthew 24:37-41 (NIV))

Isn’t it amazing how easily we get so wrapped up in our own little worlds that we ignore the things that we should truly be wrapped up in?

Some people take this to the extreme with respect to the blessings they have been given in this world. They ignore spouse, children, other family and friends all for the sake of doing something that truly has no value beyond the day. No wonder the coming of the Son of Man will be as it is foretold. Even if we, as humanity, are given blatant signs that the time is drawing near, we will miss them because we are so wrapped up in our daily lives that are completely focused on our own little worlds.

Perhaps Psalms 46:10 is more appropriate than we care to admit when it tells us “Be still, and know that I am God.” We have let the worldly things become our gods and we pay homage to them in our frantic pace while we ignore the one, true God. God gave us our lives to enjoy. We are to enjoy each other. We are to use the talents that He has given us. We are to care for the world that He created for us. We are to embrace the salvation that He has given to us, and, especially, we are to enjoy our time with God.

Don’t get so wrapped up in this world that you miss what is truly important in your life.

Where is family?

Where is friendship?

Where is quiet time to sit at the feet of Jesus and to be still and know God?

Don’t be left behind because you did not know the heart of God!

Do you know the heart of God?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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How can we serve Him while we wait?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
(John 14:1-3 (NIV))

What imagery do you see when you read this passage? Do you focus on the splendor of the dwelling that you have the hope and the promise of attaining? Perhaps you focus on the shear number of dwellings that must exist. Perhaps you read that Jesus is preparing a place for you and then you realize that the Lord of all is personally taking care of your needs. These are all fantastic visions of what awaits, but I find solace in the last statement.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
(John 14:3 (NIV))

Isn’t that amazing? Jesus, in all of His glory, is not only personally preparing our future dwellings, He will also come back personally and take us to be with Him. He is NOT sending an angel to come and pick us up. He is not using a GPS system or Mapquest to send us directions so that we can find our own way. He is coming personally to take us to be with Him.

Think about that. Jesus – King of kings and Lord of lords – loves us so much that He is coming for us. In fact, all of history is unfolding because He loves us and died on the cross so that we can receive salvation, grace and mercy. God’s Word tells of God’s love through His creation and how we, through Adam and Eve, fell from grace. The Old Testament shows us how we should live, but how we fail because of sin. It also points to a savior who will change all. Then, Jesus comes and shows us how to return to God. We are given a choice. We are given a free gift. Finally, those who trust in Jesus will be welcome home.

Jesus is that gift. Even now, He is still fulfilling these words.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
(Mark 10:45 (NIV))

Jesus is preparing a place for us. Even in His Lordship, He is still serving us. How can we serve Him while we wait?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you ashamed of the Gospel?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
(Romans 1:16-17 (NIV))

Paul, in the face of danger and death, proudly proclaimed the gospel. He said that it is something that you should not be ashamed of and he is absolutely correct. If you are ashamed of the gospel, then you are not truly a believer in Jesus Christ. To quote Jesus:

If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
(Mark 8:38 (NIV))

It could not be simpler. We, as believers, must not be ashamed of the good news and we must proclaim it and not hide it from the world. It is the only thing that by which you can be saved. If you are ashamed of it, then you are not saved (reread Mark 8:38). You have not accepted it completely, and will not be accepted by Jesus as part of His Body.

Take a serious look at what you believe and whether you would proclaim it to the world! Or, would you cower in shame and embarrassment at the thought of the world knowing? Your answer is very important, for it can mean your eternal life!

Are you ashamed of the Gospel?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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