When the world seems to be falling apart, look up!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 (NIV))

I often wonder if Jesus were telling us to prepare for times of increasing trouble until He returns. It is possible to interpret this passage that way, especially when you take current history into account.

Think about that.

In my lifetime, I have seen:
– the removal of prayer from the schools
– legalized abortion
– terrorist attacks
– history being rewritten
– the attempt to remove God from all public life
– “tolerance”
– financial crises
– good called evil
– Christianity mocked and ridiculed
– the rise and acceptance of false religions
– the apparent increase in natural disasters

I could go on, but I think that you can get my point. We seem to be in a time of ever increasing trouble. It seems that we are in a downward spiral with no worldly ways to stop it, and that is true.

There is no worldly way to stop the troubles. They will come. They will come with ever increasing frequency. Then there will be a point in time in which God says, “Enough!” Until that time, we must fully rely upon our faith in God and in Jesus, for we have been given promises that this world will once again see Jesus. We have been given promises that those who are faithful to call upon the name of Jesus as Lord and Savior will be given authority to rule over this world. We have been given promises that grace will see us through. We have been given promises that we will have peace.

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

As we face the troubles that the world throws at us, we must never lose sight of the promises that God has given us. We must never lose sight of the fact that Satan is causing the troubles in this world. We must never lose sight of the fact that God created the world and He can and will overcome the troubles of this world. He will overcome Satan.

When the world seems to be falling apart, look up!

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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You will find blessings when your journey is through!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside.
(Job 23:10-11 (NIV))

Job was tested to the limits of human understanding and tolerance. All throughout his ordeal, his friends kept trying to get him to turn away from God. Many of them even accused Job of doing something against God and his ordeal was a punishment.

Do you have any friends like that?

Maybe the term “friend” is not the best way to describe these type of people. A friend is one who always has your best interest at heart. They will do things for you that others will not. They will defend you when you need defending. They will stand by you in times of trouble. Did this happen with Job?

In his ordeal, Job knew in his heart that he had done nothing wrong in the eyes of God. He knew his own heart. He knew that what was happening was not of God. He knew that he was not going to waiver in his faith. He kept his eyes focused on the promise of a better tomorrow and a hope of redemption.

Have you ever felt like everything was against you even though you did what you knew to be the right thing? Stand firm in your faith just as Job did. Don’t allow the enemy to weaken you by the attacks that come your way. Keep your eyes focused on Jesus and allow His strength to carry you even when you feel that you cannot go on. Tomorrow is another day. It brings hope. It brings a new beginning. Placing your faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior also brings grace and mercy. Where there is grace and mercy, love abounds.

Stay close to the love of God and allow Him to guide your paths. Follow closely in His steps and do not turn aside.

You will find blessings when your journey is through!

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you confident and assured?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))

I find it ironic that the world loves people who are confident and assured, but the world hates people who profess a faith in Jesus!

I know that I have referenced this old song before, but the world loves the “I did it my way” type of mentality. In fact, if you look at the current societal philosophy that states tolerance and acceptance of every way of life, then you quickly see that whatever an individual chooses to do is supposed to be acceptable and God’s Word is not tolerated. The world applauds confidence and assurance when it is placed within yourself and abhors it when it is placed in a higher authority. I don’t know how much more we can slide down the slippery slope, but I feel that society is becoming more and more rebellious. Society is increasingly looking inward to find what is right instead of looking upward to find what is right.

How many people do you think have ever lived since creation? In all of human history, what has been the results of those individuals who were narcissistic enough to have the confidence and assurance that they knew better than everyone else on how to rule? From the very beginning of time, people have placed confidence and assurance in themselves for various reasons. From the very beginning of time, we have these very same individuals either killing or being killed because of their misplaced confidence in themselves.

We don’t even deserve to be able to have confidence in ourselves!

A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.
(Proverbs 21:2 (NIV))

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

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

How can we, as a fallen sinful creation, have confidence in ourselves when all that we have ever done has earned us death?

There is only one thing that we can be confident of!

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))

I am confident in the hope that we have in Jesus! I am assured that my Lord and Savior lives!

Are you confident and assured?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you constant in your faith?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.
(Matthew 19:29 (NIV))

There is a lot of talk about family values and the Judeao/ Christian ethic. Family values are fantastic if taken in context of what Jesus said. Jesus knew that there would be conflict within families due to His teachings. We must not waver from what He taught, but we must also realize that we, as believers, may have family who turn their backs on us because they do not understand. We must pray for them and continue to love them, but we must not compromise our faith in order to save family.

We must also remember this when people are speaking of tolerance and change. We must love the sinner but hate the sin. We must stand firm in our faith and not waiver for the sake of people. God will deal with them and touch them by our standing firm, not by our wavering.

Are you firm in your dealings with family and acquaintances when it comes to the teachings of Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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I pray that you have a “Mighty Christ Mass”

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
(John 7:33-34 (NIV))

Has Jesus been away too long? Do people find Him when they look for Him? Perhaps I should ask if people even bother to look for Him anymore.

We are in the time of year when we are preparing for the celebration of His birth. The Body of Christ is under continuous assault for saying Merry Christmas. Anybody who clings to traditional Biblical values is ridiculed and condemned. There is a mass movement by a very vocal minority to completely remove Jesus from all aspects of our lives. There is more falsely placed concern for tolerance as long as what you are asked to be tolerant of is against Biblical teachings.

Has the Body of Christ grown soft? Have we forgotten that we have a risen Savior and that we are called to be bold in the face of the enemy? Society has made us think that the meaning of Christianity is timidity. We are falsely told that in order to follow Jesus we are to accept each lifestyle choice that anyone makes.

I think not!

Jesus did not tell the men who caught the woman in adultery that it was okay for her to do what she did. He told them that if they were without sin, they could judge her by casting the first stone. Jesus did not tell the woman to go her way and live her life of sin because it is what she wanted to do. Jesus told the woman to leave her life of sin!

There is a lesson in this parable. We are to not be too quick to judge and condemn, but we are to not allow people to continue in their sin. That is a fine balance. Jesus loves the sinner, yet He cannot condone the sin. He cannot force them to repent. It breaks His heart to see people reject the gift of grace that He came to give.

I know that when Jesus spoke the words of John 7:33-34 He was saying them to His disciples in reference to His crucifixion. I also see a message for us today in these same words. It has become more and more evident in today’s society that we will look for Jesus and see less and less of Him. With this in mind, we need to double down on our resolve to celebrate the birth of Jesus as it truly should be celebrated. Christmas is the time that we celebrate the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a Savior.

Just a reminder of the strength behind the celebration. When we say Merry Christmas, we are actually wishing someone to have a “Mighty Christ Mass” so that the power and the presence of Jesus is manifested mightily in our lives.

Merry Christmas!

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you want to be judged as you judge others?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?
(Romans 2:3-4 (NIV))

It is so easy to fall into this habit. Everyone is quick to judge, yet we fail to see the very same things in our lives that we rush to judgment when we see it in the lives of others.

What is it for you?

Do you judge others for their harsh tongue? Perhaps it is someone’s lack of self control. It may be someone’s desire to be the center if attention that makes you react. The biggest one appears to be judging someone’s success and making all types of comments about how they achieved it. It is so sad that people have a tendency to be very judging of others when they have the same traits. I suppose that it is human nature to find fault with others in order to make ourselves look good. We use it as justification. We tell ourselves that our sins are not as bad as those of the ones we are judging.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
(Matthew 7:1-2 (NIV))

God’s Word is very clear about what happens if we judge. When we judge, we place ourselves in authority over others. We presume to know all of the details and all of the reasoning behind someone else’s actions. We place ourselves as God. We pass judgment when we are the ones who are guilty. We pass judgment without offering grace or mercy. We pass judgment without stopping to think of the way that we appear in the eyes of God.

God uses the principle throughout the Bible about we will be judged as we judge, or we will be forgiven as we forgive. Think about that for a moment. Would you want God to judge you with the same attitude that you have had at times or would you want Him to judge with with grace and mercy?

What is you final answer?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Even in the face of wickedness

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Though grace is shown to the wicked,
they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil
and regard not the majesty of the LORD.
(Isaiah 26:10 (NIV))

Do you ever wonder why some people just seem to scoff at anything that is mentioned in the Bible?

Lately, there seems to be an outright hatred of anything that has Biblical roots. These people claim to seek tolerance and acceptance, yet, they are the first to be unaccepting of anything or anyone that clings to their faith.

I have seen comments from people wishing that those who profess a faith in Jesus would all die. I have seen comments where they vulgarly rant about what they would like to do to Christians. I have seen things that I thought that I would never see. I call it pure evil when people wish to do vile things to others and show no remorse for their thoughts and actions.

This sadly reminds me of the story of Lot.

The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”
“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”
But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom–both young and old–surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”
(Genesis 19:1-5 (NIV))

Innocence is lost.

That was Satan’s plan all along. Humanity was to lose the innocence and the joy that was theirs. He deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden, and he has slowly worked his way into every aspect of society. We are to the point where faith is ridiculed. There is anger and evil.

“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
“It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
(Luke 17:26-29 (NIV))

Noah and his family lived righteous lives in the midst of evil. Lot and his family lived righteous lives in the midst of evil. No matter what may come, we, as the Body of Christ, must not allow the evils of the world to sway us from our faith. We must not allow our imparted righteousness to be taken from us by giving in to the evils of this world.

John Newton was correct. Grace is amazing. It can overcome evil.

We must pray for guidance. We must pray for wisdom. We must pray for the Holy Spirit to give us the words and to guide our actions in hope that those who are lost may be shown the same grace and mercy that we have been shown.

Even in the face of wickedness, we must be the light of Jesus to the world.

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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