It's For Your Own Good

It's For Your Own Good "And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness." Deuteronomy 6:25 There are not many children as they were growing up that did not hear their parents tell them, "It's For Your Own Good", when they had done wrong. So often they may not have always agreed with their parents at the time, but later ended up finding out the hard way that their parents were right. The same is true with God. We might not always understand why certain things happen, or why He wants us to do things a certain way, but God always knows what's best for us. God gives us the freedom to make our own choices, and sometimes our choices get us into trouble. When we do make wrong choices God is always there to help us through the aftermath of these bad choices, because that's what a loving Father does. But think how much better off we would be if we would take heed to His Word in the first place. When you accept Jesus as your savior, the Holy Spirit is there to direct you and lead you on the right path. When you listen to the gentle whispers that God will speak to you, when you are being tempted to do wrong, and turn from temptation, God's peace and contentment will surround you. If you are dealing with issues today where you are uncertain about what steps to take, I would encourage you to open your hearts, let God speak to you, let Him give you the wisdom and courage to do what is right and good. Follow these gentle whispers and obey them, and let them lead and guide you in the direction you need to go. Let them direct your path, and lead you to fulfill God's promise that He will never leave you or forsake you. Let God lead you to an eternal life, "it's for your own good." My Daily Devotional Volume Six May 31 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Are You Ready

Are You Ready "Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will lift you up." James 4:10 When I turned on the television this morning there was a report that said that the population of the world this week would exceed "Seven Billion" people. Do you realize that all seven billion of these people are sinners? Each one of these seven billion people have one thing in common, as they will all die, unless Christ comes first to claim His children. Each of these people will spend their eternity in either hell or Heaven. Death is the great equalizer, and does not spare the rich man from the poor man, as it will claim all people. For many of these people, today will be their last day on this earth as their life will end, and their fate will be sealed. They will have no tomorrow to get their life in order, no time to accept the saving grace of Jesus, and all the wealth, money, and material possessions they accumulated will not matter anymore. Yes, death is the great equalizer, and it spares no man. If you were one of these people that death will call on today, do you know where you will spend your eternity? In the few short years you have on this earth, which James calls "a vapor", have you prepared for your eternal home? Have you spent your time laying up treasures that will rust and rot away, or have you been laying up treasures in Heaven? These are serious questions that only you can answer, as no one can help you, and you are on your own. I want to impress upon you the seriousness of this important matter as when you take your last breath, you need to be prepared to meet Jesus, as you will not have another opportunity. I encourage you to think about this, and take a moment right now and ask Jesus into your heart, as you still have time to accept His offer to spend your eternity with Him. My Daily Devotional Volume Six May 30 Robert William Brock, Jr.

The Wrath Of God

The Wrath Of God "The wrath of God is being revealed from Heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them." Romans 1:18-19 We often hear people speak about the wrath of God, but do we really understand how God will deal with those who continue to deny Him, and continue in their wickedness and in their evil ways. We can see the wrath of God simply by looking at the story of Noah. God looked down on the earth He had created and found it was evil and wicked, and He sent a great flood that destroyed it completely, and all that was in it. We can see the same thing happening in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, as they were wicked and evil, and He destroyed all except Lot's family, the only ones that were found to be righteous. Scriptures like the one above warns us about the wrath of God and how the evil and wicked will be dealt with. We need to heed God's warnings, as all people have an opportunity to hear and read God's Holy Word, and ask for and receive God's forgiveness. God's judgment will be harsh, and many do not realize the future they face if they do not turn from their life of sin, and accept Jesus as their savior. We are not promised that we will see another day, and may not have another chance to be forgiven of our sins, so today is a critical one in the lives of so many people. If you have not received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, this may be the last chance you have to make your future secure. You don't have to face the wrath of God if you make things right today, before it is too late. Take just a moment now to accept Christ as your savior, and secure your eternal future, and avoid the wrath of God. My Daily Devotional Volume Six May 29 Robert William Brock, Jr.

God Is With You

God Is With You "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18 I have written many devotionals over the years about why do we suffer so much in life. We lose our jobs, have unexplained deaths in our family, have relationship issues, severe financial issues, problems with our children, the list could go on. I believe we can get some solace from the writings of the apostle Paul, who tells us to be content with all things. So often we don't understand why things happen to us, as we do not see all of God's great plan, but even during our times of struggle, we need to remember that God is still there. He knows what we face each day. He knows how our hearts ache, and how we are so burdened down with the stresses of life, but He also tells us that He will not give us more than we can bear. We can see the struggles that Job had, we can see the trials that the disciples had, as most were imprisoned and their life threatened continuously. However, they were content with their situations, and trusted and had faith in God that He would see them through all their trials and struggles. If you are going through situations in your life that you don't understand, you also have the promise from God that He will not give you more than you can bear. He is still there for you, just like he was for His disciples. Don't lose your faith and turn away from Him in your time of trouble, rather draw closer to Him. Continue to pray about your situation, be like the persistent widow, pray without ceasing. In God's time He will answer your prayers; He will lead you out of your valleys, and let you reach your mountaintops. There is no situation that is too great for your God to handle. Keep your faith and trust God for your answer. My Daily Devotional Volume Six May 28 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Trust In God-Don't Worry

Trust In God-Don't Worry "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." John 14:1 This scripture is such a great promise by Jesus telling us not to be troubled or worry. He tells us that He will provide all our needs, and that we should not be concerned about the things of this life which are material in nature, like our money and possessions which will rust and rot away. We should instead have our trust in God for everything, and depend upon Him to provide what we need. We have this promise because when we ask Jesus into our hearts, and make Him our savior He also gives us the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in the paths of righteousness. God loves us so much that He gave His only son to die on the cross for our sins, and His only requirement is that we love Him back. He made this clear when He gave us His number one commandment, which is to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. What a loving God we have, to give us so much, and ask for so little in return. I want you to understand when your life becomes burdened down with trouble and worry, your focus becomes centered towards yourselves. God does not want you to be so engrossed in yourself, and your wants and desires, but to be centered on living a life that is devoted to serving Him. There are so many things that tempt you each day to get your minds and hearts off Jesus, but this is Satan tempting you. However, you can make the choice every time you are tempted by the things of this world to turn from them, and keep your heart and your mind focused on serving God. The choices you make during life will determine where you will spend your eternity. Make the right choices each day, and trust in God for all things and your eternal future will be secure. My Daily Devotional Volume Six May 27 Robert William Brock, Jr.

Reflections Of Life

Reflections of Life “You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!” Galatians 4:10 We all see the power of God in our lives when we make Him number one in our lives and follow His commands. As I look back on my life I can see how God has worked in me, and how He has influenced me, and made me the person I have become. I believe that in the winter of our lives God gives us the wisdom and understanding to reflect back on our lives and see our accomplishments and also our failures. Old age is winter for many people, but for those who are wise and optimistic, it is the happiest and most fruitful time of their life as they now begin to see the abundance of their harvest. We can see the fruits of our labor begin to be manifested in our children and our grandchildren, as they bring back the memories of our own childhood, and we relive aspects of our youth all over again. Old age arrives suddenly, as does the snow, as one morning on awakening one realizes that everything is white. However I believe that by growing old one learns to remain young, as we can now understand and rid ourselves of our shortcomings, because they no longer serve any useful purpose. We can now see how God begins to put all the pieces of His magnificent puzzle into place, and can begin to see His design, His purpose for all things and can see our part in completing this amazing puzzle. Even as through the effect of the setting sun on the beautiful twilights of autumn we can see our reason and place in God’s magnificent and beautiful world. Things that used to cause us grief, worry and strife no longer seem to be the important things of life as we now get a glimpse of the future that God has planned for us; a future that far surpasses what God has given us in this life. My Daily Devotional Volume Six May 26 Robert William Brock, Jr.

God Is Always Watching

God Is Always Watching "For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths." Proverbs 5:21 My grandmother gave me some valuable advice when I was a little boy, when she said that God was watching me at all times, and that I should live my life as if He was standing beside me, watching. This is probably the best advice I have ever received, and I wish that everyone could live with this in mind. Throughout each day we are tempted with evil, and make choices that are good or bad. If we made these choices with the idea that God was standing there beside us, watching our every move, we would make better decisions. The fact is that God is standing there beside us, watching our every move, our every choice, knows our every thought, but most of all knows our heart. There is nothing that we do, that God is not aware of. There is an old Cherokee saying that during life we are constantly in a battle between good and evil, and that God and Satan are doing battle for our soul each moment of our day. The winner will be whichever we feed, good or evil. The advice my grandmother taught me has kept me focused so many times in making the right choice, and feeding good instead of evil. Some day we are all going to stand before God at His judgment throne, and be judged based on all the good and bad choices we made during life. There will be nothing hidden from God, as all our ways, the good, the bad and the ugly, will be in full view, and He will examine all our paths during life. The battle between good and evil will then be over, and a victor will have been chosen. As you make all your choices today, take a moment to ask yourself, am I choosing God or am I choosing Satan, and remember God is watching. My Daily Devotional Volume Six May 25 Robert William Brock, Jr.