Fearless in the face of intimidation

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
(Ephesians 6:19-20 (NIV))

Today, this is my prayer for myself. It is also my prayer for any and all who proclaim the name of Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

I have never been one for not saying what I think. Just ask my wife!

I firmly believe in God, His Word, His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I also firmly believe in standing my ground in my beliefs. I pray that this never changes.

Recently, through the email addresses that are associated with this devotional and other Bible related organizations, I have begun to be inundated with spam and other unwanted email, including daily Q’ran verses. All of the other emails are fake friend requests and they are increasing every day. Every single name is Arabic.

This, in and of itself, is not bad, for I know many believers who are of Arabic descent.

What has come to my attention is that appearances could be intimidating and cause someone to stop spreading God’s Word and the truth of the grace and mercy that is found only through His Son.

The intimidation can come from many sources. Pier pressure. Friends. Employers. Media. Movies. Music. Government.

The key is that we pray for each other as Paul requested. Pray that we may all declare the gospel fearlessly, as we should.

Do you pray that you will willingly and fearlessly profess the mystery of the gospel no matter what may happen?

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
(Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV))

Copyright 1998 – 2011 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What type of attitude?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

This is what the LORD says:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me?
Where will my resting place be?
Has not my hand made all these things,
and so they came into being?”
declares the LORD.
“This is the one I esteem:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit,
and trembles at my word
(Isaiah 66:1-2 (NIV))

I am going to ask you a very difficult question. I want you to be honest with your answer.

Have you ever had the attitude that God couldn’t get something done if it weren’t for you?

Ouch !!!

If you are like me, your answer probably hurt.

What goes with that type of an attitude? Is it humility or pride? Is it patience of arrogance?

I hate to say this, but we are all guilty of this at one time or another. It is important that we put a quick stop to this attitude and realize that God is in control and that we are not. I know that sometimes, from our limited perspective, it appears that nothing would get done if it weren’t for us. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe God is trying to teach us patience, or that He is trying to teach someone else responsibility?

We cannot presume to know the mind of God, but our human nature wants to tell Him how to run things. God longs for us to learn how to be in a different role in our relationship with Him. He wants us to take a role of a young son in the presence of a wise father. We have nothing to give, except love, and everything to learn. We must realize that God is far above our ways and that we are simply His creation. When we accept that relationship, we begin to learn humility. When we learn humility, we accept the fact that we are sinners in need of grace. When we accept that simple truth, we see ourselves differently. Hopefully, we will soon see ourselves in a relationship with God that has us sitting humbly at His feet, waiting for His wisdom to be perfected in us and not our filthy rags staining Him.

With what type of attitude do you approach your relationship with God?

Copyright 1998 – 2011 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Joy

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
(Psalms 139:17 (NIV))

We could sit at the feet of God forever and still not be able to fathom the depth of His being! We would only begin to see a glimpse of His love. We would only begin to see a glimpse of His mercy.

We may not be able to fully comprehend His thoughts, for He is beyond our human comprehnsion. Even so, we must long to know His thoughts, for His thoughts are life. His thoughts are love. His thoughts are grace and mercy! We should long to be in His thoughts. To know His thoughts. We must desire to fulfill His thoughts so that our actions are in His Will.

God is infinite. Contrary to what some people believe, He is not dead. They simply do not see Him through their clouded vision. Perhaps that is another reason to long to know the thoughts of God, for when we know His thoughts, we see everything clearer.

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
(1 Corinthians 13:12(NIV))

When we know God’s thoughts, we see as if face to face. What a joyous thought!

Are the thoughts of God your joy?

Copyright 1998 – 2011 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Be prepared to stand

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, `I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.
(Mark 13:5-8 (NIV))

Birth pains!

I honestly don’t know what else that we can call the events that have been unfolding over the last few years. And, they seem to be increasing rapidly and steadily!

Think back over the last few years.

I can think of two major tsunamis, terrorist attacks, earthquakes where earthquakes don’t happen. and many other events, such as the worldwide economic failures and panic. In the very shadow of the earthquake that hit the east coast, we are seeing a major hurricane striking the very area that the earthquake hit.

To top it all off, there is a major move to strip Israel of some of its land and create a Palestinian state. All of this by the very same group of people who have vowed to wipe Israel off of the face of this earth. These very same people also have vowed to bring down Israel’s biggest ally, the United States.

The whole world has turned upside down. Common sense and common dignity have left. There is an ever increasing division, an ever increasing polarization between groups of people. There is no room for meeting each other in friendship and working out our differences. Proclaiming the name of Jesus is becoming a perceived intolerance, while protecting the “rights” of those who wish to do us harm is important.

We have lost our moral compass. We have lost our ability to point up. We can only point to ourselves and what we want. And what we want is sinful.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
(Romans 5:23 (NIV))

Keep the faith. Keep the focus. Trust in the Lord. Never give up the name of Jesus as good.

Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
(Isaiah 5:20 (NIV))

Be prepared to stand for what you know is righteous and true.

Copyright 1998 – 2011 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Money, fame, prestige and power

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
(Genesis 1:1 (NIV))

Take a long hard look at what it is that you have allowed to take the place of God.

Did money create the heavens and the earth? Was fame there in the beginning? Did prestige and power subjugate the emptiness and cause it to form the universe?

Only God was able to do all of these things!

God existed long before the heavens and the earth and long before money, fame, or prestige and power. All of these things are man-made creations that have come about out of the depravity that arose because of the fall from grace. None of these things are worthy of our worship. None of these things should become our god. None, of these things are righteous in the eyes of God.

You shall have no other gods before me.
(Exodus 20:3 (NIV))

Too many of us replace the one true God with our own personal gods. These gods can be anything that takes priority in our lives. When we find that this is happening, we must remember that none of these things were around in the beginning. None of them were around when God created the heavens and the earth. It was only God in His Triune glory, and He …

…is the same yesterday and today and forever.
(Hebrews 13:8 (NIV))

If He created “in the beginning,” then we must reevaluate our gods and repent. We must turn to the God of creation.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
(Revelation 22:13 (NIV))

Can your “gods” of money, fame, or prestige and power make such a profession?

Copyright 1998 – 2011 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you sincere?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him sincerely.
(Psalms 145:18 (NLT))

Do you feel that God is close to you? Perhaps I should ask if you feel that you are close to God.

What is the difference?

Do you attend church on Sunday? Do you give freely of your money, talents and time? Do you give to the poor? Do you do charitable work? All of these are good, but without being close to God, they are only good works.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
(Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV))

Works do not save us. Only drawing close to God through His Son, Jesus, can save us.

Still, there is a catch. It is the last word in the passage.

“Sincerely!”

We must draw close to God in sincerity and do all that we do to His glory. Works do not save us, but a desire to do good works after we are saved comes to those who are sincere.

Are you close to God?

Are you sincere?

Copyright 1998 – 2011 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Talents

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
(Matthew 25:14-18 (NIV))

What have you done with the talents that God has given to you? Have you used them or have you hidden them?

Perhaps we should take a look at the talents that have been used. Were they used for your own gain or did you use them for the gain of the one who gave them to you? It is so easy to get caught up in what the world is selling and get sidetracked from the true reason for your talents. The world tells us to make money and seek after fame. It tells us that we are better than others and our talents are to be used for our gain. How will this attitude be rewarded?

Consider those who have used their talents for the gain of the one who gave them the talents. What was their attitude? How was it rewarded?

What about the one who is afraid to use their talents? They lack faith. Perhaps it is the lack of faith that the talent they have been given is of any value. Perhaps it is a lack of faith in themselves. Either way, it is a lack of faith in God, for He has created both the individuals and the talents. It is a misguided fear that God will punish us if we do wrong, and so we do nothing.

Each of us falls somewhere within these three scenarios. Perhaps we can lay claim to each one of them at different times in our lives. Either we misuse our talents and fall short of what God intends, or we use them for His good. Perhaps the worst case is not using our given talents at all.

What talents has God given to you? How have you used them? How can you change to be a better servant using your talents?

Copyright 1998 – 2011 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you guilty of robbing God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Then he entered the temple area and began driving out those who were selling. “It is written,” he said to them, ” `My house will be a house of prayer’ ; but you have made it `a den of robbers.’ ”
(Luke 19:45-46 (NIV))

Are we guilty of making God’s house something different than a house of prayer?

Think about all the activities that go on in your individual churches. We all have the activities. We fellowship. We enjoy meals with each other. We study and learn about God’s Word. We instruct our children according to what we have been taught.

Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.
(Proverbs 22:6 (NIV))

We greet friends. We care for those in need. We come together to live out what we know to be God’s desires for our lives according to the salvation offered through Jesus Christ.

These things are not what makes God’s house a den of robbers. These are the very things that we are supposed to be doing.

It is the other things that we do that makes it a den of robbers. We have all been guilty of these things at one point or another. The things that we do out of greed or selfishness. The things that we do when we don’t give all that we can to God’s work. This can be both through our money and our talents. We cheat God and we cheat ourselves.

No one is perfect. We all have our days when we would rather not do anything. We all have our days when we simply feel the weight of the world upon us and we shut out all that God is offering. These are momentary lapses and are not a believers true self. We rob God when we constantly seek what benefits us. The money changers sought what benefited them. They didn’t care where they were when they took advantage of people. It is this type of attitude that makes us rob God.

Take a serious look at your actions. Are you guilty of robbing God?

Copyright 1998 – 2011 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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It is a state of mind!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
(Matthew 23:11-12 (NIV))

Time for a personality test. Which of these is your greatest desire? Do you seek to be thought of as greater than others or do you allow others to be exalted above you? Human nature is a tricky thing. Everyone likes to toot their own horn and bring attention to themselves, but yet, we are taught that we are to humble ourselves and think of others.

What do you have or what have you done that deserves for you to toot your own horn? Are these accomplishments any greater than what has been accomplished by countless others around the world? If you are good at baseball, have you played professional baseball and set all of the records? If you are good at music, have you written something that will be performed for thousands of years? If you are good at art, have you created something that will awe millions with your mastery?

It is true that God has given each of us talents, but these talents are nothing when compared to the abilities of the Creator. We are nothing in comparison, yet, He chose to come to earth as a man. The greatest became so humble that He was willing to die for those whom He created.

I was listening to the radio this morning. The station was talking about the poverty in Jamaica. People who live in garbage dumps, who struggle to find food to eat, who live under a roof thrown together out of what they can find in the dump, are in dire need. Are we any greater than these people? We may be educated, but our education often leaves us without compassion. I heard countless stories of little children living with people who were not their parents. These people felt compelled to take these children in even when they did not have enough for themselves. In the eyes of the world, they were already as low as you could possibly be, yet, they humbled themselves and saw the importance of others.

Humility is not a situation that you find yourself in. It is a state of mind. It is a character trait that allows you to see the correct perspective. If God can humble himself and come to this earth as a man, then how can we exalt ourselves above what God was willing to do?

Copyright 1998 – 2011 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you ready to go where Christ is not known?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Rather, as it is written:
“Those who were not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand.”
(Romans 15:20-21 (NIV))

Paul did just that. He spread the Gospel as far as he could travel. He did not keep it to himself, nor did he keep it only for his close friends and family. He didn’t even keep it only for those who looked and acted like him.

Paul willingly and eagerly took the Gospel of Jesus Christ to what was then the far reaches of his world.

We owe our very heritage and faith to his eagerness to make sure that those who had not heard would hear.

What if he had decided that blindness was his fate? What if he had decided to stay in Jerusalem? What if he gave up after the first time that he faced persecution? Would we be alive in the faith? Would we even be alive at all, for the events that God set into motion through Paul’s ministry have impacted lives throughout history. We have no idea what this world, what our own individual lives would look like if Paul did not go where he was sent.

Paul had a heart for God’s Word. He had a burning desire to see that God’s grace and mercy were shared with everyone.

Think about Paul the next time that you find yourself saying, “Someone needs to tell them about Jesus.” What if Paul said that?

Today’s society has such a wrong understanding of God’s grace and mercy. They have such a wrong image of Jesus. Because of these misconceptions, many people ridicule anything remotely associated with Christianity.

They have not been told the truth about Him.

They have not heard, so therefore they do not understand.

What if we all got out of our comfort zones and took it upon ourselves to help one person to understand? What if we relied on the Holy Spirit to help us to tell someone about Jesus? What if we all prayed for some of Paul’s enthusiasm for the Gospel to fall upon us?

The world would be a different place with each of us starting with one person who does not know the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Are you ready to step outside of your comfort zone?

Are you ready to go where Christ is not known?

Copyright 1998 – 2011 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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