Whose time are you on?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
(2 Peter 3:8 (NIV))

Do you feel like you are a patient person?

I can see the grimaces on the faces at the mere thought of this question.

What is it about human nature that makes us so impatient? We think that we need everything right now and when we can’t have it in that manner, we start to lose control. We simply can’t stand to wait for anything. If you stop to think about it, this is exactly why credit card debt is such a problem. We want something. We think that we deserve it. We think that we are ready to handle it. We don’t think about the consequences of our desires and our actions. We give into our desires and we try to get what we want even if we are not ready for it.

Are we also that way with respect to our faith life?

Do we pray and then give up because God’s answer didn’t come when we wanted it to come? Perhaps we are praying and waiting from a limited perspective. Not only could we be praying for something that we are not ready to receive, but we could also be praying for things that God does not plan to ever happen. If God has blessed each of us with unique gifts, doesn’t it make sense that He would respond to each of us based on the way that He created us? With this in mind, it seems that it is humanity who fails to comprehend God’s timing instead of God not comprehending ours.

Be still, and know that I am God;
(Psalm 46:10a (NIV))

We need to realize that God’s timing is perfect. We just need to adjust our time.

Whose time are you on?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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The proper time!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.
(1 Timothy 2:5-6 (NIV))

Sometimes it is so easy to see the hand of God moving. The last 30 seconds and this verse are a very good example of just that!

I have multiple different sources that I look to in order to find what I will write about. I often will look online at a popular Bible software site, and that is what I chose to do today. This passage was the passage of the day. I did not feel that this passage was what I wanted to write about, so I turned to one of my long lists of notes and randomly stopped on one without looking. I am certain that you can already see what is coming!

It was the very same verse and translation!

All right, God. I get it!

Is there anything about this passage that jumps right out at you? To me, there are several. First and foremost is the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus in which He gave himself as a random for all people. Probably the most intriguing part of this passage is the last sentence.

The proper time!

Just as it appears that it is the proper time for me to talk about this passage, there are also proper times that have happened and will happen according to God’s plan.

Jesus came at the proper time.

He was witnessed about at the proper time.

He will return at the proper time.

Will you be ready when He returns? What if He returns tonight? Will you be ready at the proper time?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you truly thankful to be called a son or daughter of God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
(Galatians 4:4-5 (NIV))

What rights does a slave or a servant have? What rights does a person who hires himself for a wage have? Now, think about those rights and then think about the rights that the son of the owner has. There is a huge difference in what they are given and what they are allowed to do.

How do you want to be thought of in relationship to God? Do you desire to serve God in all that you do? Do you want to be treated like a servant? Do you long to work for God and do whatever task He assigns to you? Do you want to be treated like a hired hand?

Think about the relationship that God longs to have with us? Did Jesus die on the cross to gain servants? Did He get resurrected to be able to hire more workers? Jesus came into this world and died so that we could become children of God. That means that we, as believers, are sons and daughters of God. We are not to be treated as slaves. We have all the privileges that a son possesses.

How can we not desire to serve God?

Nowhere does it say that we are not to serve God. It simply states that we are sons and daughters of God. A loyal son or daughter will serve the father out of love. A slave serves out of fear. A hired hand serves out of respect. At the end of the day, a slave is sent to his quarters, a hired hand goes home, but a son enters into the house of the father.

Jesus came so that at the end of the age, we may enter into the house of the Father.

Do you truly embrace your rights as a son or a daughter of God? Do you look forward to entering the house of the Father? Are you truly thankful to be called a son or daughter of God?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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