Biblical responsibility

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked man, `You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die forn his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.
(Ezekiel 3:16-19 (NIV))

When God spoke to Ezekiel and told him to warn Israel of their wrongdoing, God made it clear that if He sends someone to deliver His Word, that person carries the weight of those people as his responsibility. That is also true for today.

When God sent Ezekiel, Ezekiel did not have the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to deliver. He had the teachings of the Law to deliver. God sent Ezekiel to deliver prophetic words that would greatly impact their lives.

Today, we have words that will impact lives even more than in Ezekiel’s time. We can speak in general terms, not as prophets, but as people empowered by the Holy Spirit to warn people of their impending danger if they do not accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Where we differ from Ezekiel is that we have a direct route to God that we can offer to anyone who is willing to receive it.

If God places us in situations that He desires for us to warn and to witness, we need to respond. If we do, then the decision and the consequences are the responsibility of the person we witnessed to. If we do not tell them, then the responsibility is ours to bear.

If we have truly accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, then we need to heed what God asks of us to do. It has a far greater impact than we realize.

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

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,
(2 Timothy 1:8 (NIV))

When Paul wrote these words to Timothy, he was doing two things.

First, he had just finished reminding Timothy of the deep roots of his faith. He reminded Timothy of the faith of his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. Paul knew that Timothy would understand the value of the firm foundation of faith that was evident through his family.

Faith does not stop and rely only on its foundation!

A firm foundation is intended to support far more than itself. It is the building block upon which greater things are to be built.

Second, with this in mind, Paul was also encouraging Timothy to use his faith and step out to testify about our Lord. There is nothing to be ashamed of when doing God’s will. It is, perhaps, the test of individual faith, for it requires you to believe for yourself. You no longer can rely on the faith of those who have gone before you. It requires a personal commitment.

Paul’s words to Timothy were words of encouragement as Timothy begins to fully embrace the call that God had upon his life. It is difficult to be ashamed of something and still be willing to suffer for it. You cannot be willing to give everything you have if you are ashamed of what you are pursuing. It is human nature to not go after something that you are ashamed of. Paul knew this and was reminding Timothy that he must make that final commitment in order to step forward in faith.

Are you ashamed to testify about our Lord?

Are you ready to step out in your faith as God is calling you?

Copyright 1998 – 2010 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Tomorrow

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.
(Proverbs 27:1 (NIV))

It is human nature to make plans and to say what will happen “tomorrow.” God does not promise us “tomorrow,” but He does promise us today. He also promises us a hope of a “tomorrow” if we accept the grace and mercy He gave us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

There may be no “tomorrow” as we understand the concept. Anything could happen in this physical world and our presence in “tomorrow” may never happen. We tend to take our physical existence for granted. Sometimes, it takes a very serious “wake-up” call to make us realize our mortality.

It is a lie of Satan that makes us think that we have all the time in the world. Satan knows that if he can make us think that we have a guaranteed “tomorrow,” then we will delay thinking about making a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. If we delay in making this decision, then Satan wins our soul if tomorrow does not come for us in the physical world.

Life is precious, yet it is urgent at the same time. God wishes for us to have a life filled with His grace, mercy and gifts, yet, at the same time, He wishes for us to be urgent in our decision to accept Jesus, for He knows that we may not have another chance at “tomorrow.”

If something were to happen and you do not see tomorrow in the physical world, will you be prepared for tomorrow in the spiritual?

Copyright 1998 – 2010 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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