Are we still witnessing or are we simply waiting?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
(Acts 1:7-8 (NIV))

Have we gotten tired of waiting? Have we given up being witnesses because we don’t see any evidence of His return? Do you tell yourself that witnessing is not your gift? Perhaps we have developed an attitude that we have done our part and it’s time for a rest. Have I left your excuse out of my list?

I don’t mean to sound harsh and degrading. I don’t want to sound like I am pointing fingers. I realize that we have all felt like this at some point or another. In fact, I have told myself that personal witnessing is not my gift more times than I care to admit. To be honest with you, I am not good at public speaking. I am not good at one on one, but, if you give me a keyboard and a verse, I believe that I have found my way of witnessing. With this simple truth about myself, I believe that if you look at humanity, you will quickly realize that God created each of us with unique gifts. Because each unsaved sinner is unique, each repentant sinner who has claimed salvation has a unique way of reaching someone else. It is a way that may be designed for reaching only one person. We must remember that each person is loved by God and the one that you are called to share the Gospel with may be the next person to share the Gospel with millions!

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
(Ephesians 4:11-12 (NIV))

Just because our gift is not evangelism doesn’t mean that we can’t use our gifts to witness, to spread the Gospel!

It is true that we don’t know the hour or the date that the Father has set, but we all have an urgent task that we must not neglect. Whether it is by evangelism, writing, hospitality, generosity, music, or art, we all have a gift that we can use to witness to the amazing truth of the Gospel. Just because we don’t know the hour or the date doesn’t mean that we should stop using our gifts to reach the world. We are called to be faithful until He comes.

Are we being faithful with the gifts that He has given to us or have we grown complacent in our witness? Have we started using excuses like those I previously mentioned to convince ourselves that it is okay if we don’t witness? We need to take a serious look at what Jesus has called us to do and whether we are being faithful in that calling.

Are we still witnessing or are we simply waiting?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you willing to tell others about Jesus?

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 for 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))

We bear a great responsibility as believers. We have been instructed to

Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
(Mark 16:15b (NIV))

If we know the truth and do not share it, then we are to be held accountable for the loss of the people we have not told.

Jesus paid a great price in order to save us from our own sin. Should we not be willing to tell others of this great price and how we receive the rewards? This does not seem like such a great thing to ask in return for what we have been given.

God places us in people’s lives in order for us to witness to them. We can either witness for Jesus or we can be a witness of nothing. If we witness for Jesus, it is up to the individual to receive or reject Him. If we do not witness, they may never have the opportunity to hear the Gospel, and then their fate will be our fault.

I have seen some friends do some radical things to their appearance. When asked why they did these radical things, they replied that they are using it to “break the ice” with others in being radical for Jesus. Are you willing to be radical in order to bring someone to Jesus?

Are you willing to tell others about Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 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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Do we allow the world to steal the power of God’s Word?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

You shall not steal.
(Exodus 20:15 (NIV))

Does society even pay attention to any of God’s Commandments anymore?

I know that the world is far from perfect and that there are complaints that are legitimate, but with far too many episodes in the news such as Baltimore, it appears that far too many people think nothing of breaking any and all of God’s Commandments.

How should the Body of Christ respond to the problems that face society?

We know what the world truly needs, but do we come off as judgmental and condescending when we try to share the answer?

I want you to think about something for a moment.

When Jesus walked the earth, how did people react to Him telling them how to live according to God’s laws? How did the religious leaders treat Him? How did the general population treat Him once the religious and political leaders worked them up into a frenzy?

Think about Paul. What happened to Paul when the people that he was called to minister to turned on him? He was stoned,, imprisoned and eventually martyred.

Think about Stephen. He was stoned to death for preaching about Jesus.

The Body of Christ has the answer to all of the problems in this world, but we have good examples of what can possibly happen when we take a stand for what is right in the eyes of God. Sadly, we allow these examples to hinder us from doing what we should do.

The Body of Christ is to be salt and light. We are to be the city on a hill. We are to be the ones who share the Gospel to a dark and dying world. We are to hold fast to the truth and let God’s truth impact the world. Far too often, we allow the world to impact our understanding of God’s truth.

I believe that the Body of Christ is often guilty of allowing the power of God’s Word to be stolen!

Stand firm in God’s Word!

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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