April 24, 2020
Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
(Ephesians 1:7 (NIV))
What do you think of when you think of riches?
Is it the typical human nature responses such as money, big house, fancy cars and expensive toys?
Let me ask this another way.
What is it that you value the most?
Did you answer family and friends? Perhaps you thought of the gift of life itself. These are valuable to most people, yet, there is something that has far greater worth. It is of far greater worth than all of the riches of the world.
What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
(Mark 8:36 (NIV))
Everything in this life is here today and gone tomorrow. With that said, how can we place value on something that does not last? How can we spend our lives striving for something that can be taken from us in the blink of an eye?
We are trapped in a world of sin and death. A world that we allowed to fall away from God. It is a world badly in need of something that is eternal, something that will not rust or decay with time. That something is God’s grace.
I know of nothing in this world that can bring eternal life, even though man has searched for just such a thing for a long time. I know of nothing in this world that can bring peace, even though we all long for it. I know of nothing in this world that can bring everlasting joy, even though there are things that bring us fleeting glimpses of joy. Nothing in this world can redeem us. Nothing in this world can provide forgiveness, and nothing in this world can give us grace.
With that said, the greatest riches of all is the very thing that can bring all of this. It is not of this world, for this world is fallen. It is from the very One who created this world. It is designed to bring each and every one of us back into the pre-sin relationship that we were supposed to have with God.
Let me ask a few more questions.
Does money make you happy? Do big houses make you happy? Do expensive toys make you happy? All of these things soon become the reason for living and then you discover that they leave you cold and empty. Only one thing can leave you joyfully filled and warm with the love of God.
Have you accepted the riches that God offers through His glorious gift of grace? Have you accepted the gift of salvation that was purchased at the cross by Jesus?
You will never find greater riches than this!
Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Forgiveness, forgiveness of our sins, forgiveness of sins, glorious riches, God's grace, God's plan of redemption, greater riches, redemption, redemption and grace, riches, riches of his kindness, Uncategorized, worldly riches, worldly riches or Godly wisdom | Tagged: accepted, accordnace, Be still, big house, blink, blood, cold, created, cross, death, decay, designed, empty, eternal, everlasting, expensive, eye, fallen, family, fancy cards, forfeit, Forgiveness, friends, gain, gift, give, glorious, God, God's grace, grace, greater, happy, human, Jesus, joy, life, money, nature, offers, peace, pre-sin, provide, purchased, redeem, redemption, relationship, responses, riches, rust, salvation, sin, sins, soul, striving, taken, time, today, tomorrow, toys, trapped, typical, value, world, worth | 
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Posted by dailylivingministries
February 10, 2015
Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
(Revelation 3:17-18 (NIV))
Do you need anything?
The world has so many distractions, so many things that we consider to have great material value. We spend all of our lives struggling to accumulate these material possessions and we call them wealth. We look at gold and long for its accumulation. We look at fancy cars and long to own and drive the ones that make people turn their heads as we go by. We want big homes so that we can impress people, and then we have to build a wall and put up a gate to keep out the very people whom we want to impress.
In all of this, we focus on things that are of this world and can easily be taken away from us. We focus on what will make us look better than our neighbor. We focus on what will cause our family, friends and neighbors to devise plans to take what we have.
What good will a big bank account do you when you are standing before God? What good will a huge home do you when you are standing before God?
What is truly important to God? Does God care about your riches or does He care about your eternal salvation? He did not send Jesus to die on the cross so that we can accumulate more earthly wealth. God sent Jesus to show us how to attain true wealth, a wealth so great that it lasts all of eternity.
What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
(Mark 8:36 (NIV))
What is truly important to you?
What do you truly need?
Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Posted by dailylivingministries
Daily Living Ministries 