Will you say “Here am I. Send me!”?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
(Luke 10:1-4 (NIV))

It is so easy to become engrossed in the preparations that you forget the actual task at hand.

Think about that for a moment. Have we, as the Body of Christ, as the church, and as individuals, put off what God has called us to do and falsely called it preparation? Have we simply dragged our feet and kicked the dirt to make it look like we are doing something when all along we are simply stalling and hoping that God will soon forget about what He asked us to do?

I know a young man. I have known him since he was born. In the space of six months, he was given an opportunity by God to help plant a church. We all think that we would be willing to do something bold if God called us to do it. From what I know, most of us are still sitting here in the planning stages. This young man heard the call, raised the money, got his passport, and went to Brisbane, Australia as part of the team who planted a church in that city.

Too many of us, and I include myself, are slow to act. we are like Moses was at the burning bush. He made every single excuse that he could think of. God answered each excuse with a solution. When Moses came down off of the mountain, it is recorded that he left for Egypt. What did he take with him? What did he carry along the way? I honestly do not think that Moses came off of the mountain and studied what had just happened. I don’t think that he came down and looked at his calendar to find an opening where he could fit God in. He simply obeyed.

We, as the Body of Christ, have an assignment. Just as Jesus sent out the seventy-two, He is sending out each of us. Some He will send to the far corners of this world. Some He will simply send next door. No matter where He may send you, respond. Do not become engrossed in the preparations. Do not try to fit God into you calendar. If you are faithful, He will fit your calendar into His timing. What is of importance will take place and what is not important will be forgotten.

Don’t spend so much time in preparation that you never respond.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
(Isaiah 6:8 (NIV))

Are you willing to be like Isaiah? Will you skip all human planning and preparation and simply say “Here am I. Send me!”?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you prepared?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

The days of punishment are coming,
      the days of reckoning are at hand.
      Let Israel know this.
Because your sins are so many
      and your hostility so great,
the prophet is considered a fool,
      the inspired person a maniac.
(Hosea 9:7 (NIV))

These words were written to and about Israel long ago, but do you see anything in them that is true today?

Let me rephrase that general question into a few distinct questions.

When you look at the things that are going on in this country and in the world, are you overcome with the vast number of ways that humanity has found to sin against God? We take innocent life and call it choice. We take all the things that God has called a sin and an abomination and call it good. Anyone who points out that the world is going against God is ridiculed, chastised and labeled an old-fashioned fool. Anyone who speaks about Jesus as the only begotten Son of God and the only way to get to the Father is labeled a bigot and a lunatic. Do I need to go any further? Do you see these things happening more frequently or are you looking at the world through blinded eyes?

If Israel was warned of days of punishment coming for doing these things, where does that leave today’s society and world?

You may call me a fool and a maniac, but I need to ask more questions. I will say that many people are thinking about the world in its current state, for I am seeing many people who are posting Bible verses, ideas on how to love our neighbors, and even very strongly worded instructions to pray for God to protect His people. With this in mind, I want you to seriously think about your answers to the questions that are probably already lingering in your thoughts and hopefully your prayers.

Are you following God’s Word and have you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?

Does it break your heart to see the things that go against God’s Word?

Is it possible that everything is coming to pass just as God has foretold?

Is it possible that we are too blinded by the world to truly recognize what is in front of our eyes?

Would you recognize unfolding events as part of God’s plan?

Do you believe that God will punish His creation for their sinful nature?

Do you believe that the world is becoming more engrossed in sin?

Sadly, most of us go about our daily lives with no thought about what is going on around us. We need to open our eyes. We need to be aware of the times and our surroundings. We need to wrap ourselves in God’s Word. We need to wrap ourselves in God’s love by accepting Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. We need to embrace the truth that God has a timeline and it is drawing close to His fulfillment of that timeline. We must be prepared to be called a fool for Jesus and a maniac for God.

Are you prepared?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are we listening as we should?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said, ‘We will not listen.’
(Jeremiah 6:17 (NIV))

Do you believe that the Lord has posted watchmen in this day and age? Do you believe that there are people that the Lord has gifted with the ability to interpret the events in this world and the ability to listen to Him for understanding of these events? Do you believe that all of this is done with the intent of warning the Body of Christ as things of a Biblical nature unfold?

All throughout history, people have been selected to keep watch in order to keep everyone else safe. Ancient cities posted watchmen along the tops of the walls that surrounded their cities. Military posts to this day post watch at strategic points such as entrances and security points. A watchman is there to alert others to the possibility of danger from forces outside of the city. When a watchman sounds the alarm, everyone springs into action to defend themselves from the impending attack.

What would happen if no one responded to the alert sounded from those who are posted as watchmen?

It doesn’t take much imagination to realize that in the physical world, of you ignore the alert sounded by a watchman, you run the risk of death. Why do we then tend to ignore the sound of the people whom the Lord has called to be spiritual watchmen over His Body? Are we so out of touch with the Lord, His Word, and His plan as it is unfolded in His Word? Do we not heed those who alert us to the world claiming that good is now evil and evil is now good? Do we not heed the alert that the enemy is prowling around looking for someone to devour? Are we too engrossed in our day to day lives that we are oblivious to what is going on around us even when we are being told to watch out for the enemy is near?

We profess a faith in Jesus. We profess to have turned over lordship of our lives to Jesus, yet we don’t seem to listen to those whom He has called to alert us to danger. In essence, by our inaction, we are saying that we are not listening. We listen to anything and everything else. We keep our noses in our electronics while our eyes and ears are focused only on the things that are directly in front of us. We are so wrapped up in the superficial that we completely ignore the clear and present warnings that are being sent our way.

We claim that we follow Jesus, yet do we truly listen to all that He wants to tell us?

Are we listening as we should?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are we capable of hearing what the Lord says?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Whoever has ears, let them hear.
(Matthew 11:15 (NIV))

Everyone likes to think that they are good at paying attention to their physical surroundings. Whether it be by sight, smell or hearing, everyone is usually aware enough of their surroundings to know daylight from night, sunshine from rain, and safety from danger. Still, every single one of us gets into a predicament at times when our physical senses were ignored. All that you have to do to confirm this is look at all of the videos that have been posted where people are looking at their cell phones and walk into a pole. I have even seen situations where people were so engrossed in what they were doing that they didn’t even hear their name being called to warn them against an impending danger.

It is human nature!

We have a tendency to become so wrapped up in certain things that we completely ignore or avoid other things.

No one knows human nature better than our Creator. He knows our innermost desires. He sees the things that make us long for Him and He cringes at the things that draw us into sin. He knows our hearts. He knows our minds. He also knows that we can become very easily distracted, especially when it comes to the things that appeal to our sinful nature. The Lord is constantly calling us to Him so that we can walk with Him and avoid that sinful nature. Sadly, all too often we are so engrossed in the worldly things that we fail to hear the Lord calling us away from them.

I know that the words from this passage are used many times throughout the Bible, but have you ever truly stopped to think about them? Perhaps if I paraphrased this concept it might stick with you a little stronger. In essence, God is say, “I gave you two ears. Use them! Pay attention to what I am telling you.” I realize that the Lord has never been recorded as saying something with this type of an attitude, but He is telling us to pay attention and listen to what He is trying to tell us. It is our sinful human nature that gets in the way.

Are we capable of hearing what the Lord says?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Why do we refuse to see certain things?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, `It’s going to rain,’ and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, `It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?
“Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?
(Luke 12:54-57 (NIV))

Why do we refuse to see certain things?

Have you ever been caught completely off guard by an event only to look back upon it with a different perspective? You look back and you see the telltale signs of the impending event that caught you off guard. Let’s face the facts. Human nature is a strange thing. We pay attention to the trivial things in life while we are completely blind sided by the major things.

Take a look at the world in it’s current state. What do we focus on? Is it the price of gasoline and the extra hurt that we feel when we fill up our cars or is it the events of the world where God is unfolding prophecy right before our eyes?

We become so engrossed in our daily lives and what will impact us in the short term, such as the clouds rising in the west, that we fail to see the catastrophic storm that is just beyond the horizon. We fail to judge what we should be paying attention to. We fail to recognize the truth in what we are seeing.

Failing to recognize the truth can be dangerous. We live in a time when people say that truth is relative, but I say that truth is always relevant and unchanging. With the state of the world, we cannot rely upon ourselves to be able to stay true to what is right. We must rely upon God and His Word to guide us. His Word is truth. His Word warns us of these times. We must prepare ourselves for daily life in His Word. We must also prepare ourselves for eternal life in His Word. God gives us insight into what He has planned. We must know God’s timeline of history – the past, the present, and His glorious future.

Can you judge according to God’s Word?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you have a daily time to spend with God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

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

As I sit here exhausted, I realize just how easy it is to become so engrossed in the things of the world that we call our lives. It is so easy to let God slip to a second, third or even a fourth priority. The sad part about this when it happens is that we don’t realize that it is happening until it has already happened.

We need to establish something that becomes a constant in our lives. Something that we do on a daily basis that forces us to be still in the presence of God. This must be something that we do no matter whether we want to or not, no matter whether we feel that we can take a day off because no one will notice.

If you are reading this, then you are a part of my daily routine. I know that to many people the word routine signifies that you do something over and over again and get stuck in a rut. When you are studying and sharing God’s Word, you may be in a routine, but it is never a rut.

God’s Word is alive!

God shares His heart through His Word.

The trick is to be open and to not take things out of context. You must dive deep and explore the mysteries that God has in store for you. The Bible is called the Living Word for a reason. No matter where you are in your walk with God, there is something for you to learn. What I find so intriguing is that you can learn something from one passage and as you mature, you can learn something different from the same passage. This knowledge does not replace what you have learned before. It expands, it builds upon the previous knowledge to give you a deeper understanding.

I have been writing and sharing these devotionals since 1998. It is my routine. It is not my rut. I learn so much as I explore God’s Word and share it with you. It is my daily time to be still in the presence of God.

It is my prayer that each of you develop a routine in which you set aside time each day to spend in God’s presence.

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Watch in hope for the Lord!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they did not know until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man.
(Matthew 24:37-39 (RSV))

Does anyone read this and come away with what I have understood from this passage?

Are we, will we, be so engrossed in our own lives that we completely miss what is going on around us?

Can anyone tell me about the sad turn of events that has our own government pushing for the division of Jerusalem by this April? Can anyone tell me about the growing saber rattling coming from Iran and their move to place armed naval vessels just off of our coast?

I hate to say this, but more people can probably tell me about the latest escapades of Justin Bieber than they can tell me about the current state of our own government.

Ignorance is not bliss!

We, as the Body of Christ, are called to be salt and light to a dark and dying world. How can we be doing what we are called to do if we don’t know what is going on in the world? How can we pray against the prince of this world if we are blind to his actions? How can we share the Gospel of Jesus if we don’t know the urgency of the message? How can we call ourselves followers of Jesus if we don’t live by His teachings?

We are to be prepared!

We are to be vigilant!

We are to be watchmen!

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
together they shout for joy.
When the LORD returns to Zion,
they will see it with their own eyes.
(Isaiah 52:8 (NIV))

Sadly, we have grown complacent in our efforts. Still, we must persevere!

The best of them is like a brier,
the most upright worse than a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen has come,
the day God visits you.
Now is the time of their confusion.
Do not trust a neighbor;
put no confidence in a friend.
Even with her who lies in your embrace
be careful of your words.
For a son dishonors his father,
a daughter rises up against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law–
a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.
But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD,
I wait for God my Savior;
my God will hear me.
(Micah 7:4-7 (NIV))

Do you still watch in hope for the Lord?

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