Do you like the sound of trumpets?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
(1 Thessalonians 4:16 (NIV))

Do you like the sound of trumpets?

When we think of trumpets, we have a tendency to think of jazz music or big band swing, but do you realize that God has used the sound of a trumpet as a way to announce things of great importance to His people? The sound of a trumpet cuts through any other sound. It rises above the noise of the world and boldly proclaims to listen. It boldly proclaims to pay attention. It boldly announces that something is coming!

In this passage, the sound of the trumpet is announcing that those who have professed a faith in Jesus will arise from the dead. That, in and of itself is amazing, but there is more. There is something even more amazing. There is something that only the all powerful Lord God could make happen!

After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
(1 Thessalonians 4:17 (NIV))

To many people, the sound of a trumpet is shrill and harsh, but it is rapidly becoming the instrument that I long to hear above the din of the world! I long to hear the trumpet call of God, for I believe, . . . No! I know beyond any doubt exactly what that will mean! I know that when I hear the trumpet call of God, these events will rapidly take place and the desire to be with the Lord will instantly come true. Does that explain why I like the sound of trumpets?

What about you?

Do you like the sound of trumpets?

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

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
(1 Corinthians 13:1 (NIV))

Have you ever known someone who had plenty of knowledge about God’s Word, was able to quote passages but failed to put things into play in his or her life?

Think about that in relationship to the following passage.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
(1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV))

We can have faith in Jesus!

We can place our hope in Jesus!

But what happens if we do not love others as Jesus loves others?

Jesus loves to the point where He was willing to lay down His life so that we could have life and grace. Jesus gave His life for any and all who would simply accept the gift of grace that He came to offer. It is open to anyone, even the persons whom you think are unlovable. Even the ones whom you may think are disgusting because of their current sinful state.

Are you willing to share the Gospel with those whom you currently find disgusting?

What if the person or persons who shared Jesus with you had decided not to share Jesus with you because they thought your sins were disgusting? Thankfully, someone loved you to see beyond your sin. They loved you enough to see you the way that Jesus sees you.

Are you capable of loving in this manner or are you just making noise?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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There is power and majesty in what we hear

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
(Psalms 29:4 – 20:4 (NIV))

I needed to read this today.

Do you ever have days when it seems that the world is drowning out God’s voice and you can’t hear Him at all? All you can hear is the noise and distractions of the world and nothing will make it go away.

We all face days like this. We all have times when we wonder if what we are doing even makes a difference to anyone. We all have times when it feels like our walk of faith is going nowhere fast.

It is in these times when we need to listen for that still, small voice. It is in these times that God’s power and majesty will find their way into our lives if we will only surrender.

Surrender!

That is a nasty word to many people, myself included.

In my humanity, I would rather boldly move forward with my own agenda instead of surrendering to the plans of someone else. How many of you can relate to this?

Fortunately, we don’t have to face the world with just our humanity. We can face it with the assurance that God has a purpose for our lives. We can face it knowing that the world will try to keep us from that purpose. We can rejoice in the fact that Jesus will not abandon us even when we are in the midst of the problems the world sends our way.

The voice of the Lord is powerful. It will steer you away from sin. The voice of the Lord is majestic. It will guide you to salvation.

Even when we listen for God’s still, small voice, there is power and majesty in what we hear!

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