Is it your desire to prove faithful?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
(1 Corinthians 4:2 (NIV))

Have you been given a trust?

Paul wrote these words to the church in Corinth. He was explaining to them that he had a responsibility to share the Gospel, to share the mysteries that God had revealed. He let it be known that since he knew of these mysteries, he was required to share with others. His choice of words also indicated that once he had shared those mysteries, the ones who had received such knowledge were also required to share with others.

I hope that this concept sounds very familiar to you!

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV))

If we know the truth and the power of the Gospel, then we are to share it!

If we, as believers, had a job description, then sharing the Gospel is our only duty. It goes hand in hand with how Jesus answered when He was asked what is the greatest commandment.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
(Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV))

Loving the Lord in this manner requires surrendering your will to His. It means that you cherish Him above all others. It means that you trust and believe. It means that you have faith! If you understand just who the Lord is, then you desire to share this understanding with others. To put it clearly, you love others enough to share with them the love that the Lord shared with you through the cross.

You have been given a Great Commission. You have been given an explanation of how God loves and how we are to love others.

In other words, you have been given a trust!

We who have accepted Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior are called to prove faithful in sharing what we have been given.

Is it your desire to prove faithful?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Don’t you think it’s time to accept this amazing gift of grace?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
(Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV))

Do you like gifts?

I realize that I just asked a rhetorical question. Human nature seeks things that are self gratifying, so I can honestly say that I have never met anyone who hates gifts. In fact, most people love to receive gifts. Since this is part of our nature, why do so many people fail to receive the greatest gift of all?

It simply doesn’t make sense!

Thankfully, there are people who have received this amazing gift of grace and are doing all that they can to share the knowledge of this gift to all who will hear, no matter where it may lead them. As I write this, I am tracking a flight that is going half way around the world so that a group of nine men, including my youngest son, can share the Gospel with an unreached tribe in a mountainous region of a country that I don’t want to currently name. They feel called to go and share the good news in a place that is so far outside of the comfort zones of most people in this country. They are flying for two days, and then hiking for three days just to reach this group of people. They know that this gift is so great that it must be shared!

And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
(Romans 10:15 (NIV))

Do you feel that you are being sent to share this amazing gift of grace?

Let me ask another question. Have you even claimed this gift for yourself?

In most of the westernized world, there are churches everywhere. There are preachers and teachers sharing the good news. You can find Bibles in almost every hotel room and in almost every major retail store. You can turn on the television or go to a video website and watch people sharing the Gospel. You can turn on the radio and hear people proclaiming the good news, yet, so many people still turn a blind eye to the truth that can set them free from the power of sin and death. If you are one of these people, don’t wait until it is too late! If people are willing to go half way around the world for people whom they don’t know, don’t you think that there is something to this good news that you need to look at?

Don’t you think it’s time to accept this amazing gift of grace?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you appropriately dressed?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
(Ephesians 6:13 (NIV))

If you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you have an assignment. You have been given marching orders. We are to go into all the world and share the Gospel. We are also told that we will face tribulation in this world, but to rely on Jesus because He has overcome the world.

We are also told to dress for battle!

If you believe that God is love and accepts everyone no matter what their lifestyle and the sin that they practice, then this doesn’t make sense. But, if you hold fast to the truth that Jesus came to set the captives free, to deliver the sinner from bondage, and to offer hope to a sinful, dying world by calling sinners to repentance, then you fully understand why we are to dress for battle. We will be facing the enemy. We will be facing the father of all lies. We will be facing an entity who utterly hates those who profess a faith in Jesus and in God the Father. In all of this, Jesus is our protector. He is our champion. He is our armor. He is THE full armor of God!

We are to fully clothe ourselves in Jesus, who is the Word made flesh!

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
(Ephesians 6:14-17 (NIV))

In light of the events that are transpiring in this world, we need to fully clothe ourselves with Jesus. We are to recognize and clothe ourselves with the armor that only He can provide. When we do this, we no longer fight the battles. The battle then belongs to the Lord!

With this truth, are you still fighting the battles based on your abilities or have you allowed the Lord to fight for you and to protect you? Are you trying to stand in your strength or are you standing in His strength?

It is time that you answered one very important question.

Are you appropriately dressed?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What is your greatest treasure?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal
(Matthew 6:19 (ESV))

What type of person do you think of when you think of someone who lays up treasure for themselves?

Most people think of someone who is greedy, miserly and selfish. Does that fit your mental image of someone who lays up treasure for themselves? Do you know anyone like this? Is it a joy to be around them?

Is it possible for someone to do this and still profess a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior?

Everything that we think of when we think of someone who seeks treasure goes against what we know to be our calling as followers of Jesus. This type of treasure is worldly. This type of treasure is fleeting. This type of treasure leads to conceit and envy. I think that I can safely say that it does not lead to love and kindness.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
(Galatians 5:22-26 (NIV))

As I see more and more things unfolding in this world, we must not focus on the world! We must not focus on the treasure that is fleeting. We must focus on the one true treasure that is eternal. We must focus on the greatest treasure that has ever existed or will ever exist. We must focus on Jesus, for He is our greatest treasure. Ironically, what we treasure is not to be hoarded. It is to be shared.

Do you like to share your greatest treasure?

Do you lay up treasures for yourself on earth?

What is your greatest treasure?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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We must share the truth!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
(Romans 1:18 (NIV))

Have you ever just stopped and looked around at all that is going on in the world and wondered if all that is unfolding is all part of God’s plan because of the world’s godlessness and wickedness?

To the world, that question seems like the rantings of a lunatic, but for the members of the Body of Christ, that question makes perfect sense. What do you think of that question? Do you think that anyone who professes a belief that God is beginning to exact His wrath on a wicked world is insane, or do you understand God’s plan well enough in relation to what is unfolding to see things from His perspective?

We are told what happens to those who deny anything to do with God.

Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.
(Romans 1:28 (NIV))

Simply stated, this translation implies that they did not wish to hold God in their minds or in their memories so He gave them depravity. Another translation states it this way.

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
(Romans 1:28 (ESV))

This translation implies that they refused to recognize the authority of God so He lowered the quality of their minds. Perhaps the best translation of this passage that I have read comes from the Complete Jewish Bible.

In other words, since they have not considered God worth knowing, God has given them up to worthless ways of thinking; so that they do improper things.
(Romans 1:28 (CJB))

In other words, they were given a choice and they decided that God was not worth it! This results in worthless ways of thinking and improper actions. Is it just me, or does this sound just like what we are seeing in the world right now? Good is called evil and evil is called good. Sin is called a lifestyle and Biblical values are called bigoted and hateful. Anything and everything is accepted as long as it is not the truth.

When I see things like this in the world, I feel a wide range of emotions. I feel sadness. I feel pity. I feel anger. I feel helpless, hopeless and lost because these people don’t even recognize that they are making an eternal mistake.

Do you consider God worth knowing?

Do you recognize the authority of God?

Do you keep God in your memory and on your mind?

The time is short. From what I have seen, there is an increasing intensity and a rapidly increasing convergence of things happening in this world. Pray for your families. Pray for your city. Pray for you region, your country and the world. Pray that the hearts and minds of those who deny God will be softened and changed before it is too late! There has never been a more urgent time to share the Gospel!

We must share the truth!

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you serving as a faithful steward?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
(1 Peter 4:10 (NIV))

Acts of faithful service always have an impact!

With the current state of the world and the uncertainty that everyone is feeling, when was the last time that you used your talent, your gift, to serve others?

Think about that question from an eternal perspective. What if your willingness to serve someone is the final act, the final witness to the reality of God’s love that brings them to a saving knowledge of Jesus? What if your willingness to serve shows them the hope that is theirs if they only accept it? Could you face eternity knowing that you failed to do something that would have changed eternity for someone else?

Every person who professes a faith in Jesus is called to share the Gospel.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
(Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV))

Not only are we called to share, but if we fail to warn someone of danger, we are held accountable. There is no greater danger than that of an impending eternity separated from the Father. If we fail to use our gifts to warn someone of the danger and show them the path to salvation, we are accountable!

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.
(Ezekiel 33:6 (NIV))

We must get over the attitude that I have my salvation and everyone else is on their own. Nothing could be further from the truth! God places people in our lives every single day who need to hear the good news of salvation that is only available through Jesus. We have a calling. We have a responsibility to faithfully use the gifts that we have been given to serve others, to bring them into the Kingdom.

Are you serving as a faithful steward?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you desire for God to be exalted?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
(Psalms 46:10 (NIV))

I love the instruction given in “Be still, and know that I am God.” I usually stop there and dive into the importance of doing what these words tell us to do, after all, we must learn to slow down and be still in His presence so that we can focus on building the relationship with Him as our God and Father. If you keep reading, there is more. There is so much more! I honestly believe that it applies to the events that are happening in the world today as we live out our lives.

Too many people believe that God’s single purpose was to save us from sin as if He were our servant. He does have a plan to save us, to give us salvation, but there is a major piece that we tend to overlook. God’s plan is to give everyone time to accept His gift of salvation before He defeats the enemy and sin once and for all. Ever since the fall from grace in the Garden of Eden, He has moved humanity toward the fulfillment of His plan. This plan will restore perfection and the relationship with humanity that He intended from creation.

God has a timeline!

As things progress, we must turn to the Lord and seek His understanding for where we are and what we need to do. Everything that is unfolding will exalt God among the nations once it culminates in His return. We, as members of the Body of Christ, must know God’s Word and point people to Him, for there is only one way to the Father.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:16 (NIV))

We are to be still in His presence so that we may understand His heart and know His desires and His plan. He sent His Son, Jesus, to live and die as part of that plan. He raised Him from the dead as part of that plan. Jesus is going to return as part of that plan. When He does, He will glorify the Father and defeat the enemy. We must be ready to give an account of the events that we see. We are to be watchers on the wall that point people to Jesus.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
(Philippians 2:9-11 (ESV))

We must share the good news. We must make sure that everyone has an opportunity to exalt God.

Do you desire for God to be exalted?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you prepared to give an answer?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
(1 Peter 3:15 (NIV))

Do you know why you have the hope that you have?

Can you put your hope into words in such a way that you can answer people when they ask you why you believe in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?

Sadly, most people simply are not able to share their personal story with others. They know it in their heart, but too many have a complete disconnect from the heart to the mind. Since most people have a tendency to over think things, they simply cannot string together the words that match what they know to be true.

Does this sound like you?

Is this why you don’t share the Gospel?

Perhaps it is time to stop and pray for wisdom as to what you can and will say. Each of us have a testimony. Our testimony is what the Lord will use to reach others. If we can’t put our testimony into words, no one is being reached. I realize that it is said that actions speak louder than words, but we need to be able to follow up our actions with words that shine the light on Jesus as the only way to salvation. We can’t rely on others to do this for us.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
(Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV))

We can’t make disciples if we can’t give an answer.

Are you prepared to give an answer?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Share the good news!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
(Romans 8:1-2 (NIV))

Do you obey the law?

Do you always drive the speed limit? Do you ever throw something from your car? Do you sometimes cross busy streets in places other than the crosswalks? If you do any of these, then you do not obey the laws one hundred percent of the time.

If you are ever caught doing any of these things, then there will be a penalty to pay.

Do you obey God’s laws?

Have you ever murdered? Probably not.

Have you ever taken the Lord’s name in vain? Many of us probably have done so out of frustration or anger.

Have you ever committed adultery? Hopefully not.

Have you ever stolen anything? Probably. Even an ink pen on accident could be considered stealing. It did not belong to you and you left with it.

What type of penalties would you expect for any of these breaches of God’s law?

Think of the worst possible penalty that could be paid and that is exactly what Jesus paid on the cross for each of us. He willingly paid the penalty for all of the things that we have done or ever will do. He paid the price for the law of sin and death so that we could claim freedom from its hold on us. Through Jesus, we can claim that our penalties have been paid in full. All that we have to do is accept this grace and mercy.

We will still slip up and break God’s laws just like we break human laws, but we can be forgiven for these transgressions. It is a matter of the heart. We must long to do what God desires us to do. If this is our true heart, then God will see and forgive through the atoning blood of Jesus.

We are free from the law of sin and death! Share the good news!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you have the faith to do something?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

      What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
      But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
      Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder.
(James 2:14-19 (NIV))

We are told that we will be known by our fruit. What fruit do you bear?

We are told that we cannot earn our way to salvation through works. Does this mean that we do not do good works?

We are told that actions speak louder than words. Are you actions louder than a whisper?

Too many members of the Body of Christ cling to the notion that because we are saved by grace and that we are freed from the law of sin and death, we are also free from doing good works. Too many believe that since good works do not get you into heaven, they are not needed. Nothing could be farther from the truth!

Works without faith will not save us. Faith saves us. However, faith without works is not a true manifestation of faith. When we are fully aware of the grace that we have been given, we should fully desire to share that love and grace with all that we see. We should not simply sit upon our laurels and falsely profess that we have our salvation and the salvation of everyone else is not our responsibility.

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
(Mark 16:15-18 (NIV))

Jesus gave us the responsibility.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.”

Are you ready to accept the responsibility that Jesus has given us?

Do you have the faith to do something?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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