What is your example?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.

In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.
(1 Timothy 3:1-12 (NIV))

Jesus loves the sinner and hates the sin. However, the Bible clearly states that those in positions of authority should be “models.” Are the priests to model sin? If they renounce the sin, it is one thing, but to continue to embrace the sin is another. Do you agree that priests should model righteousness?

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
(1 Peter 2:9 (NIV))

Forget about the ordained clergy for a minute. We, as the Body of Christ, are all priests. We are the royal priesthood. We have been given instructions. If we are the royal priesthood, then we, as the Body of Christ, must model righteousness and not sin.

Homosexuality is a sin. Lust is a sin. Coveting is a sin. Greed is a sin. Knowing that something is a sin, yet making a conscious decision to continue down that path is one biblical definition of wickedness.

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
(1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NIV))

However, this is not from our own hand.

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(Romans 3:21-23 (NIV))

This does not mean that it is ok to continue to sin. Grace is not a free pass to do whatever we want.

As we grow in our faith, we are “perfected” in the image of Jesus. Jesus was sin free. He was not a sinner.

If you remember the adulterous woman who was going to be stoned, think about what Jesus told her:

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
(John 8:1-11 (NIV))

LEAVE YOUR LIFE OF SIN!

The church cannot have leaders who refuse to follow the teachings of Jesus. We, as the Body of Christ, are the leaders. We should set an example for the world to follow.

What is your example?

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What are you covering up?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
(Proverbs 17:9 (NIV))

Do you tend to forgive and forget or do you continually bring up the wrongs that have been done?

I know that this requires a close inward scrutiny that most of us do not like to endure, but it is something that we must endure. We must examine our actions and our intentions and repent if necessary.

But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
(Matthew 6:15 (NIV))

Covering up an offense is a necessary step in forgiving others. How do you think God can forgive our sins if He does not cover them up? If He continually repeated them in His mind, He would continually find reasons not to extend grace.

God is gracious!

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
(Isaiah 53:5 (NIV))

We are forgiven!

Just as we are forgiven and covered by the blood of Jesus, we should forgive others.

What are you covering up?

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Skeletons

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
(Psalms 139:23-24 (NIV))

This is an interesting passage. Carefully read it again. Do you see the irony?

Human nature tries to keep things hidden, especially things that are not that good. Instead of dealing with the proverbial skeletons in the closet, we try to lock them away so that we can hide all of the bones. We don’t want anybody to look at us too closely for we are afraid that they will see our frailties and our shortcomings. Most of us are actually afraid to look at them ourselves.

God desires for us to turn our lives over to Him. He desires for us to ask Him to search us and redirect us away from the things that are not of Him. This goes against every aspect of our sinful human nature that I have ever witnessed. It is true that on occasion, we will do something right, but we often make up for it in the other direction.

If it is human nature to hide things and God wants us to allow Him to search us, how do we bridge that gap? How do we unlock the closet and clear the skeletons?

Grace !

Mercy !

Grace tells us that we can be cleared of those bones. Mercy tells us that the skeletons will be forgiven. When we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, we unlock the innermost parts of our being and allow God, through the Holy Spirit, to come in and search us, test us and lead us. It is a struggle. Each day, God has to point out something else within my life that needs to be removed. Some days are hard, for these are the days that I face one of these moments head on. Thankfully, He does not give up on me.

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.
(Luke 19:10 (NIV))

Faith is a growing process. It requires us to allow God to search us, to know us, to test us and to lead us. Ironically, this is exactly what our sinful nature wants to hide. Open yourself up to God. He loves you too much to leave you like you are.

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What do you exhibit?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men!
(Acts 5:29 (NIV))

Let me fill you in on the back-story of this passage.

Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people the full message of this new life.”
At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin–the full assembly of the elders of Israel–and sent to the jail for the apostles. But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were puzzled, wondering what would come of this.
Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.
Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”
(Acts 5:17-28 (NIV))

The apostles had been arrested and put in jail. They were arrested for preaching about Jesus. An angel opened the doors and let them out, and they went right back to what they knew God wanted them to do. They were again confronted and their response is one that I pray I will have the faith to utter if I am ever in this situation.

“We must obey God rather than men!”

Think about that simple statement. Do we, as the Body of Christ, live up to this faith? They did not back down from their calling just because they had ran into a little trouble. How often do we simply turn tail and retreat because we are confronted with something that takes us outside of our comfort zone?

If we, as the Body of Christ, would follow this simple concept completely, can you imagine . . .

I find it hard to put into words what our world would be like. Perhaps we can simply reflect upon this passage.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
(Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV))

Peter and the other apostles did not back down. They obeyed God. They did not run from the torments of man. They exhibited love. They exhibited joy. They exhibited peace and patience. Most of all, they exhibited faithfulness.

What do you exhibit?

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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A woman who fears the Lord

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
(Proverbs 31:30 (NIV))

What is it about your mother that you remember the most?

Chances are that it is not worldly things such as how charming everyone may have thought her to be, or how beautiful everyone thought her to be. These things fade with time. In addition, the outward trappings of life, such as charm and beauty are soon gone. Time fades them all too quickly. Women who focus on these aspects soon find themselves forgotten or tossed aside.

I would venture that the things you remember of your mother are the things that no one else really saw as well as you saw them. Things such as compassion, integrity, honesty, and love. Things such as Bible stories and taking the time to teach principle such as the fruits of the spirit. The women who focus on these aspects of life are the ones that make a positive impact in the lives of the people around them, especially their children. It is these inward characteristics that often are remembered. You never hear of someone saying that their mother was a beautiful woman and the men would not leave her alone. You hear people talk of their mothers as loving and caring people who have instilled a moral fiber within the family. You hear of people speak of women of faith who never gave up on their children. You hear of women who taught us the concepts of right and wrong and who lived out these concepts in their daily lives.

Yesterday was Mother’s Day. I am grateful that we have set aside a day to honor women who are worthy to be praised. During the remainder of the year, we must not forget the integrity, values and love that these women show every day. We must look upon them as Jesus looked upon His earthly mother. We must look upon them with love and praise.

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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How are we to glorify God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
(Psalms 23:1-3 (NIV))

These are probably the most comforting words that a believer can read or hear, for they affirm that God is with us and desires good things for us.

Just why does He desire to be our shepherd? Why does He desire to give us “green pastures” and “quiet waters?” Why does He desire to restore our souls?

God is the Creator of all things. To be even more specific, He is our Creator and the Creator loves the creation.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
(Genesis 1:26-28 (NIV))

God made us in His image. He created us to be with Him. Through our actions in the Garden of Eden, we lost that righteousness that allows us to be with Him. God desires for each of us to be restored to that righteousness so that we may glorify His name.

How are we to glorify God?

We were created in His image. We lost that image. God desires to restore each of us to that image. We glorify God by following where He leads so that we may become closer to what He created us to be.

Think about an antique car that is in a junkyard. The man who owned that car when it was new finds it and buys it again. He lovingly restores it. He takes it to places where it will be renewed in its original image. He becomes happy because what he loved has been restored to what it should be. The restoration glorifies the owner of the car.

You are that car. God is the owner. Let Him lead you to where you can be restored to the image that you were created to be.

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Stand firm and shine our light

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God– having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
(2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NIV))

Having a form of godliness but denying its power!

What do you think could be traits that do this? Could it be acknowledging that God exists but not allowing Him into you life? Perhaps it is making money so that you can stockpile it in the bank. Perhaps it is even something else. Whatever it is, we all potentially have at least one of these traits. It could only take a very subtle nudge in that direction to make us fall into the category of people that deny God’s power.

Perhaps it is our busy schedules that keep us on this very edge. We think that everything that we have is by our own hand and that if we do not keep moving, we will lose everything that “WE” have spent our efforts building. Even our very existence seem to deny God’s power in today’s world. Too few of us stop to praise God and to thank Him for our blessings. We have become a society very much like what is written. Perhaps we are too like what is written.

We allow certain aspects of our society to remove God from anything and everything, then we complain about the shape that our society is in.

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
(Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV))

No matter what the times may hold, we are to remain constant in our faith. We must share our faith with a dark world. We must be willing to shine our light as a beacon for those who may still be searching. If the last days begin soon, we must be willing to stand firm and shine our light – the light of Jesus that shines within each of us.

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Would you be of the world, or would you be of God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
(1 John 3:1 (NIV))

The world will not recognize us, for it did not recognize Jesus when He came.

In much the same way a mother recognizes her young, the world recognizes those who belong to it. Does a mother cow accept a puppy? Does a kitten find a home with a dog? The same is true of those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. They will not be accepted by the world! They may face rejection and tribulation for they have, in essence, turned their backs on the ways of the world and have focused on the ways of God.

Take a serious look at where you would be accepted. Do you find yourself still partaking of the world in such a way that it is impossible for anyone to know that you are a child of God? The old saying “You are what you eat” is true in the spiritual world as well. If you “eat” of the world, then the world is a part of you and you cannot leave it behind. If you “eat” of the things of God, then righteousness is a part of you, and the world is only something that you are passing through.

It has been said that it takes a thief to know a thief. If that implies that only those with similar thoughts can be recognized and accepted, then where would you be recognized and accepted? Would you be of the world, or would you be of God?

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Love and purity

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.
(1 Timothy 5:1-2 (NIV))

Purity!

If we could only fulfill this simple command!

All too often we treat each other in ways that are less than desirable. We treat older men as if they are senile and foolish. We treat younger men as if they are not worth anything. We treat older women as if they didn’t matter. We treat younger women as objects. All of this is because of the way that society has taught us to look at people. Whether we like to admit it, we stereotype people.

What if Jesus had stereotyped people? What if He claimed that He did not need to go to the cross because no one was intelligent enough to make the connection between the prophecies and His life? What if Jesus had been stereotypical when it came to Saul? He could have easily looked at Saul and made the claim that Saul was a typical holier-than-thou person and would never change.

To put it simply, we need to treat each other with the respect, kindness and love that we would expect in return. There is a saying that Jesus loves each of us too much to leave us as we are. With this in mind, we need to respect the work in progress that God is doing within each other. You may be surprised at the calling that God is placing on that young man with the funny looking hair. You may be amazed at the spiritual warfare that nice older lady has been involved in. You may be caught off guard by the witness a young lady has on those around her, and you may be completely startled to learn that the older man who drives slowly is driving that way so that he may pray for those whom he passes.

Learn to look at people with the eyes of Jesus. Look at others as God is maturing them – with the love and purity that He has placed in their hearts and in yours.

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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The love that Jesus showed

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
(Mark 8:34 (NIV))

Easter is rapidly approaching. The day that we praise for it is the yearly celebration of the resurrection of the crucified Jesus. It is something to celebrate. It is the culmination of all of the promises, for without the resurrection, the cross means nothing. Without the empty tomb, we are all guilty sinners without any hope.

Have you ever thought about why Jesus said that we must deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him?

The world thinks that following Jesus is a joke. They look upon those who proclaim a faith in Jesus as less than intellectual, as someone stuck in childlike fantasy. Following Jesus is not always the easy thing to do. We have influences from all realms of society that mock us and try to get us to do things that we know are not right. We are to stick to the path laid out before us as believers. We are to not only accept the grace and mercy but show this same grace and mercy to others.

Think about Jesus on the cross. Was it socially acceptable to do what He did? Was it politically correct to preach and teach as He did? Was is in His best interests as a human to be seen with tax collectors, adulterers and sinners of all types?

Jesus denied Himself in ways that we can only imagine. He said and did things that He knew would anger the Sanhedrin. He kept the company of those who were social outcasts. He did all of this without any regard for His well-being. He even went to the cross without any resistance.

This was the ultimate act of denying yourself. He placed others first.

We are to do the same. We are to seek the lost and offer them a path to grace. We are to see the hungry and feed them. We are to feel the pain of a lost world and pray. We are called to do things beyond ourselves.

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
(John 13:35 (NIV))

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
(John 15:13 (NIV))

Think of the love that Jesus showed for all of creation.

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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