Can we rebuild our foundation?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
(Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV))

We all know the song that is based on this verse. I bet you found yourself singing it as you read these words.

Have we, as a nation, allowed our foundation to be eroded? Is it as firm as it used to be? What has caused our foundation to become eroded? How can we repair our foundation?

I realize that I ask a lot of questions. These are questions that we have probably ignored for too long.

Are we still a nation based on Biblical principles? Do we still stand firm on God’s Word? Do we still uphold the truths that God has given to us?

As I watch things unfold in this nation, and in the world, I see our foundation being eroded more and more all of the time. It may simply be what is being reported, but the old saying is true – if you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes accepted as truth.

Is there a remnant in this country who will stand firm in God’s word? Will we, as individuals, still build our own lives upon the firm foundation that is Jesus Christ?

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

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

But let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth.
(Jeremiah 9:24 (NIV))

Do you ever boast and brag?

Be honest!

It is human nature to boast about things. Even when we don’t mean to, we have a tendency to boast and brag. If you have ever written a resume or gone on a job interview, you have probably boasted about your accomplishments.

Have you ever been around someone who bragged so much that they were difficult to put up with?

Let’s face it, there is a fine line between being truthful and being prideful. It is a fine line that is very easy to cross.

What happens if someone asks you about your job? Do you tell them that you are part of a team or do you lay out your responsibilities to make it sound like you are the central core to all of the functions that are performed at your office?

What happens when someone asks you about your children? Do you respond with what they are doing or do you go on an on about how they are the center of every activity that they are involved in?

We all boast, but is there anything in our lives that we can truly boast about? Did we create our job? Did we build our house? Did we design our car? Did we teach our children all that they know? We have had a hand in none of these things, yet we boast about them all of the time.

What do you do when you are confronted about your faith?

What do you do when you are confronted about knowing Jesus?

Personally, I find it very disturbing that people do not boast about knowing Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. The Creator of all things, God, the Father, has sent His only Son, Jesus, to save us from our sin. Jesus calls us by name. God calls us by name. The Creator knows my name and He has a plan to redeem me for a full relationship with Him.

If this isn’t something to brag about, I don’t know what is!

Our society has become too complacent, too jaded with God and with Jesus. We have gotten to the point where we simply take it for granted. We are not willing to share the good news. We are not willing to boast about our relationship with the Creator. We are not willing to boast that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sin! Instead, we boast about things that are trivial. We boast about the football team that we support. We boast about the fish that we caught. We boast about our new car. We boast about everything but that we know and understand our Lord.

Will your car save you? Will your job bring you eternal life? Will your favorite football team pay you when they win?

Boast about Jesus!

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are we truly with Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.
(Luke 11:23 (NIV))

Do you simply sit in church, listen and then go about your life as if you hadn’t heard anything?

Do people even know that you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?

Are you afraid to share Jesus when you get the opportunity?

Or . . .

Do you listen and seek to apply God’s Word to your daily life?

Do people see Jesus when they look at you?

Do you embrace the opportunity to let people know what God has done in your life through your faith in Jesus?

Think about current events in the world. I am sure that we all can think of at least one thing that is happening that provides an opportunity for you to show that you are either with Jesus or against Him. I want you to keep in mind that whatever it may be, Jesus did not hate the people involved in the sin. He hated the sin and loved the people.

With this in mind, do you find yourself unable to differentiate between the sin and the people. In other words, does accepting the people mean that you accept the sin?

Do you try to appease people by accepting their sins?

If you do accept the sins, then are you truly with Jesus? Do you convey His message of grace and mercy if you don’t call people to repent of their sins? Simply telling someone that Jesus loves them is not enough. You have to tell them why He loves them and what He did for them. You have to tell them that Jesus came to forgive them of their sins. You have to tell them that His forgiveness is freely given to anybody, but they have to repent.

Think about the story of the rich young man who came to Jesus. Jesus told him to give away all that he had and follow Him. In this case, what held the young man back was the love of money. Did Jesus tell the young man that it was ok to love money and that he could follow him anyway?

Think about that for a moment.

What is your pet sin that you don’t want to give up? What is the pet sin of the person who proclaims that they follow Jesus?

I realize that we are all human, and that we will continue to sin. Jesus came to free us of our sins. If we are not willing to leave our sin, are we truly with Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What is your mark?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
(Ephesians 4:32 (NIV))

What would you say is the mark of a true follower of Jesus?

Is it faith? Is it hope? Is it love? Is it a willingness to forgive? Perhaps it is actually all of these, for when you have the first three, you inherit the willingness to forgive. Forgiveness comes from these three traits. Can you forgive and not have a faith that the person you are forgiving will not act in a similar manner again? Can you forgive and not have a hope for a different outcome in the future? Can you forgive and hate the person that you have forgiven? Can you love someone and not forgive them? There are certain things that are considered oximorons. I would argue the case that these are included in that group, for you cannot harbor hatred and still willingly forgive. You cannot love and be unwilling to forgive.

What is the mark of a true follower of Jesus? Did Jesus possess love? Did He possess a willingness to forgive? He certainly had faith and hope in what God has promised.

It is probably safe to say that the mark of a true follower of Jesus is a willingness to see others through the eyes of Jesus. It is a willingness to realize that Jesus died for them also, and that we are no different than they are. It is a willingness to share our faith and hope of salvation through Jesus Christ, for we too should not desire for any to perish.

What is your mark?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Will you join me as a watchman?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the LORD,
give yourselves no rest,
(Isaiah 62:6 (NIV))

Are you content with the way things are in this world?

Have you accepted the sin and the wars as simply a part of life?

Do you go about your business with an attitude that says as long as it doesn’t effect me, then what does it matter?

Is this what the Body of Christ is called to do?

Is this what you think of as fulfilling the great commission?

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
(Mark 16:15 (NIV))

Are we fulfilling this commandment if we have an attitude similar to the questions that I asked previously? Are we truly watchmen if we ignore the sin that we are called to stand against? Are we truly part of the Body of Christ if we don’t fulfill what we have been told to do? Has the church become complacent in our responsibilities?

A watchman is supposed to alert people to danger. What is more dangerous than sin?

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 6:23 (NIV))

Sin can lead any of us to a point where we fall away from the faith. I promise that I will do all that I can to be a watchman. Will you join me?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What do you think of the Old Testament?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
(Romans 15:4 (NIV))

What do you think of the Old Testament? Do you ignore it because it is boring reading through Deuteronomy and Numbers? Do you always turn to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and everything after these books?

Paul was a very devout Jewish man. In fact, he was probably what the Jewish society of his day considered to be the ideal Jewish man. He had been educated as a boy. He excelled at his education in the Torah and was selected to go on with additional studies. He excelled there and went on even further. He was what they considered to be the cream of the crop, or the best of the best.

Paul gave all of this up after his Damascus Road experience. He met Jesus and his whole world was turned upside down. All of his studying and knowledge had been misguided. Even though it was acquired through misguided endeavors, Paul realized that it was the Word of God and it still applied. He only had to come to terms with what it really meant. He came to the realization that all of the Law and the Prophets were there to teach us not only as he had learned, but so much more. Every word spoke of the way that God wants us to live. Every word spoke of the ideal that could never be achieved by man. Paul also realized that it taught us of Jesus. Every word that tells us how God wants us to live gives us an insight into the path of salvation that God is working. Achieving an ideal and perfect life can not be attained by man. As a result, in order to see salvation, an ideal and perfect life must have lived. Only God’s Son could live such a life.

Paul knew the Hebrew Scriptures extremely well. He knew them well enough to realize that they truly pointed to Jesus. How can we truly understand Jesus if we do not understand all of the signs that point to Him?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What do you think of the current situation in Israel?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.
(Romans 15:27 (NIV))

What do you think of the current situation in Israel?

Do you buy the media’s claims or do you rely on God’s Word for the truth?

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure
(Psalms 122:6 (NIV))

Jerusalem and Israel are key to what God has planned for this world. They are so important to God’s plan, that He restored Israel to their land after almost two thousand years of exile. They are so important to God’s plan, that He protected them during the wars that they have faced. They are so important to God’s plan, that He is still protecting them and He will miraculously protect them as things unfold.

Do you stand with Israel?

Think about that question. Think about your answer and what it means to your faith.

Do you believe that God chose Israel to be His people? Do you believe that God has blessed the nations through Israel? Do you believe that what Paul wrote of in Romans is true? The Jewish people are the people through whom God gave the world His Only Begotten Son, Jesus, for our redemption.

Why was Israel chosen to be the nation to bring forth our Lord and Savior, Jesus?

Look at the history of the nation of Israel. It can all be directly traced to the faith of one man, Abraham. Because of Abraham’s faith, God put into motion our redemption. He also put into motion the very things that we now see unfolding.

Is the nation of Israel perfect? Just like any nation, it is run by people and people are far from perfect. Israel, however, has one thing going for it that all other nations of the world do not. They have the promises that God has given. They have the written promises of what will happen. These promises seemed worthless until after World War II. Since that time, God’s promises have always been fulfilled.

We, as the Body of Christ, have been blessed through Israel. We must bless Israel as Paul has instructed.

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you pay attention to the lessons God is teaching you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
(Matthew 24:32-35 (NIV))

Too many of us do not recognize the symbolism referenced in this passage because too much of our society does not understand the growth and harvest cycle anymore. We are so used to going to the grocery store and getting what we want. We complain when we can’t get something because it is not in season. We miss out on the way that God intended for us to get our food and the knowledge that everything has signs that tell us when something is about to be ready.

Be honest with yourself.

How many of you could actually plant a garden and know what to do to take care of it? Would you be able to know when the various plants would be ready to harvest? I know that I am probably going to extremes, but I am trying to show that we have lost touch with much of what God has given to us. We no longer look at things and know what will happen next. We expect everything to be the same all of the time.

We have lost the ability to learn the lesson that we are told in Matthew. All of our conveniences have made us think that we are in control. We think that we, as humanity, can manage anything and make it better.

Have you ever heard it said that our education system teaches us more and more about less and less. Think about that. People spend a lifetime becoming experts on one topic and in many instances, they know nothing about anything else. We have educated ourselves out of common sense.

God gave us the world. He gave us the seasons. He gave us the ability to know things of the world that He created, yet, in all of our so-called wisdom, we have lost site of the obvious. We no longer can see the lessons that God has placed right before us.

We over analyze everything and most of the time we are wrong. Think about that. We attempt to learn the logical way that the world works. Many reject the way that it has always been done simply because it can no longer be accurate and truly reflect today’s way of thinking.

I don’t know about you, but today’s way of thinking is a scary proposition. Many people believe that they can successfully do what others have tried and failed. They are arrogant enough to think that the reason the other people failed was because it was not them who were doing it.

How many have heard the saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?

I honestly think that is exactly what is going on in much of the world. We, as humanity, have gone insane!

We ignore God.

We ignore His lessons.

We ignore His truths.

We ignore His Son, Jesus.

And, . . .

We embrace insanity.

It is my prayer that we learn the lessons that God is trying to teach us before it is too late.

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Pray that they will turn towards God!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Though grace is shown to the wicked,
they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil
and regard not the majesty of the LORD.
(Isaiah 26:10 (NIV))

How many times have you watched the actions of someone and wondered why they do the things they do? How could they be so blind to the truth? How could their definition of right and wrong be so different?

Excuses do not change the fact that they are following a different “god” than the God of the Bible. Grace can cover these people also, but they must first turn from their wicked ways and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. God’s plan of salvation is available to everyone, but many will not accept that gift. For whatever reason, wickedness has their lives completely entrapped and only God’s grace can break that bondage.

We must continually pray for those who do evil. Pray that they will turn towards God before it is too late for them.

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you firmly believe this to be true?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

I am overcome with joy because of your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to my enemy but have set me in a safe place.
(Psalms 31:7-8 (NLT))

Do you firmly believe this to be true?

The last few weeks have been very strange in this world. To be honest with you, the last twenty-four hours have been very strange.

Hundred, if not thousands, of missiles fired into Israel, The border situation in the south. The second Malaysian aircraft to be in the international news, and this one apparently shot out of the sky. Israel under attack from four sides. Israel retaliating against Hamas for all of the missiles.

I could probably go on for a very long time. I am sure that you can probably add to my list of occurrences that are going on in the world right now. In fact, there is so much going on in the world, that if you focus on the events as they unfold and realize what is happening and what could happen as a result, it is very scary. It can very easily cause anguish if you let it.

We, as the Body of Christ, do not need to be afraid. We do not need to be so engrossed in the events of the world that we lose site of the fact that we have been told such events would happen. We have been told to not fear the world, but to put our faith and trust in Jesus and He will deliver us from the world.

I have often wondered how people who do not know Jesus make it through life with all of the anguish that the world throws at us. Without Jesus, all that people can do is place their hope in people, and we all know that this hope is falsely placed. Can a father or a mother save you from sin? Can a brother or a sister offer grace and mercy? Can a spouse love you unconditionally at all times?

What do you do when the world and it’s problems start to cause anguish? Do you let them get to you or do you turn to Jesus?

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