The treasure is every moment spent with Jesus!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:21 (NIV))

This has been several years ago, but I still remind myself of the lesson learned. I had spent several months looking forward to my 30th high school reunion. Let’s face it, during high school you can’t imagine life without your friends. I was looking forward to seeing the people that I had spent so much time with and seeing what they had done with their lives. It had become a priority for me. I was nervous and excited at the same time. It was a day that I had hoped would rekindle old friendships.

Unfortunately, the day came and went and I did not make it. My priorities shifted when my family and I got in the car to drive to Augusta for the reunion. Within five minutes after getting in the car, one of my children had a major meltdown and wanted to go home. I was furious. I kept hoping and praying that he would get over it, so we kept going. It just got worse. I finally and reluctantly turned the car around to go home. The twenty minute ride home was not a happy one for any of us. Fortunately, my son finally regained composure and apologized profusely. I didn’t want to hear it. I thought I had a right to be mad and I was going to exercise my right.

Once we did get home, the more I thought about the events, the worse I felt. I had made a commitment to my son to always help him and try to understand the issues that he faces. I had gotten so wrapped up in what I wanted to do that I had completely overlooked where my treasure truly is. I have been blessed with grace and mercy. I have been blessed with a wonderful family. I have been blessed with a son who, if it were humanly possible, I would take upon myself the very things that I had gotten mad about. I was not willing to extend the grace and mercy that I had been freely given.

I was looking towards my past. I was ignoring my present and my future. All I could see was a missed reunion with people from my past. They are not my life. They are a part of what made me who I am, but they are not still a part of me. My son, who will always be my son, will forever be a part of me. I was foolish to get angry. Even God tells us not to look to our past. He tells us not to look for Him in the past or in the future. He tells us to seek Him now. My treasure is my present moment. I may not have another one. I don’t need to dwell on the past or ignore the present because I spend so much time planning for my future.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
(John 10:10 (NIV))

I had allowed the thief to steal the day from me by planting a seed of anger. I had allowed that seed to be planted because I was dwelling on the past.

How can we have a full life if we dwell on the past or spend too much time looking to the future. Life is now! The treasure is every moment spent with Jesus!

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What do your heart and mouth have to say?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
(Romans 10:10 (NIV))

There is so much truth within God’s Word!

Do you treasure the gift of salvation? Do you treasure Jesus? If this is true of you, does your heart overflow with joy? Do you trust in the Lord so much that your heart is eternally joyous? Think about this and I know that you will agree with the words written in Matthew.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:21 (NIV))

With this in mind, I want to ask a personal question. If something fills your heart, what happens to the overflow? How does it present itself to the world? Does it come out in actions? Does it come out in words? It is human nature to overflow in actions and in words what is contained within your heart. If you are filled with joy and belief in Jesus, then this is what will come forth from you in actions and in words. If this is the case, then nothing that the world can send your way, nothing that will be put into your life, will change what is on the inside. Nothing external will defile you. Your treasure is within and what you treasure is more powerful than anything the world has to send your way. Jesus recognized this and Matthew recorded the following words as evidence.

What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.
(Matthew 15:11 (NIV))

If you truly think about it, you have a choice of what you put into your body and into your life. If your treasure is Jesus, then you will choose to only allow things of the Lord in. As previously stated, nothing external will defile you. It is the human heart that defiles. When we allow our own hearts to shift what we treasure, then what our actions and words reflect will no longer be things of the Lord.

We must stay alert and never lose sight of the Lord as our heart’s treasure!

What do your heart and mouth have to say?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you find God’s Word to be great riches?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.
(Psalms 119:14 (NIV))

What single thing is it that you truly rejoice over?

Is it money? Is it your job? Is it your family? Is it your possessions? Is it your bank account?

I hate to say this, but we are all guilty of having things that we rejoice over more than we rejoice over God’s Word. It is human nature. We are physical beings who live in a physical world so our desires are often physical in nature. We like to see it, feel it, touch it, hold it, and taste it. If we can’t do these things, then all too often we don’t truly see the value in something.

We desire to store up physical treasures for ourselves.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV))

It is a matter of priorities. Each of us have set them for ourselves or we have let the world set them for us. We must stop and take the time to listen to God. We must take the time, according to Psalms 46:10, to “Be still, and know that I am God.”

We should rejoice in what delights our heart. Our heart will find comfort in the familiar. If we spend all of our time thinking about money, then our heart will delight in riches.

If we desire to delight ourselves in God, what should we spend our time thinking about?

Do you find God’s Word to be great riches?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you know where your heart is?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:21 (NIV))

When I was growing up, television stations didn’t stay on the air 24 hours a day. In fact, they would shut down right after the late news. They used to run a public service announcement a few hours before they shut off for the night. Typically, this announcement went something like, “It’s 9 PM. Do you know where your children are?” It was a simple reminder to keep what is important to you close so that no harm would befall them. If you truly stop to think about this, it is not a far stretch to adapt this question to apply to our lives in Christ.

Can you imagine if someone were to ask you, “It’s 10:00 AM on Sunday. Do you know where your heart is?” Perhaps it is asked like this. “You are an adult now. Do you know where your heart is?” The implications are the same. Quite often, we fail to recognize exactly what we place as a priority until we are asked pointblank where we are with respect to certain things. Consider the following questions as examples of this human trait.

Where is your marriage?

Where is your relationship with your children?

Where is your relationship with Jesus?

We can be asked questions like these and we typically brush them off because we don’t really want to acknowledge that we may be far less than what we desire in these areas. We may not want to answer them because something else has our attention and our heart.

I honestly believe that it is a good thing to evaluate ourselves to determine exactly what we treasure and then turn to God, repent and ask for the strength to return to what we truly should treasure. With this in mind, I want to ask one simple question and hopefully you have a simple and righteous answer.

Do you know where your heart is?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Society teaches us something much different!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
(Hebrews 13:5 (NIV))

Have you ever stopped to think that when we love money we are simply substituting one treasure for another? To be honest with you, we are actually trading down. There is nothing more valuable, nothing more worth having than the assurance that we have been given grace and salvation. That is the ultimate treasure, but far too many people simply ignore that treasure for a treasure that can be stolen.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV))

Why do we want to make such a ridiculous trade?

Why do we trade eternity for something shiny in the moment? Why do we long for things that will fade and rust?

As long as I can remember, we have been taught to toot our own horn, to follow our own will, and to go for the gusto so that we can enjoy the moment and reap all of the pleasures that it has to offer.

But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!”
(Isaiah 22:13 (NIV))

Too many people follow the sentiment in this passage without realizing that it has consequences.

The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing: “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
(Isaiah 22:14 (NIV))

Society has deteriorated to the point where no one truly thinks of the consequences of their actions. Being self-centered is the normal state anymore. When you are self-centered, all that you can think of is worldly increase. We are told, and we soon begin to believe, that we deserve all that we can get. If we aren’t careful, we will get what we deserve.

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

We must ignore what society is preaching and teaching and repent. We must turn to Jesus and love the Lord. We must love the Lord with all of our heart, our soul and our mind! We must ignore what society is doing, for society teaches us something much different!

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have we been praying?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
(2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV))

There have been many people who have quoted this passage recently in hopes of encouraging the Body of Christ to pray for our country and our world. With this in mind, I have a question.

Have we been praying?

Have we been sincere and earnest in our pleas to God? Do we truly long for righteousness or have we started to accept what the world is selling? Do we treasure God’s Word or do we treasure the world?

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:21 (NIV))

Where is your heart?

Do you see the things in this world and long for righteousness? Do you ache in your heart when you see what society has become and is becoming, or do you find yourself thinking that what is going on looks like it would be fun to participate in? It’s time to examine our hearts and truly determine what it is that we treasure.

With this in mind, I think that it is time to ask the question one more time.

Have we been praying?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you part of God’s special treasure?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

If you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all nations of the earth; for all the earth belongs to me.
(Exodus 19:5 (NLT))

How would you like to be called God’s special treasure?

Think about what this truly means.

God has given us an insight into the importance of treasure to the one who treasures it. He has given us insight into how He sees and understands treasure.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:21 (NIV))

Think about that passage in relation to the meaning of being called God’s own special treasure. If we are God’s own special treasure, then, according to His own words, His heart is also with us.

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
(Romans 8:31 (NIV))

What an awesome realization that God treasures those who keep His commands. If we are His treasure, then His heart is for us. If He is for us, nothing can be against us that will harm us.

I can think of nothing that would please me more than to know that God considers me to be part of His special treasure.

Are you part of God’s special treasure?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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