Don’t reject God’s grace and mercy.

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
(Romans 3:23 (NIV))

“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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
(John 3:16-18 (NIV))

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

Since the beginning, God has had a plan for our redemption. Ever since Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, God has put into action a plan that would bring us back to Him in a righteous and spotless fashion.

It is a simple plan.

Since we could not be perfect on our own, God sent His Son, Jesus to be perfect for us. Throughout Jesus’ life, crucifixion and resurrection, He was blameless in the eyes of God. All we have to do is accept the fact that we cannot do it on our own and call on the name of Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

If we were capable of being perfect, we would not need a Savior, but we are born into sin and cannot escape from it by ourselves. Swallow your pride and receive what has been freely given to you. It cannot be earned, but it can be rejected.

Don’t reject God’s grace and mercy.

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Do you see the Lord as Holy Glorious?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

And they were calling to one another:
    “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
     the whole earth is full of his glory.”
(Isaiah 6:3 (NIV))

There are two basic premises outlined in this passage. Two very true details that we need to fully embrace. How we embrace them determines our whole outlook and understanding of God the Father, Jesus His Son, and the Holy Spirit.

First and foremost, the LORD is holy. I am not certain if the word “holy” is repeated three times because of a subliminal reference to the Trinity, or whether it is repeated simply as a matter of driving the concept home. It may even be both. No matter why it is repeated, we must never forget that the LORD is holy. If we treat God in any way less than holy, we have sinned. We have taken the Creator of all things and redefined Him within our comfort zone. We do not praise Him if we make Him less than He is.

Ouch!

I hate to say this, but human nature finds us doing just that. We have a tendency of not understanding just how magnificent that He is. We tend to define God and our relationship to Him by our own thought processes and our own relationships. God is holy.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
      declares the LORD.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.
(Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV))

We cannot comprehend God. We must simply trust Him and accept that He is holy.

The second premise that is presented is the fact the the whole earth is full of His glory.

Everywhere that you look, you see wondrous things that God has created. Can man imagine a rainbow into existence? Can humanity divide the waters above from the waters below? Can anybody create a continent and clothe it in the vast splendor that we see?

God’s glory is manifested through His creation. Not only is He holy, but everything that He creates is glorious.

I hope that you fully caught what I just said. Everything that God creates is glorious. God created you and I. It is simple deductive reasoning that allows us to draw the conclusion that we are intended to be glorious. Even though we have fallen from grace through our sin, we are intended to be glorious. Even though we may not always follow God’s call, we are intended to be glorious.

God sent His glory into the world so that we could gain salvation and grace. Jesus, the son of God and the son of man, came into this world so that we could be washed clean and reunited with God in all of His glory.

Holy. Glory.

How do you see God in relationship to these two simple words? Do you see the Lord as Holy Glorious?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Are you willing to suffer for Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
(Romans 8:18 (NIV))

Suffering!

It means different things to different people. To some, it means that they have to take the limo instead of the helicopter. To others, it means that they are out on the street with no food for their family. To the Body of Christ, suffering is watching the world revel in the sin while we look on and pray for the world to turn to Jesus.

Suffering is a difficult thing to do, yet, each of us have different things that we are willing to bear with respect to suffering. To me, the biggest thing that I suffer over is the escalating decline of the value of faith in society. I am not saying that faith is declining. Rather, I am saying that it appears to me that sin of all types is increasing. It reminds me of a parable that Jesus told.

    Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
    “The owner’s servants came to him and said, `Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
    ” `An enemy did this,’ he replied.
    “The servants asked him, `Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
    ” `No,’ he answered, `because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ “
(Matthew 13:24-30 (NIV))

There is suffering due to the enemy having sowed bad seeds among God’s creation. We will face suffering until that glorious day that Jesus returns. The sufferings that we must face are worth the struggle. They are worth the pain. They are worth the aggravation, for we have the promise that we will see salvation. We will see redemption.

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
(Colossians 1:13-14 (NIV))

Are you willing to face the consequences of your sins?

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

I hate suffering, yet I would rather suffer because I have professed a faith in Jesus than to turn my back on God’s grace and face suffering in eternity. I know that we live in a society that expects to have both now and later, but in God’s kingdom, it does not work that way. We cannot simply pull out a credit card and swipe it and expect to have it easy now and easy later when the bill comes due. Our way of doing things doesn’t work.

We have a hope that can see us through all suffering. His name is Jesus. We can suffer now and cling to the hope that we have in Jesus, or we can abandon all hope and suffer eternal separation from God.

Nothing worth having is easy. I pray that I am willing to suffer for Christ.

Are you willing to suffer for Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

And, oh what glory it is!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory.
(Isaiah 66:18 (NIV))

What should be important to you as a member of the Body of Christ?

Perhaps I should ask a different question. What is important to the Lord for you if you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?

Prior to this verse, Isaiah 66 speaks of the things that people do in hopes of appeasing the Lord, but they fail to look at their own hearts and motives before doing these things. We are clearly told that the Lord looks at something besides our feeble attempts to please God.

“These are the ones I look on with favor:
     those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
     and who tremble at my word.
(Isaiah 66:2b (NIV))

The Lord longs for our hearts! He longs for humility. He longs for a righteous spirit within us. He does not desire sacrifices if our hearts are not His. He has so much that He wants to give to us if we first will give our hearts to Him. Sadly, too many people hold out. The Lord goes on to share all that He will do for those who love Him. He shares examples of what His love is like if we will only focus on following Him.

Unfortunately, there are far too many people who seem to be focused on the gifts instead of the giver. They are focused on the promises instead of the promise maker. Don’t get me wrong. The promises and the gifts are important, but do we have our priorities upside down? We should seek to know the Lord first and these gifts will be freely given. Instead, we seem to focus on what we will receive and completely miss out on the fact that the Lord is calling us to an intimacy with Him that is far more valuable than what we have a tendency to focus on.

Jesus came to bring salvation to anyone, nation, tribe or language, who would call upon His name, to any who would humble their heart and give it to Him. This is the only way that we can see the glory of the Lord! And, oh what glory it is!

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Is the glory of the Lord your shield?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
(Psalms 3:3 (NIV))

At this time of year, we have a tendency to think of things that we are thankful for.

Do any of these traits of the Lord make it into your list?

I don’t know about you, but reading through this passage of scripture has reminded me that I am so very thankful for everything that the Lord has done for me.

The world is a very dreadful place where people who profess a faith in Jesus are ridiculed and persecuted. The sinful, fallen world tries so much to make you fall for the lies of the enemy to get you to believe that he is winning. If you don’t maintain your focus, it is so easy to take your eyes off of the Lord and miss His glory. If these happen, then it is so easy to fall into the habit of hanging your head because you feel that all is lost!

I for one am thankful that we have the unfailing promises of God to turn to even when we feel that all is lost. Things in this world are never as they appear! I am so thankful that the Lord keeps His promises.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.
(Psalms 145:13 (NIV))

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
(2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV))

He will not forsake those who call upon His name! Do you call upon the name of the Lord?

Is the glory of the Lord your shield?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

What have you seen?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:14 (NIV))

I often wonder what it would have been like to have seen Jesus walk the earth!

Do you ever think about seeing first hand all that transpired? What aspect of His life on this earth would have been your primary interest? Would you like to have witnessed the heavenly hosts proclaiming His birth? I often wonder what it would have been like to witness His baptism and to see the Holy Spirit descend upon Him like a dove. Perhaps Jesus calling together His disciples is of interest to you. I personally have spent considerable amounts of time reading about the miracles that He performed. I have also spent a considerable amount of time reading about the lessons that He taught. Many of us have probably tried to place ourselves in the Upper Room and imagine the events that transpired there and afterward. Would you honestly be able to stand and watch the events of the crucifixion? How many times have you tried to imagine the amazing events of the resurrection and His glorious appearances to the disciples and the masses? After everything that transpired, how would you react when you see Jesus ascend into heaven?

I find human nature to be such a funny thing. There were multitudes of people who did see these events transpire, yet we know that the multitudes turned on Jesus and demanded His crucifixion. Even with having witnessed the life and miracles of Jesus, many people turned on Him. They rejected Him! The human mind could not comprehend what the eye had seen. They did not understand exactly what they were seeing.

The problem is that they had not seen with their hearts!

God, in all of His glory, is Spirit and must be worshipped in spirit. In order to reach a physical world, He had to take on human form. Even though He had told us what would happen, people failed to recognize Him because they did not recognize the truth in the words that described how He would come. They failed to see, just as many fail to see today. Thankfully, there were those who did see and who did recognize Jesus.

We have the ability to build our faith upon the words of our predecessors. Would our faith have been strong? Would it have even existed if we had seen things first hand?

Have you believed all that you have seen?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

What is the Body of Christ declaring to the nations?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
(Psalms 96:3 (NIV))

With everything that is going on in the so-called Body of Christ, just what are we declaring to the nations?

One group claims that the Bible is outdated and doesn’t apply to today’s society. Another group claims that certain sins are no longer sin. Another group has rewritten the Bible to call God the same name as the Muslim god and they have referred to Jesus only as a prophet. Another group is now claiming that the Bible has it wrong when everyone calls God Father. They want everyone to refer to God as a she.

And then there is the group that holds fast to the truth that has always been. The Bible is God’s Word dictated to man and recorded for all to use. This group clings to the promises of God and to the truth found in the following passage.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV))

I don’t know about you, but this passage instructs me to believe, and not alter, the passages that call God our Father. I also believe that this passage instructs me to believe if a sin is called an abomination in the eyes of God, then no matter what society may say, it is a sin. I firmly believe that the Bible tells me that God has many names, and I have still to find where it calls Him by the name of the Muslim god. I also firmly believe that because the Bible calls Jesus the Son of God, He is not simply a prophet or a good man.

Are we seeing something unfold before our very eyes just as Jesus told us?

At that time if anyone says to you, `Look, here is the Christ!’ or, `There he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect–if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.
(Matthew 24:23-25 (NIV))

Man cannot change God and God’s Word. That is a sin. We may not like some things that are in the Bible because they hit a little too close to home, but that does not mean that we can simply ignore them or change them. If God did not condemn sin, then why do people try so hard to say that what they do is okay? Why did Jesus have to die on the cross if God will embrace us as sinners?

Think about that!

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery

I love to be in the presence of the Lord!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

I love the house where you live, O LORD,
the place where your glory dwells.
(Psalms 26:8 (NIV))

I know that I have read this passage before. I know what it says and the meaning behind the words.

Tonight, I read these words and froze!

Chills ran through my body. Tears came to my eyes! This should be the proclamation of every single member of the Body of Christ. Each person who professes a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior should loudly and proudly proclaim that they love being in the presence of the Lord!

I realize that this was written about the Temple in Jerusalem many, many years ago, but it should still hold true today. Unlike the Temple, we have direct access to the throne of God because of our redeemer sits at the right hand of God the Father. We no longer need to go to the Temple to have a priest intercede for us. Jesus intercedes for us no matter where we are.

Today, we have numerous buildings that society labels as churches. What society and the Body of Christ seem to forget is that the church is not a building, it is the Body.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
(1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV))

I know that this passage is the tail end of a passage that tells us to stay away from sexual immorality, but in all honesty, we should stay away from all immorality. In other words, we should keep our bodies pure, for it where God’s Holy Spirit dwells if we allow Him. I am not saying that we should love our bodies. What I am saying is that if we allow it, God’s glory dwells anywhere. We no longer have to have a Temple. We can be in the presence of God no matter where we are. We can be in the presence of God any time that we want.

I love to be in the presence of the Lord!

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery

We need to return . . . to God!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.
(Psalms 29:2 (NIV))

In today’s society, too many people attribute things to God that just aren’t true. These include a false understanding of God’s glory, splendor and holiness.

Does God love us unconditionally?

Does God accept sin?

How many ways are there to God?

Does God accept our definition of Him?

Does God accept our attempts at working our way to Him?

I could go on and on, but I believe that you can understand when I say that we ascribe attributes to God that just are not true. We, as a society do this because we no longer find it appropriate to study God’s Word. As a result, we honestly don’t know any different. We don’t find it appropriate to talk about God in public. We have turned the Creator of all things into a subject that we feel is unfit for public display and consumption. We don’t find it appropriate to allow God in schools, and as a result, we wonder why our society is full of people who have no moral basis.

We need to return to giving God the glory. We need to return to worshipping God. We need to return to the realization that God is holy.

In other words, we need to return to God!

We are only a few days away from when we celebrate God reaching out to His creation to offer us salvation, to offer us a way out of our sin. Now is an excellent time for us to show the world that we accept that offer and that the offer is available to anyone.

God, in all of His splendor, sent His Son, Jesus, to bring us back to Him. Through Jesus, God has ascribed to us the righteousness that we seem to want to deny to Him.

It is time to return to a full understanding of God and not the watered down person that the world claims that He is!

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery