Have you turned God’s Word into something less?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

“You shall have no other gods before me.

“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

“You shall not murder.

“You shall not commit adultery.

“You shall not steal.

“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
(Exodus 20:3-17 (NIV))

Controversy surrounds these simple, yet profound statements in today’s society. All of the Judeo-Christian ethic lies on this foundation which states that there is only one God, life is sacred and to respect others. Many people do not wish to acknowledge these truths as truths, or, even worse, that they even exist at all. They have tried to turn them into the 10 suggestions. Let’s take a look at the wording and how it’s meaning would change if they were not stated as they are.

You shall not murder.

Simple enough! But what would be the ramifications if it were worded differently? Try to remove the “negative” aspect of the Commandment. It might read something like this: Respect all human life.

It doesn’t carry the same impact as “You shall not murder.” Try to restate the others in a positive aspect and see what the meanings sound like when you are through. They do not carry the same message. They become what society has tried to turn them into, the 10 suggestions and not the 10 Commandments.

We, as believers, have a responsibility to uphold these basic premises of faith and life. Truth is not relevant. Truth is always the truth, no matter when and where it may apply.

Have you turned God’s Word into something less?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Is all of God’s Word important to you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

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))

Several years ago someone wrote and published a book by the title of “Life’s Little Instruction Book.” It sold a considerable number of copies. What I wonder is where did they get their instructions from?

This book, of course, was not the definitive answer book to all of life’s questions or problems. There is a book, though, that is!

When Paul wrote these words to Timothy, he stated a truth that many have taken to heart throughout the years. The Scriptures, or what we call the Bible, is God inspired and is there for our use to teach us, correct us and train us in righteousness.

There are two types of people in this world. There are those that accept God’s “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth” and those who reject them. True, there are varying degrees of acceptance, and even different interpretations of the Scriptures, but it still comes down to whether you accept them or not. Another issue that hinges on this acceptance is whether you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. If you do not, then your Scripture stops half way through the lessons.

Do you accept the whole instruction book, or do you pick and choose what you will follow?

Is all of God’s Word important to you?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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It is impossible for God to fail!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

For no word from God will ever fail.
(Luke 1:37 (NIV))

You can look at this passage from several different perspectives.

God’s word is truth.

God never lies!

Anything that God decides to do will come to fruition.

God does not simply attempt to do something. He does it!

God’s word does not return empty.

I could go on an on, but I think that you understand the concept of the power of God’s word as truth.

If we can agree upon this, why do so many people find the following passages so difficult to believe?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
(John 1:1 (NIV))

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))

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 they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
(John 3:16-18 (NIV))

Jesus is God’s word made flesh! He was sent to redeem those who believe.

Think about that in context to the passage from Luke.

For no word from God (Jesus is God’s word made flesh) will ever fail. Jesus came into this world to redeem those who simply believe. He is calling people to God through a redeeming grace bought by His blood on Calvary. This act of redemption will not fail. God is calling His children to Himself through Jesus. God is washing away the sins of those He calls through the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus! I love the way that Paul conveyed this truth.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:38-39 (NIV))

It is impossible for God to fail!

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Is God truly the Lord of this nation?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.
(Psalms 33:12 (NIV))

We like to say “God bless America,” but are we worthy of being blessed?

Think about that question in relation to the events that have been transpiring over the last several years. With these events that we see in our society, is God truly the Lord of this nation? Do we honor Him with our actions? Do we honor Him with our words? Do we honor Him with our hearts? Our money says “In God we Trust,” but have we come to trust more in our money and in our government than we trust in the Lord?

What would our founding fathers say about the state of our nation? What does the Lord say about the current state of our nation? Everything has been turned upside down. Evil is called good and good is called evil. Truth is no longer absolute. Society believes that truth is relative. There are certain factions of society that believe in separation of church and state. They believe that this is in the Constitution, when in reality there is no such article or clause that supports this. This is a lie that has been repeated so often that people know believe it to be true.

There are many things that society claims as good that God calls evil, so how can God bless America when we, as a collective society, are doing all in our power to thumb our proverbial noses at God.

The Body of Christ needs to stand firmly on God’s Word. We need to study it. We need to know it. We need to do more than pay lip service to God’s Word. We need to live it! Only when we truly study it, know it, and live it will we truly know God and call Him Lord. When we truly can call God Lord will we be truly blessed.

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you practice what you preach?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.”
(Matthew 23:1-3 (NIV))

I’m sure that you have heard the old saying, “Do as I say, not as I do!”

Have you ever been guilty of saying it?

Did you grimace after reading that question? I know that I did.

It is human nature to tell people that they should do one thing when you are doing the exact opposite of what you say they should do. Jesus knew that people in authority do this. He knew that all people do it. We like to think that what applies to everyone else doesn’t apply to us. If you stop to think about it, we see a lot of this in our political system. Laws are made that apply to everyone except themselves.

We are all called to obey God’s Word. We are all called to repentance. We are all called to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. We are called to accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. These are all things that each of us are called to practice. We are also called to preach these truths to those who don’t know them. Our actions are supposed to match our words.

Do you practice what you preach?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back–whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: `Watch!’ ”
(Mark 13:35-37 (NIV))

Who is the owner of your “house?”

If you have proclaimed that Jesus is your Savior, you are on the way to proclaiming that Jesus is the owner. If you have completely surrendered to His authority so that Jesus is Lord and Savior, then He is the owner of your house.

There is a difference!

Jesus wants to not only be our Savior, He longs to be our Lord.

If you stop to think about this and the history of humanity, you will realize that Adam and Eve surrendered the lordship of their lives, and ours, to Satan. It was a choice that they made. To truly trust in Jesus, we must make the same choice, but in reverse. We must surrender the lordship of our lives to the One who was sent to redeem us from the sin that was committed. That is how we make Jesus the owner of our house.

We know that Jesus will return for his own. We know that we are instructed to live our lives as if He would return at any moment. We are to be ready. We are to watch.

How are we to be ready? How are we to watch?

We are to live according to the words that Jesus taught. We are to proclaim Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We are to share the Gospel. We are to live according to God’s Word, and we are to do as Jesus told us. We are to watch!

Are you watching?

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you living according to God’s Word or man’s?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

They searched the Scriptures day by day to check up on Paul and Silas, to see if they were really telling the truth.
(Acts 17:11 (NLT))

I am sitting here with mixed emotions. I am amazed at what just transpired in my study and writing and yet, I am saddened by what I was given, for I was given the following question.

Are you living according to God’s Word or man’s?

I then went to my database of scripture verses and this one from Acts came up. The following verse also came up.

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))

Do we spend enough time studying God’s Word so that we can know when something is true? Do we earnestly search the Scriptures or do we simply rely on other people to tell us what God’s Word says?

We are each responsible for our own faith. We are each responsible for our own study. We are each responsible for our own relationship with God and our personal relationship with Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We cannot claim salvation based on what our parents did. We cannot claim salvation based on who our pastor is? We cannot claim salvation based on how much we give.

We can only claim salvation by professing that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. We can only claim salvation when we profess that Jesus Christ is Lord over our lives. We must reject the world that rejected Him!

Jesus is the Word made flesh. In order to fully know Him, we must fully know God’s Word. Can you have a relationship by proxy? Can you claim an intimacy with someone when you only listen to someone talk about them for an hour a week? It takes a commitment. It takes searching and studying the Scriptures. It takes time spent in prayer. It takes time spent reflecting upon God’s Word.

How can we claim to be followers of Jesus when far too many of us don’t even spend the time to get to know Him?

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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