Have you heard the Lord say to get moving?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.
(Exodus 14:15 (NIV))

God spoke these words to Moses when the Egyptians were pursuing them and had them cornered at the sea. To the Israelites, it looked like they had two choices – die at the hands of Pharaoh’s army or die in the sea.

God had other plans!

The Israelites were looking at their situation through worldly eyes. Many of them even vocalized their lack of faith.

They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
(Exodus 14:11 (NIV))

It is human nature to see the worst in a situation. It is hope that allows us to see the best in the very same situations. It is faith that allows us to take action on our hope and have results that astound the world. In this story, the Israelites overcame their worldly viewpoint and literally stepped out in faith and gave us a glimpse into the majesty and power that God has over His creation. Without their faith and this story, we may not realize that God controls His creation.

It took faith! It also took a direct command from God to Moses to get the people moving.

Do you have that type of faith?

Have you heard the Lord say to get moving?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What will be measured out to you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
(Luke 6:38 (NIV))

We have all heard the old saying that you get what you give, but have you ever heard it put in such terms as this passage. You have also heard of the concept of the baker’s dozen where you actually get 13 instead of 12. The concepts presented in Luke take both of these ideas and take them up a notch. Think about that in terms of the wording in this passage.

A good measure is when the target measurement is not shorted, but actually is measured out even more than the target measurement. Now, what happens when you press something down? It becomes packed. It becomes compressed. Think about this in terms of vacuum packed. All of the air is removed so that what is measured out is so tightly packed that it takes less space. Shaken together and running over implies that even more is added. Keep in mind the vacuum packed concept. If you fill up a one cubic foot box and then vacuum pack the contents, it will probably only fill half of the box. Now, add more to it and vacuum pack it again. Keep doing this until what is being given is not only packed tightly and much more than you would think you would be given, but then it is topped off so that it is overflowing the box. If you have trouble visualizing this concept, take a look at the vacuum packed coffee “bricks” that you can buy. When you open this package and pour it into another container, it fills an area probably two to three times the size of the vacuum packed package.

I like to think that this is how the Lord gives to us!

Read Luke 6:8 again and you will see that there is a prerequisite for receiving the abundance that the Lord will give. We must give first! I realize that this sounds like prosperity Gospel, but humor me for a moment. We must give our heart to the Lord. We must give our life to Jesus. We must give our tithes and offerings out of joy, and we must give to others as their needs present themselves. When our heart is in line with the Lord’s, we will desire to be blessed so that we can be a blessing to others. The reason that we are asked to give first is so that the Lord can test our motives and to make sure that we are mature in our faith to follow His desires and not ours.

With this in mind, I have two questions that I still need to ask.

Are you becoming a cheerful giver?

What will be measured out to you?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Only the Lord is a perfect fit!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.
(Psalms 19:7-9 (NIV))

Some say that there is a God shaped hole inside of our hearts that we strive to fill. Some fill it with wealth; some with power; some with lust; some with greed; and some with false religions. All of the people who try to force fit a “square peg into a round hole” are never truly at peace. They occasionally can make something “fit” temporarily, but due to the mismatched shapes, whatever they place there eventually works its way out.

When this happens, there is much pain, sadness and anger. Filling the space that was intended for God to fill only leads to false hope and aggravation. The Psalmist knew of this and conveyed this truth very eloquently in the above passage. This was before the idea of a “God shaped hole,” but it conveys the same underlying truth.

How are you trying to fill this hole that yearns to be filled?

Only the Lord is a perfect fit!

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Is this how you know the Lord?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
(Psalms 88:15 (NIV))

Everyone in the world has an image of how they see God!

Some see an angry old man. Some see a vindictive character. Others see someone who just doesn’t care about us, while others see Him as someone who takes great joy in each of us. Even atheists, who claim that He doesn’t exist, have a mental image of Him, or should I say the absence of Him, for it takes a very vivid imagination to claim that He doesn’t exist.

What is your image of God?

Is you image of God distorted by the characteristics that your earthly father displayed?

Do you find it difficult to believe that someone who created everything that exists knows you intimately? We are told that He does!

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
(Psalm 139:13-14 (NIV))

When you think of God, do you see Him in this manner?

Is this how you know the Lord?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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God is the same no matter when we seek Him!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
(Revelation 1:8 (NIV))

Human nature is such a funny thing.

What is your reaction when the grocery store that you normally go to is closed for some reason? Do you complain or do you simply adapt? What do you do when your favorite shirt is no longer suitable for public appearance? Do you throw it away or do you cling to it like a small child clings to a blanket? How do you react when your favorite magazine stops publication because the content is now readily available on the Internet? Speaking of the Internet, how do you react to reading something online versus reading it from a book that you can hold and feel?

Let’s face it, we are all creatures of habit. We have our routines and we all have our favorite things that we think that we could never do without. In all honesty, most people do not like change. Change is something that we fear. It is unknown.

Too many of us do not like anything to ever change, yet we often are guilty of saying that God is not the same as He was in the Old Testament. We have a double standard for what we expect of ourselves and what we think that God is like. We have heard the stories and we have read the passages that tell of God’s laws, yet we find it difficult to comprehend that God could remain the same for all eternity.

Personally, I like knowing that God is constant, that He is, and was and is to come.

If we spend time getting to know God through His Word, then we will know the very heart of God for all time. He doesn’t change. I honestly would not like having to constantly second guess what I was supposed to do because of a constantly changing god. That is not our God. That is not our creator, our Father. God is a God of eternity.

January 1 will soon be here. It is the beginning of a new year. Many people look upon this day as the opportunity to start fresh, to change what they have been doing. For humanity, change for the better is good, especially when that change means that we repent of our sins and turn to God. When we desire to change, isn’t it good to know that the One who welcomes us in our change, never changes. God will welcome us with open arms any day of the year.

Today is that day.

Happy New Year !!!

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

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
(Revelation 1:8 (NIV))

God is good all the time! Yesterday, today and tomorrow, He is the same. He is the Alpha and the Omega. Now that we are facing a new year that has caught the public’s attention because of all of the computer issues and tabloid prophecies, we must remember that God is God and He never changes. No matter what happens when January 1, 2013 comes, God is still God.

Happy New Year!

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

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

But select capable men from all the people–men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain–and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
(Exodus 18:21 (NIV))

We think that who we elect to our public offices doesn’t really matter, or, even worse, we don’t think that what we have to contribute will make a difference. God is calling us, just as He called righteous people in the days of Moses, to assume positions of Godly authority or to support people who will support Godly authority.

The people that have authority over us direct the way that our nation turns. They also direct the way that God will deal with us as a nation. If we have Godly authorities who desire to do God’s Will in all things, then God will bless that desire and bless us as a nation.

If we elect people who will appoint judges who say that there is no God and that anything is all right in our society, except the mention of God, then we will suffer and our children will suffer.

Truth is truth and is not dependent upon the circumstances. If we cannot be a nation that does not waiver on our convictions before God, then we will slowly cease to be in God’s favor. Perhaps we have gotten to the point were we are now rapidly descending into a place that is not only no longer in God’s favor, but rapidly turning to where we are considered as an enemy. I pray that we are not descending so rapidly that our descent cannot be reversed!

Pray for God’s guidance in how you vote this election. Don’t assume that God does not want His people in positions of authority. Our nation was founded by people who held fast to the very Word of God. How would they react to what they would see today?

How do you think that God is reacting?

Pray as if your future depends upon who has authority over us, for your future and that of your children’s children will be determined by the laws that they make and interpret.

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest!”
(Matthew 21:9 (NIV))

Have you ever really stopped to think about this passage? To be specific, let’s focus on, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

What does that mean to you?

Be honest with yourself.

Obviously, it refers to Jesus, but what about this passage makes you envision Jesus? What blessings does He have and does He share these blessings?

Jesus was not only blessed, He brought blessings. The Lord God sent Him into this world to fulfill the promises that God had made. God’s promises are not empty. Jesus fulfilled many and will fulfill even more upon His return.

I want you to think about this passage from another perspective. Let me lay the groundwork.

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
(John 14:12-14 (NIV))

Jesus was blessed because He came in the name of the Lord.

Think about that. Is it possible that we, too, “come in the name of the Lord?” We profess a faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. If our actions truly reflect what God desires of us, and we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, it is not too difficult to consider that we do come in the name of the Lord, just not in the same way that Jesus did.

There is a disclaimer to what I suggest, and that is that when we place anything before God we are no longer following His will. At that point, we are there in our name and not in the name of the Lord.

When was the last time that you totally surrendered to what God was calling you to do? When you walked in His Will, things went great. God opened up opportunities for you to be His witness and, as a result, just like Jabez, you were blesses so that others could be blessed.

What happens when you take your eyes off of Jesus? Do things go anywhere near how you envisioned them going?

I am not saying that we are anywhere near Jesus, but what I am saying is that when we totally surrender to God, and follow His Will, we are blessed so that others will be blessed.

Have you been a blessing to others?

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