Is the Lord your strength and salvation?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

O LORD, be gracious to us;
we long for you.
Be our strength every morning,
our salvation in time of distress.
(Isaiah 33:2 (NIV))

In a world that is overrun with sin, we need a place to turn to when the world seems to be more than we can handle. We must rest in God’s presence every single day of our lives. We must start our day with God, turn to Him all throughout the day, and end our day with God.

Life is good, but life with God is great! He is our champion, our salvation and our comfort. We need no one else when we have God, and the only way to reconcile ourselves to God is through His Son, Jesus Christ! We cannot do it on our own. We are as filthy rags in comparison to what we should be. God sent salvation when we could not save ourselves. All it takes is professing that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior!

Do you have someplace to turn when the world gets too much to take?

Is the Lord your strength and salvation?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Learn the true heart of God and not the “rules” taught by men

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
” `These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.’
(Mark 7:6-7 (NIV))

It is my desire to learn the true heart of God and not the “rules” taught by men.

What single thing do you hold on to that is not Biblical, but is actually a man-made rule? Come on and admit that you have them. They are the things that we all hold on to because they are tradition, or because they are part of our comfort zone. Perhaps the biggest one is thinking that other people can’t be true believers because they don’t look and act the same. I hate to say this, but I would bet that every believer struggles with this from time to time. And I think I know where that all started. Could it be that we are so ingrained in our own set of rules made by man, that we forget that they are only rules? We start to judge others by our set of rules that we have applied to ourselves, while we overlook the much bigger and much more important aspect of grace and mercy.

Human nature is a fickle thing. We long to be forgiven, but then we add all types of stipulations that God never would have even begun to think of. It is interesting that God could only come up with Ten Commandments and then salvation through Jesus. We have added so many things to this that we could easily be guilty of worshipping in vain, for we could be following our rules instead of God’s teachings.

We need to focus on what is true and righteous in the eyes of God. We must focus on God. We must focus on His Word and on Jesus, His only begotten Son. We must focus on the Holy Spirit. All other, if it does not point you to God, Jesus His Son, and the Holy Spirit, is a false teaching and must be removed from our lives.

Don’t let man-made rules hinder your relationship with God and your salvation through Jesus, His Son. It’s not worth what you will lose.

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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We cannot live in both the light and the darkness. Choose!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
(1 Thessalonians 5:4-11 (NIV))

Have we forgotten that we are not supposed to be in darkness? Too many people who say that they are Christians stumble in the darkness out of choice.

Darkness can mean many things, but primarily it means that we walk away from the will of God. Whether we do not read and study the Scriptures or we argue amongst ourselves, we are not walking in God’s perfect will for us, and are, therefore, walking in darkness.

Each of us steadfastly holds on to things that we do not want to give up because we love our sin too much. Is this what Jesus died for, to allow us to continue to hold ourselves higher than God?

Closely examine Jesus’ life and then examine your life. Do you look more like one of His disciples, or do you look more like the rich young man who did not want to give up his worldly sin for eternal life?

If we are truly in the light, then we must be willing to examine our lives as they are shown in and through the light and not hide things in the darkness. We cannot live in the light and in the darkness at the same time. We must strive to be in the light so that the words that Paul wrote can apply to us.

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