Are you just making noise?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
(1 Corinthians 13:1 (NIV))

Have you ever known someone who had plenty of knowledge about God’s Word, was able to quote passages but failed to put things into play in his or her life?

Think about that in relationship to the following passage.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
(1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV))

We can have faith in Jesus!

We can place our hope in Jesus!

But what happens if we do not love others as Jesus loves others?

Jesus loves to the point where He was willing to lay down His life so that we could have life and grace. Jesus gave His life for any and all who would simply accept the gift of grace that He came to offer. It is open to anyone, even the persons whom you think are unlovable. Even the ones whom you may think are disgusting because of their current sinful state.

Are you willing to share the Gospel with those whom you currently find disgusting?

What if the person or persons who shared Jesus with you had decided not to share Jesus with you because they thought your sins were disgusting? Thankfully, someone loved you to see beyond your sin. They loved you enough to see you the way that Jesus sees you.

Are you capable of loving in this manner or are you just making noise?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Stay strong in your faith in Jesus!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. Take a firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.
(1 Peter 5:8-9 (NLT))

Do you ever feel that you are alone in the things that you face?

Satan only has so many tricks up his sleeve. What he is using to attack you is nothing new. He has used it millions of times. He is the father of lies. He is not able to create. All that he is capable of is destroying and he only has so many things that he can use.

His biggest lie is that we cannot be worthy. If that is true, then why did God send His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins? Don’t accept the lie that your sins are too great to be forgiven.

Something that comes to mind as another lie from the enemy is that we are better than everybody else. Satan will use this to get to our ego and our pride and make us fall. We are no better than anybody else. God created all of us. He loves all of us equally. When we start thinking that we are better than someone else, we are guilty of the sin of pride and we fall right into the deception that the enemy has left for us.

He also likes to tell us that it is only a little sin. The next thing you know, you are trapped in something horrendous. Keep in mind that the enemy knows God’s Word well enough to twist it. He can make it sound true, when it is not. Even a small lie in the middle of the truth makes the whole thing a lie. Study God’s Word so that you are able to discern what is God’s truth and what is a lie.

We will all come under attack at some point in time. Remember who you are and whose you are. Don’t fall for the lies. Stand firm on the truth of God’s Word. Surround yourself with other believers.

I want you to remember that God created the zebra with his stripes. He also create them to be in a community. When they are in community, the animals that prey on them cannot tell where one zebra stops and another one starts. We, like the zebra, are strongest in community. Rely on each other. Rely on the truth that is God’s Word.

Rely on Jesus!

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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That is a love that is worth giving to others!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

We love because he first loved us.
(1 John 4:19 (NIV))

Nothing could be so simple yet so true. God reached out to us in all of our sin and showed us the most overwhelming display of love that could be shown through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ as an atoning sacrifice to cleanse us of our sins. Because of this, it is our responsibility to show and tell others of this love by sharing with them what God has done for us. We must show them that it was also done for them and all that they have to do is accept it.

How do we do this?

Many sermons have been preached on this. Many people have been driven away from the church through preaching. It is through actions that we will show the true meaning of this verse. Actions will be remembered long after the words have been forgotten.

Consider what Jesus did when confronted with someone who was in need of forgiveness. Did He preach to them or did He love them and forgive them? He was able to convict people of their sins through love and not through condemnation.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
(John 3:17(NIV))

How did He save the world?

God saved the world through a love so great that He gave His Only Son, Jesus, as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. That is a love that is worth giving to others.

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Today’s church needs to embrace the power of prayer!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
(James 5:16 (NIV))

The early church knew the power of prayer. The apostles had watched Jesus pray and had seen the results of His prayers. They had prayed and seen the results of their prayers. They had seen first-hand what prayer can do. They were used to confessing one to another and praying for each other. When they lifted each other up in prayer, God gave them strength and increased their faith.

In today’s society, we have all but stopped this practice. Our hectic life-styles have become a burden. We seldom meet with each other. When we do, it appears that most of us put on a false front and say that everything is alright, while inside we are hurting. We need to return to the practice that James spoke of. We need to have a group of believers that we can turn to on a weekly or a daily basis. This group is our accountability group. They are there to listen and encourage, and most of all, pray for each other. When we meet together in this manner to fulfill God’s will for our lives, our prayers will be heard. A righteous man is one who seeks the will of God. If we seek the will of God, then God will hear.

Are your prayers powerful and effective or are they just quick and meaningless “hellos”?

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you take prophecy seriously?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice he shouted:
“Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!
She has become a home for demons
and a haunt for every evil spirit,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.
For all the nations have drunk
the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”
Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
“Come out of her, my people,
so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
for her sins are piled up to heaven,
and God has remembered her crimes.
(Revelation 18:1-5 (NIV))

Do you take this passage seriously?

Who do you think that this refers to? Just who is Babylon the Great?

Whoever it is has a great influence on the whole world. They trade with the whole world and many have gotten rich from this trade. The leaders of the world have taken part in the sins of Babylon the Great. They do not follow sound, Godly teachings. In fact, they appear to like the sin that they are spreading throughout the world.

I have heard several different people espouse several different ideas as to who Babylon the Great will be. Some say that it is literally Babylon rebuilt. Others say that it is spiritual Babylon as embraced by some unknown entity. Some say that it is the Catholic church. Others say that it is the United States.

Regardless of who it is, we, as the Body of Christ, must not fall into the trap that is set for the whole world. We must “come out of her” by following Jesus. We must earnestly seek to be set apart from this terrible thing that causes all of the world to sin. We must stand firm in our faith in Jesus.

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What Jesus did for you was personal!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
(Hebrews 9:27-28 (NIV))

Many people believe that we are getting closer to the second time that Jesus will appear. This second appearance will not be anything like His first appearance on this earth. The first time, He came to teach and to save. The second time, He will come to gather together those who have placed their faith in Him. He will also come to judge those who do not place their faith in Him!

It is true that He will bring salvation to those who are waiting on Him. Seriously look at your heart and make sure that you are part of this group, for He will also come to judge those who have not called upon Him as their personal Lord and Savior. This judgment can only mean one thing for those who are in this group of people. They will face eternity cast away from God.

I cannot think of any greater anguish than to be eternally separated from the Creator, the one who intimately loves me in spite of all of my flaws caused by sin. He loved me so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to pay the punishment for my sins so that I could be with Him eternally. Perhaps you have never thought about it on a personal level before, but it is true. If there had only been one person to ever need salvation, Jesus would have come to save that one person. What if that one person had been you? He would have died for your salvation. Now consider that He did die for your salvation. What He did, He did out of love for each and every one of us. Salvation is a personal commitment between God the Father, God the Son, and you.

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.
(John 3:16(NIV))

Personalize this and consider what Jesus did for you.

For God so loved (YOUR NAME) that he gave his one and only Son, that if (YOUR NAME) believes in him, (YOUR NAME) shall not perish but have eternal life.

Does it take on a different meaning to you? I pray that it does.

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Does this sound familiar to you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God– having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.
(2 Timothy 3:1-6 (NIV))

Does this sound familiar to you?

Take a look at society today, and then compare what we are going through with what was written by Paul. The “good life” has turned us into the “me” society where most people are only concerned about themselves. We, as a society, are definitely boastful, lovers of self and money, abusive to everyone, ungrateful, and everything else that is wrong in the eyes of God. Take a look at road rage. That is a good example of the manifestation of this attitude.

Consider the acquisition of knowledge. We have become a knowledge driven society. This knowledge is based on things that are fleeting and have a value only because we are looking for a “richer” life. We can make a car that protects people during an accident. We can send people into space to study the effects of weightlessness on seeds. We can produce a round, flat disk that is capable of entertaining us, yet, we seem to have lost the ability to truly grasp what type of knowledge is important.

Another piece of knowledge for you – it has been determined that the human body was designed to react at speeds much slower than our cars travel. Perhaps this is part of what God means when He told us to

“Be still, and know that I am God;
(Psalms 46:10a(NIV))

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you willing to forgive and forget?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
(Proverbs 17:9 (NIV))

God has willingly forgotten all of our sins. He remembers them no more once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. We are to be Jesus to the world. Jesus, as God’s Son, forgave sins when He walked among us. He told people to go and sin no more. These two aspects should guide us in our relationships with others, even those who have done wrong to us. We should forgive them just as God has forgiven us.

Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
(Matthew 6:12 (NIV))

What is forgiveness without forgetting the transgression? Just as God forgets our sins, we must forget the transgressions of others against us. If we do not forget the transgression, then we are bound to resurrect it when it is better left buried. No one, except Jesus, is perfect. We all have things that are better left forgotten. We must do as God does and forgive and forget!

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you ever find yourself saying, “Why me, God?”

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
(1 Peter 4:12-13 (NIV))

Do you ever find yourself saying, “Why me, God?”

I know that I do. It is human nature to hate to suffer. We all suffer in various different ways in our earthly, physical lives. All too often we are so caught up in our own sufferings that we miss the true sufferings of others.

No matter how we suffer, we must remember that it is nothing compared to what Jesus suffered in order to save us from our sins. It is through His suffering that we have been made whole.

Too many believers have the wrong impression that because we have accepted Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, we should not suffer any more.

Nothing could be further from the truth!

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 (NIV))

Are you surprised at your suffering or do you rejoice in the grace that you have been given?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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God gave us the ultimate gift!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
(Romans 8:1 (NIV))

Before Jesus came to this world to live and teach, and then to die for our sins, everyone lived under condemnation. No one was worthy to approach the Throne of God as righteous and blameless.

No one in all of history could have earned salvation on their own!

God knew that this was an impossibility due to the sinful nature of man ever since Satan was allowed dominion over this world. Still, God had a plan for a redemptive gift.

“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. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
(John 3:16-21)

God gave us the ultimate gift! The gift is freedom from condemnation through Jesus Christ. All of our sins are forgiven once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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