A woman who fears the Lord

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
(Proverbs 31:30 (NIV))

What is it about your mother that you remember the most?

Chances are that it is not worldly things such as how charming everyone may have thought her to be, or how beautiful everyone thought her to be. These things fade with time. In addition, the outward trappings of life, such as charm and beauty are soon gone. Time fades them all too quickly. Women who focus on these aspects soon find themselves forgotten or tossed aside.

I would venture that the things you remember of your mother are the things that no one else really saw as well as you saw them. Things such as compassion, integrity, honesty, and love. Things such as Bible stories and taking the time to teach principle such as the fruits of the spirit. The women who focus on these aspects of life are the ones that make a positive impact in the lives of the people around them, especially their children. It is these inward characteristics that often are remembered. You never hear of someone saying that their mother was a beautiful woman and the men would not leave her alone. You hear people talk of their mothers as loving and caring people who have instilled a moral fiber within the family. You hear of people speak of women of faith who never gave up on their children. You hear of women who taught us the concepts of right and wrong and who lived out these concepts in their daily lives.

Yesterday was Mother’s Day. I am grateful that we have set aside a day to honor women who are worthy to be praised. During the remainder of the year, we must not forget the integrity, values and love that these women show every day. We must look upon them as Jesus looked upon His earthly mother. We must look upon them with love and praise.

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

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
(2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV))

The national day of prayer is upon us.

Stop and think about that for a moment.

Just what does that mean to you? Is it simply another day that you go about your hectic life? Is it a day that you stop for a moment or two and actually pray?

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 5:13 (NIV))

With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
(2 Timothy 1:11-12 (NIV))

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
(1 Timothy 5:16-18 (NIV))

Do you see a trend with the verses listed above? Prayer is important. We are to pray for each other. It is powerful and effective. People are praying for you. We are to pray continually. I know that it is important to have a national day of prayer, but it is obvious that God wants us to pray at all times. We, as the Body of Christ, must set the example. We must pray without ceasing.

We must pray for God’s Will and not our will.

Prayer is not selfish. Pray is not a check list of things that you ask God to do for you. Prayer is a powerful and effective way to grow closer to God and to understand His Will.

My favorite passage has always been Psalm 46:10.

“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
(Psalm 46:10 (NIV))

If we will be still and talk to God – truly talk and listen – we will grow to know His heart. We will seek Him in all that we do. We will know our Father and His deepest desires for us. All it takes is an effort on our part. We must be humble. We must be sincere. We must listen, and we must pray, and not just one day a year.

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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How are you spending your morning?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
(Matthew 27:31 (NIV))

The events of the long night and morning were over. Jesus had been arrested, beaten, falsely accused and judged, and then sentenced to die a horrible death. The only thing left of God’s plan was the actual crucifixion. Think on those events as you read this, for many will be reading it at the time of day that things actually unfolded.

How are you spending your morning? Is it filled with reverence and thanks for what Jesus endured? As you pour yourself another cup of coffee, does the impact of Jesus’ suffering bring you to tears or do you even think of it at all? As you head to that meeting, do you reflect upon just how things would be if Jesus had not had His meetings with Pontius Pilate? When you feel the burdens of the day come crashing in around you, do you stop to think of the burden that Jesus bore as He carried His cross?

It is so easy to get lost in the trivial details of our own lives. We think that they are so important. We think that if we don’t close that next big sale, the world will fall apart. We think that if our children don’t get into that private school, their lives are over. All that we bear is the burdens and sins from our own lives. Imagine having the weight of the sins of the world hoisted upon you. Imagine the world being so engrossed in the usual activities that your sacrifice becomes trivialized. Imagine taking on the burden anyway because you love the people of the world.

Stop to think just what Jesus went through so that you can have grace and salvation. Retrace His steps as He carries His cross to Calvary. Put yourself in His place as the nails pierced His hands. Imagine how He felt looking down through history as He looked upon you at this very moment in time. He suffered and died for you and I. He did it willingly so that we may have grace and mercy.

Spend the day embracing His sacrifice, feeling His pain and emotions. Look upon your life as He looked upon it. Jesus felt that His sacrifice was worth everything that He endured. He felt that you and I were worth whatever price He had to pay.

Today, stop and thank God for His Son, Jesus, and His willingness to go to the cross for you and I. That day was a day of agony and fear, but through the fear we have a shining ray of hope – the resurrection on Easter morning!

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

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased men for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.

You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”
(Revelation 5:6-10 (NIV))

The scripture before this showed the sadness of heaven because no one could be found that was worthy to open a scroll. This scroll was of special significance, for in order to open it, the being had to be sinless, blameless and spotless before God. The scroll represented the continuation of God’s perfect plan for His Creation. Without someone worthy to open it, God’s perfect plan could not continue. All of heaven was saddened since no one could be found that met all of these criteria. No one was capable of taking the scroll and opening it. No one born of the flesh throughout the history of the world met the requirements.

Only one throughout all of creation and history is worthy enough to have done what Jesus did!

No angel in heaven or man on earth or elder in heaven qualified to save us from our sin. Only the Son of the One Living God could be The Way, The Truth and The Light that could save people from every tribe and language and people and nation. Jesus is shown as the Lamb, the sacrificial Lamb of God. Only through His sacrifice are we made worthy because He is worthy! Jesus opened the scroll in John’s vision because He was found to be worthy. Only God can fulfill all of God’s requirements. So He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to earth to fulfill the Law and provide a way for us to be saved.

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Who is worthy of your praise?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

In a loud voice they sang:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
(Revelation 5:12 (NIV))

Who do you praise?

Are you so wrapped up in the world that you sing the praises of those people who have wealth and power? Do you long for your own little piece of the pie – a pie that is baked solely on the sinful nature of this world since the Garden of Eden? No matter how you slice it, it only brings about more sin.

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))

Isn’t it a wonderful blessing to have been given grace through God’s Son, Jesus? Through Him, we can escape the sinful nature and the life destroying consequences of sin. We can rejoice for we have been given a new lease on life that does not include eternal separation from God. We should direct all of our praise to Jesus for He is the Lamb of God.

Who is worthy of your praise?

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