Are you unswerving?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
(Hebrews 10:23 (NIV))

Are you a person who likes to set goals in your life? Perhaps you have even gone so far as to develop a roadmap of the steps required to achieve your goals. Let’s face the facts. If you want something badly enough, you hold fast to the plan, you maintain a steady course, and you never take your eyes off of the prize!

If we are capable of doing this for a worldly treasure, why do we so often fail to do this very same thing for a treasure of eternal value? Why do we focus so much on this world when we claim to desire God’s will and His desires?

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:19-20 (NKJV))

Perhaps it is related to our human nature and our limited ability to comprehend what we do not see, after all, all of human history has been a struggle about desiring the things that we can see. When we desire what we cannot see, we are ridiculed. We are made fun of. We are told to grow up. We are told that if we can’t see it then it doesn’t exist!

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))

Have you ever seen God? I’m not talking about seeing His presence manifested in His creation. I am talking about actually seeing God. Let’s face facts. We cannot even begin to fathom His greatness. We cannot even begin to understand His omnipotence and His omnipresence. We cannot even begin to comprehend the awesomeness of heaven, yet we all have hope in these things. We have faith to proclaim that Jesus is Lord. We have faith to hold fast to His Word, yet, so many of us falter. So many of us are not unswerving in our hope and our faith. Thankfully, when we are not capable of doing this, our Lord is faithful. We must remember that it is not by our power that we hold unswervingly to Him, but it is His faithfulness that holds unswervingly to us. When we place our hope in Jesus, we have an unswerving guide who will never leave us, and because He will never leave us, we can be held unswervingly in His love.

Are you unswerving?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Who is it that works in you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
(Philippians 2:13 (NIV))

What is it that you seek to achieve? What is it that you think about and where do you spend your time and money? These are extremely good indicators of who and what your influences are and how they work in you to form your life.

Are you self-centered and greedy? Are you focused on the world and what sinful things it has to offer? Do you ever stop to think about the consequences of the worldly and sinful things that fill your time?

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
(Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV))

Or, do you focus on things of God? Do you long to bear the fruit of a relationship with the Lord?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
(Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV))

There are two distinct paths that we can take. We can choose to listen to the enemy and follow his works or we can choose to listen to the Lord and follow His works. One path leads to sin and destruction. God’s path leads to life. It is all up to you which path you choose. It is up to you to determine who you will allow to work in your life. Will you allow the enemy and his sin to have free reign, or will you invite the Lord into your heart and allow God to work in you all things according to His will?

Who is it that works in you?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you following God’s vision for your life?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Where there is no vision, the people perish
(Proverbs 29:18a (KJV))

Are you going through life with only the goal of making it through another day?

Perhaps you are trying to amass a fortune in worldly wealth. What will you do once you achieve that goal?

Do you feel like something is missing from your life? Do you know what can fill that emptiness?

God has given you and I desires that can only be fulfilled by answering the calling that He has placed upon our lives. Do you know what that calling is? It is the vision, that dream, that He has placed in each of us. He gives us a yearning to fulfill that vision. It is up to us to respond.

First, we must acknowledge the vision.

Next, we must embrace it as our own, after all, God wants to use us to reach other people for Jesus. He did not save us solely to save us. He wants us to embrace our salvation and do what He has called us to so that others may know.

Has God given you a vision? Are you following through with that vision?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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