What are you in the process of building?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
(1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV))

Did you realize that you are called to be a builder?

No matter what type of skills we may have in this physical world, each of us who profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior are called to be there for other people who also profess a faith in Jesus.

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
(Matthew 18:20 (NIV))

When we gather together in His name, we encourage each other, we strengthen each other, we provide support for each other. In other words, we build up the Body of Christ by holding each other accountable to what the Lord has called us to do. We are stronger together!

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
(Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV))

With all that has transpired in the world over the last several years, are you a voice of encouragement to others? Do you remind them of who that are and whose they are? Do you point people to the path that leads to eternal life? Do you urge people to hold fast to their faith when all around them seems dark? Do you help people to see the light that is asking them to press onward toward the prize that is only found in Jesus?

If you are doing these things, then you are a builder!

But, we also have the capacity to build barriers and to put up obstacles to faith just as the Pharisees did? We must stay focused on Jesus and make sure that we encourage and not hate. We must build and not destroy. We can do tremendous things when we love as Jesus loves, but we must stay focused on Jesus so that what we are called to build is not done in vain.

Unless the Lord builds the house,
     the builders labor in vain.
(Psalm 127:1a (NIV))

What are you in the process of building?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you being equipped or are you being held back?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
(Ephesians 4:11-12 (NIV))

The church is not a top-heavy, professional leadership only organization!

Too many people look at the church and think that it is the job of the professional pastors to evangelize others. Sadly, too many professional pastors believe that they are to do it all, and then they get jealous or mad when those whom they are supposed to equip do more than they do. This is not Christlike!

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
(John 14:12 (NIV))

Jesus did not put any disclaimers on who this applies to. He simply said “whoever believes in me!”

Do you believe in Jesus?

In addition, too many people look at the church as a place that they go to once a week and simply put in their time. Other people think that it is the job of the professional pastors to tell them what to do. With all of this in play, too many people never get beyond this simple infancy stage of their faith where they constantly rely on others for what they should know.

They never mature beyond spiritual milk!

In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
(Hebrews 5:12-14 (NIV))

It is time that we, as the Body of Christ, do what we are called to do. We don’t know the days that we have left. We don’t know the days that others have left. We don’t know when the Lord will return for His church. We don’t need to continue in our usual manner. We need to be equipped to reach those who need Jesus.

Are you being equipped or are you being held back?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you understand the intrinsic value of your calling?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
(Matthew 25:15 (ESV))

I find it amazing how you can read something many times and think that you understand it, only to have your eyes opened to the impact of the words once you find out some historical context.

When we read these words, we don’t dwell too much on the talents. We don’t have any historical perspective and we think that the talents were not that much money. When you read the following translation, your perspective changes!

To one he gave five talents [equivalent to a hundred years’ wages]; to another, two talents; and to another, one talent — to each according to his ability. Then he left.
(Matthew 25:15 (CJB))

In today’s mindset, five talents is the equivalent of the wages of three generations in your family! It was not a small amount! Even one talent was the equivalent of twenty years wages! These sums of money were of considerable worth and this parable was used to drive home the concept that what we are given in this life is not to be taken lightly. God has given us each distinct gifts that we are to use for His kingdom. Some of us have more gifts, but that does not mean that if you have fewer gifts that you are to hide them. We are all called to be good stewards of the “talents” that we have been given.

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
(Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV))

Each member of the Body of Christ is important. God has created each of us for His purpose. We must not compare our talents with those of others. We must keep our eyes on the Lord and seek Him in all that we do.

Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
(1 Corinthians 12:15-20 (NIV))

Jealousy is not a pretty thing to see in a person. It all stems from ego and pride. As members of the Body of Christ, we must pray to overcome these sinful characteristics. We must pray to stay firmly grounded in God’s Word. If we are given a “talent,” we must use it. We must not hide it out of fear. We must not hide it because our “talents” are not as many as someone else. What we are called to do is unique to each of us. I have heard this story before. I do not know the validity of it, but it is useful in getting the point across. What if a person had a single talent, a single calling on his life, but failed to answer that calling. What if the person who shared Jesus with Billy Graham had hidden his one talent?

We may not understand. We may not see the value. We may not truly recognize the importance of what we have been called to do, but God does. He sees the end from the beginning. God knows the value of each moment in our lives. He does not desire for any to waste their “talents!”

Do you understand the intrinsic value of your calling?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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I pray that the new year brings a renewed relationship to Jesus.

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.
(Mark 13:32-33 (NIV))

I am constantly reading and studying. I said the same thing in 2013 about 2014, but 2023 looks to be a very interesting year in God’s time table. I do not profess to know the day or the hour, but the season is rapidly changing.

There are things going on in this world and in the heavens that are too numerous to simply be coincidence. They are increasing in frequency and in magnitude. Even with this increase, we, as the Body of Christ, must test everything against God’s Word. We must not be found guilty of falsely proclaiming things that do not match what we are told through God’s Word.

None of us know what tomorrow will bring.

Pray for wisdom.

Pray for discernment.

Pray for understanding.

Pray for the strength to follow God.

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
     “For your sake we face death all day long;
        we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:31-39 (NIV))

I pray that the new year brings a renewed relationship to Jesus.

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Can the world tell that you are a disciple of Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
(Galatians 3:26-28 (NIV))

This merits repeating!

This may sound like a silly question, but what is it that we celebrate at Christmas?

Is it the denominational differences that we, humanity, have placed as barriers between ourselves? Is it how we profess our faith? Is it how we sing praises? Is it the color of the skin of the congregation?

Or is it the birth of Jesus?

I often wonder what Jesus would say of He were to come to earth and give us a report card update on how we are doing? Would he commend us or condemn us?

Personally, I believe that we would most likely get a mixed review. One in which we would receive severe judgment for the way that we have allowed the Gospel to be removed from society. I believe that we would be held accountable for the way that we still segregate the Body of Christ I believe that we would also be held accountable for not doing enough to share the Gospel, for it is a gift to everyone, and not just those who look, act and think like us.

It is for Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female.

In other words, it is for those who may not be like you. It is also for those who may be just like you. Think about that last statement. I know that if I found someone “just like me,” I would pray for them continuously, for I know the sins that they would be fighting.

We, as the Body of Christ, come from many different backgrounds. We must prevent these differences from separating us from the rest of the Body of Christ, and from Jesus. We come from many different traditions. Traditions are a funny thing. A tradition is simply a routine way of doing something. They are man-made and must not get in our way of rejoicing with each other about the birth of Jesus.

I once heard someone tell a story about a young bride who, after getting married, wanted to cook a pot roast for her husband. She bought the needed pot and the roast. She then called her mother to get instructions. After listening to her mother, she asked a very serious question. “Why did you always cut off the end of the roast? I want to do it exactly like you.” Her mother’s response was that she cut the roast because her pot was too small. It appears that not all traditions are ones that we need to continue.

Since we are all one in Christ Jesus, what “traditions” do we allow to keep us separated? If we are all sons of God through faith in Christ, why do we often treat our brothers and sisters like we do? I can hear some of you thinking that this is what brothers and sisters do. I honestly hope that the Body of Christ does not act like natural brothers and sisters. We should show the world a different side.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
(John 13:34-35 (NIV))

Can the world tell that you are a disciple of Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you long for the sacred times with the Lord?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,
(Genesis 1:14 (NIV))

How do you plan and track the events in your life?

If you are like everyone else in the modern world, you plan things on a calendar and even perhaps on a digital calendar down to the year, month, day, hour and minute. You look at the calendar and know how far away a certain event will be. You trust that calendar and your clocks to tell you when something is to happen. For those who have ever owned, or knew someone who owned a very intricate grandfather clock, you know the precision movement of the mechanical pieces that track the time. Some even will track years, months and days. I believe that this passage from Genesis tells us that God has created such a calendar in the heavens with a more precise movement and accuracy than anything that humanity has imagined.

The sad thing is that we try to impose our calendar, along with our will, on God!

We try to force God and His majestic splendor into a box that we define so that we can try to understand Him. Ironically, we even do this when we look to the Lord for the things that He has promised are yet to happen. We read His Word and see what He has laid out according to His Will and then we try to figure out everything according to our understanding and our calendar. Just as you and I cannot truly understand the inner mechanical workings of a fine Swiss watch, we cannot fully understand the more intricate workings of God’s calendar. Even the closest man-made calendar is not perfectly aligned with God’s calendar. There is disagreement as to the accuracy of the current Hebrew calendar, and that was man’s attempt at following what was given to us by God!

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
     neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
     so are my ways higher than your ways
     and my thoughts than your thoughts.
(Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV))

It is my prayer that we, as the Body of Christ, learn to submit our desires to God’s Will and to His calendar.

I realize that we long to see the Lord, but we cannot see God’s calendar from His perspective. He has set everything in motion and we are simply called to be obedient until He comes. We must stand firm in our faith and keep our eyes focused on Jesus. One day soon we will see God’s calendar from a different perspective. The day will come that He takes us to be with Him. That is a sacred time that I am sure He has marked in His calendar that He spoke of in Genesis, the lights in the vault of the sky.

Do you long for the sacred times with the Lord?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you paying attention?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times:
(Leviticus 23:4 (NIV))

I love the fact that the Lord has given us things to look at that represent His perfect plan. The sad thing is that we, as the church, as the Body of Christ, do not fully understand the meanings of the events that are second nature to the Jewish community. In reciprocal nature, the Jewish community does not understand the symbolism of their events and how they point to Jesus as the one and only Messiah.

We look at the passage that says that no man knows the hour or the day and perhaps we miss the symbolism in that phrase. The next Jewish festival that is to occur is Rosh Hashanah. That festival, which means head of the year, is different every year for it depends on the moon to be just right. It is known as the festival that no man knows the hour or the day. For reference, Rosh Hashanah is celebrated as the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve.

I could probably go into many of the festivals and their symbolism, especially the ones that represent the events that transpired when Jesus walked the earth. Just suffice it to say that Jesus, as the Passover Lamb, went to the cross at Passover! He arose from the dead on First Fruits!

There are also many things within non-festival events, such as weddings, that point to Jesus. In a Jewish wedding, the bridegroom goes to prepare a place for his bride. Only when he is finished can the wedding take place. No one knows the day or the hour that he will return for his bride. Could this be a coincidence? For your information. this is where we get the parable of the ten virgins. I don’t want to digress and go into that, for that is not what I am trying to convey. What is important is that when the bridegroom does return for his bride, she is lifted up into the air to meet her bridegroom!

We, as the Body of Christ, must realize that we have been grafted into a lineage and history that is completely Jewish. We must watch and learn. God is unfolding things according to His timing and His calendar. He has given us hints as to what He is doing. No one person has the complete understanding for the time is not yet come when God will sound the last trumpet!

But, . . .

We must watch!

Are you paying attention?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What are you waiting for?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy.
(Psalms 47:1 (NIV))

With all that is going on in the world, this sounds like it is so far off from becoming a current reality. I realize that the world has never been a righteous place, but it seems like it is slipping further and further away from God’s plans.

Is there an end to this descent in sight?

We must remember that God is in charge and that things are happening according to His timing. The wheat and the weeds may be growing up evenly, but I have a question for you. Just because the wheat is planted among weeds, does it stop being wheat? Does it stop producing grain that takes root and grows more wheat plants? Why do we, as the Body of Christ, look around with an attitude of despair because we are surrounded by evil? I realize that we feel compassion for those who are lost, but we are still called to be the Body of Christ where we are planted. We are to do exactly as the psalmist wrote.

We are to clap our hands in praise to God!

We are to shout to God with cries of joy!

What we are not to do is let our circumstances keep us from praising our God!

We are to do exactly what Jesus told the Pharisees His followers would do when the Pharisees tried to rebuke those who shouted.

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
(Luke 19:38-40 (NIV))

We know what we are supposed to do. Do you want to let a stone out-praise you?

What are you waiting for?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you still dull?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
(Proverbs 27:17 (NIV))

This is a fantastic way of saying that members of the Body of Christ need each other. We hold each other accountable. We lift up each other when we need support. We encourage each other to stay strong in our faith. When we see each other faltering and straying, we can come in along side of each other and support each other as we repent and redirect our focus back to Jesus. We are there to encourage each other and lift up each other in our unique giftings as we all function as individual members of the unified Body of Christ.

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
(Romans 12:4-5 (NIV))

If we belong to each other, then when one of us trips and falls, all of us should hurt. When one of us brings glory to the Body, all of us should rejoice. When one of us is in pain, we should all bring comfort. Did you notice one very important word in all of these sentences?

Should!

These are things that we are supposed to be doing as members of the Body of Christ, but how well do we do what we should?

If our fellowship with each other is supposed to hold us accountable and sharpen our faith, are we truly sharpening each other?

Are you still dull?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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We must persevere as the race unfolds!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
(Hebrews 12:1 (NIV))

How has the last year or so been for you?

I could probably stop there and say something about keeping your eyes focused on Jesus, but I feel that there is so much more to say about being able to persevere. With all of the things that have happened in the last year, and all of the things that continue to happen, we must not lose sight of where our hope comes from. With prices soaring for basic materials and supplies can’t keep up with the demands, we appear to be facing the beginning of shortages. Now we are facing cyber attacks that threaten to bring us to a halt because oil and gas cannot flow. I honestly believe that things are going to get much worse than most people expect.

How does society handle this?

How do we, as the Body of Christ, handle this?

If ever there was a time to throw off everything that hinders, I believe that time is now. If ever there was a time to repent of the sin that entangles us, that time is now. We need to make sure that our lives are singularly focused on Jesus and not the world. If we look to the world, we will faint out of fear. If we look to Jesus, we can rest assured that He is our hope, that He is our strength, and that He is our strong tower!

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.
(Proverbs 18:10 (NKJV))

We can’t claim righteousness if we cling to things that hinder and to the sin that entangles us. We can only claim righteousness if we accept the gift of grace that was freely given at the cross. We must repent! We must persevere in our faith. We must hold fast to the promises that we have been given through Jesus.

No one knows what tomorrow will bring, but we can have a good understanding of what is to come by staying in God’s Word. We must be as diligent as watchmen. We must be constantly on guard for what the enemy is doing. We must not fall for the lies and the traps of the enemy. We must be alert and prepared. We must come together as the Body of Christ and hold fast to Jesus like never before!

We must persevere as the race unfolds!

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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