Pray for God’s righteousness to be made manifest!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—
     the Lord detests them both.
(Proverbs 17:15 (NIV))

Can you imagine what the Lord thinks about our current society?

I’m not going to go into any examples, for I am confident that you can come up with your own examples that fit this passage from Proverbs. All that I will say is that based on recent events, the Lord is probably not very happy with the way things are going. I will also take a moment to remind everyone that everything that is happening has not caught Him off guard. He has told us what would happen before it has happened. With that in mind, do you recognize the events that are transpiring in the world as prophetically significant? Do you even pay any attention to the things that are happening, or are you so engrossed in your own life that you can’t see the proverbial forest for the trees?

When governments don’t do what is right in the eyes of God, we have problems. When the courts don’t do what is right in the eyes of God, wee have problems. When the media pushes an unholy agenda, we have problems. And, the one that gets me agitated the most is when the churches espouse a different gospel, or they don’t follow Biblical principles, then we have problems.

When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice;
     when the wicked rule, the people groan.
(Proverbs 29:2 (NIV))

Are you groaning?

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
(Romans 8:26 (NIV))

Rest assured that the Lord sees and hears what is transpiring. When we see things in this world that go against what God calls good, we feel it in our spirit. We groan in agony over the wickedness that seems to get worse every day. We groan in agony over those who are lost in their sin. We groan in agony over the lies that the enemy has convinced far too many people that it is truth. We groan in agony over the churches who have bought into the lies.

But, we have another option to consider when we groan.

The Lord understands these groans as prayers, and they are as incense lifting up to Him. All that we need to remember is that everything is in His timing and not ours. We are called to be patient. We are called to be prayerful, and we are always called to share the Gospel with anyone and everyone who will listen. I have a challenge for you the next time that you see the guilty acquitted and the innocent condemned. I have a challenge for you when you see anything that is not righteous in the eyes of the Lord. Pray! Pray in agreement with what you know that the Lord desires, and never forget that groans are acceptable.

Pray for God’s righteousness to be made manifest!

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Whose acceptance is more important to you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

“I do not accept praise from men, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?
(John 5:41-44 (NIV))

Ouch! That hurts.

Would Jesus say this to us today? Have we become like the people that He was condemning in this passage?

Many claim to be part of the Body of Christ, but do our actions reflect this? Do we seek acceptance from man more than we seek acceptance from God? Do we look to people who are accepted by man and think that they must be Godly for they have been blessed with fame and fortune? How do we look upon Christian music artists and mega-church pastors? Do we praise them for their fame or do we listen and discern what they are saying with respect to God’s Word?

It doesn’t only apply at the grand scale. It can apply to a local congregation if we seek acceptance from one another instead of from God. Please do not confuse this type of acceptance with what we are called to do as a church. We, as the Body of Christ, are called to accept people as Jesus accepted people. We are not called to place the desire to be accepted by people above accepting Jesus.

After we have done something that the Lord has called us to do, do we seek acceptance from our friends, family and fellow members of the Body of Christ? I honestly believe that the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector has merit in our ways of seeking acceptance.

    To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: `God, I thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
    “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, `God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
    “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
(Luke 18:9-14 (NIV))

When we seek acceptance from anyone else but God, we are trying to exalt ourselves. We are prideful. We want everybody to know who we are and what we have done. Is this how Jesus told us to serve?

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
(Matthew 6:2-4 (NIV))

We can seek the acceptance of man or we can seek the acceptance of Jesus.

Whose acceptance is more important to you?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you acknowledge the One to whom scripture points?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
(John 5:39-40 (NIV))

Have you ever known people like those whom Jesus spoke of?

You know the type. They can quote scripture. They know God’s Word thoroughly. They can argue any passage for they know the letter of the Law. They take pride in their knowledge, yet they fail to see that the letter of the Law is condemning and restricts life. These people enjoy learning about God, yet they miss the point that perfection is not attainable. They miss the simple fact that grace is attainable. It is a free gift.

Prayerfully, none of us are that type.

It is true that God’s Word holds the truth. It is true that God’s Word leads to salvation, for it points to the Word made flesh.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, `He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ” From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.
(John 1:14-18 (NIV))

We must study the Scriptures, but we must realize that eternal life is not found in knowledge of facts, it is found in the truth that the Scriptures point to. The truth is Jesus Christ.

It is my prayer that no one would study God’s Word without the willingness to follow where that study leads. Countless prophecies foretold of the coming of Jesus. Countless more told of His crucifixion and resurrection. Many more tell of His return. Allow God’s Word to lead you to this conclusion.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
(John 14:6 (NIV))

Are you full of Biblical facts or do you fill yourself with the truth of Jesus? Do you acknowledge the One to whom scripture points?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you teach legalism or grace?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men.
(Mark 7:6-8 (RSV))

These words have to be some of the least desired words that I would want spoken to me. Let’s face it, these words are condemning and offer little hope of salvation, grace or mercy.

What makes them so condemning?

They were spoken to the religious leaders of the day. They had so intermingled human laws and traditions to the point where it was more important to follow the exact letter of the law instead of following the intent of the law. They had taken what should have been instructions on how to attain mercy and grace and turned then into legalistic ritual. Instead of using the law as guidelines for how to treat each other and how to show compassion to each other, they developed strict details that allowed the religious “elite” to shun the majority of society. They used what God had intended to be a guiding principle and turned it into a controlling obstacle to grace.

If we are told the words of Mark 7:6-8, we have failed what God has asked us to do. We have failed to convey the grace and mercy that was freely given to us through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

We must be careful not to turn grace and mercy into legalism and bondage. If we teach falsely, we will be judged accordingly.

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
(James 3:1 (NIV))

Do your actions teach legalism or do they teach grace through the atoning blood of Jesus?

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