What is in your heart?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
(Proverbs 19:21 (NIV))

No matter what we may have planned, God has His own plan for us. Many people think that they are the masters of their own destiny. They think that they can do whatever they please, make whatever plans they want, and then reap the benefits of this way of thinking.

How often have we seen the “self-made” man or woman appear to be getting everything that life has to offer: money, fame, love, etc. How many times have you later seen that same person at the pits of despair due to their over indulgence and the effects of their life style?

We have a choice every day that we live. We can choose to follow our plans and ignore God and His Will for our lives and then pay the consequences later, or we can listen to that small, still voice that God uses to talk to us and do His Will. We may think that we can do our own thing and ignore God. Yet, there is always that overshadowing knowledge that what we are doing is wrong. We may not admit it, yet, we always know that something is missing in our lives. There is a hole, an emptiness, that longs to be filled. This emptiness is the longing for God and the desire to be in God’s Will for our lives.

Do you have a hole or are you whole?

What is in your heart?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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We need to recognize God’s ownership authority!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;
(Psalms 24:1 (NIV))

I find it rather amusing that humanity thinks that we are the masters of our own destiny and, yet, we have been brought to an almost complete stand still by something that can’t be seen without the aid of powerful magnification.

We may never truly know the origins of this virus, but we can be certain of one thing. Its appearance did not surprise God! He knew that it was coming. He knew that the enemy would twist and manipulate creation to bring about something that would try to be used to undermine God’s power and authority. If you look at the reactions to this worldwide event, you can see that some people understand this and are at peace, while others are fearful and panicking.

Which one are you?

Do you recognize the fact that nothing surprises God and, as a result, nothing brings fear into your life, or do you focus on the world and react with fear and trepidation at every single misfortune in this world?

Let’s take a small side step for a moment. What is the one thing that you love more than anything in this world? Are you so in tune with it that you know everything about it? Have you ever been completely surprised by something new? Now, let’s escalate this example to the point that we all know, but too often we forget.

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))

God loves the world far greater than we are capable of loving anything. If we, as sinful humanity, can know everything about something that we love, how much greater knowledge does the Lord have of what He loves? Humanity is His greatest treasure. He loves us! He created this world for us. We are His creation. The world is His creation. There is nothing that happens in this world that surprises God. Everything works to His greater glory! We have developed a very large sinful pride that tells us otherwise. Our sinful nature tells us that we are the final authority in this world.

We need to recognize God’s ownership authority!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What controls your spirit?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
(2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV))

How are you holding up in the midst of all that is happening in the world?

Be honest with yourself. Are you falling into the panic and fear that the world insists on spreading? Have you focused only on the world to the point that you have ignored or completely forgotten the promises that we have been given by our Lord? If you are fearful because of the events occurring in the world, it is time to step back and take a serious look at all that has been promised by God.

He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, to redeem us and restore us to Himself. This restoration saves us from sin and death. Why would He save us from such a fate and then abandon us? Fear is rooted in uncertainty and a sense of danger. We have already been told our destiny lies with Jesus. That is certain. We have also been told to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Does this sound like something we need to fear? We have nothing to fear because Jesus bore all of our sin. He willingly paid the consequences of our sins and gave us His righteousness and grace. We have been told that Jesus will return for us. If He is returning, what do we have to fear in this world?

When we accepted Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, all fear has been defeated. It has been replaced with His power and His love. When we embrace the Holy Spirit, He gives us a sound mind. He gives us His mind to guide us.

No matter what may come our way while we are in this world, we have nothing to fear, for we are His and He is ours!

What controls your spirit?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you a new creation?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
(2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV))

Anyone who has accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior has a tremendous reason to celebrate!

We like to celebrate the passage of time by having a major event at the transition from the last day of one year to the first day of a new year. In all honesty, this celebration is nothing more than a time to celebrate the fact that we made it through another year. For this simple fact, the whole world celebrates and then within just a few hours, we are back to the very same things as before the celebration.

What if we could celebrate something that would leave us completely different? What if we could celebrate receiving a gift so magnificent that it changes our eternal destiny? What if we could discard our sinful nature and replace it with the very nature of God through the gift of His Son, Jesus?

Each one of us was physically born into a sinful world and we inherited a sinful nature. That nature has condemned us. That nature has destined us for eternal separation from God. Through the gift that God gave us in Jesus, we can replace that condemnation and that destiny with a grace filled rebirth. We can be made new! We can repent and take hold of the promises of God. We can be made better than new! We can be made new in the image of Christ!

Are you a new creation?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What is your definition of wisdom?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
(Proverbs 9:10 (NIV))

What is wisdom?

The world thinks of wisdom as a cunning or shrewdness in a particular area such as business. What passes as wisdom in this world is of no consequence in the eyes of God. The wisdom of the world is fleeting and foolish, for it passes in the blink of an eye. Even intellectual wisdom is fleeting. The “smartest” person in the world can lose it all in the blink of an eye if they are in an accident that causes brain damage.

Just what is wisdom?

True wisdom comes only from acknowledging that we are not “gods” of our own destiny and circumstances. We do not control our lives the way worldly wisdom claims that we do. What happens to worldly wisdom once that person dies without Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior? It may be remembered for a short time, but, it too will die and the person who was considered wise will spend eternity apart from God.

True wisdom acknowledges God and His mastery over all things. It not only says that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, it accepts Jesus’ authority as Lord and Master as well as Savior. With this acknowledgement and acceptance comes true wisdom, for the Holy Spirit will fill you with what is of God. The Holy Spirit proceeds with teaching and guiding you in all things that matter for eternity and not for the next few days, weeks, months, or years.

True wisdom focuses on the eternal Kingdom of God and not on the temporary personal kingdoms that we all try to establish for ourselves.

What is your definition of wisdom?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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How is your body and your mind?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
(Romans 12:1-2 (NIV))

We like to think that we are the ones in charge, that we are the masters of our own destiny, but in all honesty, are we?

It is human nature to rebel against submission to others, for it sounds too much like slavery to us.

Think about those statements and then think about the fallen, sinful nature that we, as humanity, have inherited. We believed a lie from the father of lies, and now, if God says one thing, our deceived nature automatically tells us to believe the opposite. In order to break this trend, we must make a conscious effort to do so. We must decide to not follow the world, but follow God. We must decide to offer God all of ourselves. That means physically and spiritually. We must deliberately make a choice to go against the world for the world has become the domain of the enemy. The world is very good at calling good evil and evil good. In order to break out of this mindset, we must transform our minds. We must spend time in God’s Word. We must seek God in all things and break the bonds that hold us captive to the lies of the enemy.

We must be willing to sacrifice our natural selves and offer up ourselves to God in humility and sincerity. We must humble ourselves and admit that we are nothing without God. We must seek only what makes us righteous in the eyes of God. That means removing anything that tempts us in body or in mind.

How is your body and your mind?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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We all need to lean on God’s understanding!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
(Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV))

Do you like to be the master of your own destiny?

Are you the type of person who has to fix all of the problems?

Do you think of yourself as self-sufficient in all that you do?

These are all traits that our society has instilled in us as traits to be admired. We have been conditioned to look upon people who look to someone else for support as weak and less than worthy of success. We have been conditioned to respond to any problem in such a manner that we think that we can do anything. We have to be able to solve anything that we face all on our own wisdom and insight. This is expected even when we literally know absolutely nothing about what we are facing.

Take a long and serious look at your life.

What if you lost everyone that you love in an accident? What if you had to face what Job faced? Could you find the strength to continue based on your own understanding? Could you truly say that you could fix this problem?

Human life is frail. We are not designed by God to lean on our own understanding. We were created to be in constant communication with God. When this constant communication ended because of the fall from grace in the Garden of Eden, we lost our “Father” with whom we could talk and confide in. We lost that intimacy that allows us to lean on God. Ever since then, we have been trying to say to God that we don’t need Him. Just like a two year old who thinks he is a big boy, our desires are saying that we can do it, but the results are saying that we need God.

Do you want to do it, or do you lean on God?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What is your continuity in life?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
(Hebrews 13:8 (NIV))

Do you like continuity in your life?

Is there anything that has been in your life for a long time that is the exact same as it was when it first became a part of your life?

If you are like me, well, actually, if you are like every other person who has ever lived, nothing ever stays the same. You make friends, lose friends, grow up, move on, get married, have children who then proceed to grow up and move on, get married and have children who then . . .

What is it about continuity that we, as human beings, like so much? Is it the reliability that we like? Is it the fact that we like a constant point of reference? Could it be that we like the assurance of knowing that something or someone will always be there no matter what the circumstances may be?

When I read that Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever, I like the assurance that He is my rock. He is my foundation upon which I can build my life. It is this foundation that gives me the freedom to live life without fear and without uncertainty. I am grounded firmly in the promises that God has fulfilled through Jesus! I stand firm on my faith in Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, and I embrace the destiny that is mine through the gift of God’s grace through Jesus!

Any day is a good day to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Any day is a good day to walk with Jesus. Any day is a good day to repent and return to Jesus. In this new year, I pray that we all examine our lives and assess where we are in our relationship with Jesus. If we find that things are not as they should be, or as they were, keep in mind that it is we who have changed and not Jesus!

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Is your belief based on your ego?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
(Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV))

Too many people still believe that they can be saved by good works. They believe that it is of their own good works that will save them. This belief is based on ego. The inflated ego that they are different from everyone else and that they alone set their destiny. Nothing could be further from the truth.

All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; (Isaiah 64:6a)

Nothing that we can do can bring us to the level of righteousness that is required in order to be saved. It is by grace alone that we are saved. Grace is a gift freely given to all who will accept it. There is only one thing that we can do to receive salvation: accept God’s gift of grace.

Works then become important after we have received this gift of grace. These works are the acts of Christian love and compassion that we use to reach others for Jesus Christ. The works are no longer our attempt at becoming good enough for God. We work, not out of a need to prove ourselves, but out of a desire to prove that God loves us. In essence, we become the bearers of the good news of God’s grace once we have accepted God’s grace.

From which side of grace are you performing your good works?

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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