How well do you love?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
(1 John 4:18 (NAS))

It has been said that there is a thin line between fear and hate. If you fear others, then it is because you are close to hating others. This is probably not intentional, but, it is true.

It is through love that hatred is abolished, and through this, fear is abated. You cannot fear someone that you love. They are opposite extremes and diametrically opposed to each other. You either love with no fear, or you fear with hatred as the root.

We are to live with Jesus as the example. Jesus did not know fear or hatred. He had compassion and mercy on all that He encountered. It was their reactions to Him that set the tone of the interactions. No matter what happened, Jesus always responded in love and mercy. If we are to be followers of Jesus, then we, too, should respond to all whom we see with love and mercy. Jesus gave us instructions on what to do.

“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)

How well have you carried out this new commandment? Can others tell that you are a disciple of Jesus?

How well do you love?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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We need Jesus!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV))

Discipleship is relational. Spreading the Gospel is relational. Loving people is relational.

Neither Jesus nor His disciples developed programs that took the place of true and loving relationships with people. Why do so many churches today push programs over relationships when they are trying to lead people to Jesus? We have men’s programs. We have women’s programs. We have college, youth and children’s programs, but do we truly have Jesus?

We have lead pastors, administrative pastors, youth pastors, senior adult pastors, children’s pastors and worship pastors, but when the focus is the organization instead of people, we lose Jesus. We become like the very Pharisees that Jesus called a brood of vipers.

Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying.

If done correctly, these programs can become great ministry outreaches, but if we lose sight of how Jesus loved people, then all of the programs in the world won’t amount to a hill of beans.

When we stand before the Lord, He is not going to ask you how many programs that you participated in. He will ask you how well you did at sharing the Gospel. He will ask you how well you used the talents that He gave you. He will ask you these questions even though He already knows the answers. He will ask then just as He is asking now, and as He has always asked. He wants each of us to examine our own hearts, our own lives, in the light of the only thing that matters. Did you love the Lord as He loves you and have you loved others as He loves them?

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
(Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV))

This is what we are called to do.

We don’t need another program.

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))

We need Jesus!

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What will it take for you to believe?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
(John 20:30-31 (NIV))

It has often been speculated that Jesus performed far more miracles than any of the books of the New Testament recorded. These words from John give credence to that idea. Think about it for a moment. Just how many miracles do you need to have documented before you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God? Will it take 10,000 to make you believe? Will you settle for only 1,000 miracles? Will 100 be sufficient to draw you into faith? Perhaps 10 will be enough to make you realize that Jesus is the Son of God?

Could you believe if you were only told of one miracle that Jesus performed?

If so, which one would it be? Turning water into wine? Walking on water? Feeding the 5,000 or would it be raising Lazarus from the dead? Personally, everything that Jesus accomplished when He walked this earth takes a back seat to the ultimate miracle. Everything that He did, even when raising Lazarus from the dead, was a temporary fix to the situation that was presented to Him. The one and only miracle that has an everlasting effect on all of creation was His resurrection from the grave after a brutal death. Through this one miracle, Jesus has ascended to the right hand of God the Father and He has overcome the power of sin and death for all time.

The time for being a skeptic is over. Look at the miracles. Look at the lives impacted. Look at the promises fulfilled. Look at the empty tomb!

What will it take for you to believe?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What do these events mean to you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
(Matthew 26:39-42 (NIV))

Many people think that Jesus did not know anguish and pain!

These words show that on the day leading up to what we know as Good Friday, Jesus feared what was to come, yet, still was obedient to the Father’s Will for Himself and for us. Think about the events that we remember this weekend and welcome them into your lives as the key events that they actually are. Put yourself in the events.

What did Jesus feel? What made the crowds turn upon Him? Would you have been like Peter? Would you be at the foot of the cross?

With the knowledge that we have about what happened, are you at the foot of the cross now?

Looking back, we think that we know so much more than the disciples or the crowds, but in all honesty, we would probably have reacted the very same way. Thankfully, we live when we can look back on these events and we can reap the benefit of historical perspective. With that said, I have one question for you.

What do these events mean to you?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Have you taken up your cross and followed His example?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
(Mark 8:34 (NIV))

How are you at the task that Jesus set out before all who would follow Him?

How are you at denying yourself?

How are you at taking up your cross?

Easter is rapidly approaching. The day that we observe the yearly celebration of the resurrection of the crucified Jesus. It is something to celebrate. It is the culmination of all of God’s promises, for without the resurrection, the cross means nothing. Without the empty tomb, we are all guilty sinners without any hope.

Have you ever thought about why Jesus said that we must deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him?

The world thinks that following Jesus is a joke. They look upon those who proclaim a faith in Jesus as less than intellectual, as someone stuck in childlike fantasy. Following Jesus is not always the easy thing to do. We have influences from all realms of society that mock us and try to get us to do things that we know are not right. We are called to stick to the path laid out before us as believers. We are to not only accept the grace and mercy but show this same grace and mercy to others.

Think about Jesus on the cross. Was it socially acceptable to do what He did? Was it politically correct to preach and teach as He did? Was it in His best interests as a human to be seen with tax collectors, adulterers and sinners of all types?

Jesus denied Himself in ways that we can only imagine. He said and did things that He knew would anger the Sanhedrin. He kept the company of those who were social outcasts. He did all of this without any regard for His well-being. He even went to the cross without any resistance. This was the ultimate act of denying yourself.

He placed others first!

We are to do the same. We are to seek the lost and offer them a path to grace. We are to see the hungry and feed them. We are to feel the pain of a lost world and pray. We are called to do things beyond ourselves.

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
(John 13:35 (NIV))

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
(John 15:13 (NIV))

Think of the love that Jesus showed for all of creation.

Have you taken up your cross and followed His example?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you offering the gift of mercy and grace that is only found in Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.
(Ezekiel 3:18 (NIV))

What do you think of when you see wickedness in the world?

Do you succumb to human nature and find yourself thinking that these wicked people will get what they deserve?

How does that attitude fit our basic job description that was given to us by Jesus?

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV))

Have you ever stopped to consider that these words from Jesus are His instructions to us to say “You will surely die” to a wicked person?

Think about that for a moment with respect to your salvation. What if no one ever told you what Jesus is asking you now to tell others? Where would that leave you? Wouldn’t you want to be told that you would die, but there is a way to escape this death? Wouldn’t you want to know that you have fallen short of what is expected of you?

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(Romans 3:23 (NIV))

Wouldn’t you want to know the consequences of this short coming, as well as the fact that God has already set things in motion to offer you grace?

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 6:23 (NIV))

Wouldn’t you want to know that God has set a perfect plan in motion to redeem you from these consequences and that it is a free gift of grace only available through accepting His Son, Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
(Romans 8:1 (NIV))

After reading all of this, we must go back to what was presented in Ezekiel. We are told that if we do not warn them, if we do not share that repentance and grace can be theirs, then we will be held accountable. With that said, salvation is not only for you and I. It is a gift that is to be continually given through the testimonies of those who have already received.

Are you warning others of what is to come?

Are you offering the gift of mercy and grace that is only found in Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you correctly doing your part?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
(John 18:36 (NIV))

Do you believe that what Jesus told His followers then still applies now?

Why do we think that we have to fight, when we are clearly told that all we must do is be still.

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
(Exodus 14:14 (NIV))

All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
(1 Samuel 17:47 (NIV))

Why do we think that we have to take matters into our own hands when all that we can do is mess things up? We can’t guarantee the outcome of anything that we do, so why do we think that our feeble attempts at “helping” God will do anything at all? Why do we place our trust and our energy in human leaders when we should be turning things over to the Lord, for it is His Will that will be done?

We are told to put on the full armor of God, but that armor is not indicative of a physical battle. It is our call to prepare ourselves for a spiritual war that has already been decided because the Lord has planned it that way. When we try to put on physical armor, we are running the risk of making decisions that go against what the Lord has planned. When we put on the full armor of God, the spiritual nature of the warfare is outlined. We understand that our part in this battle is to rescue the lost and dying. Our part is to follow the leading of the Lord and do what we have been called to do since He gave us our orders.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV))

We are to take a stand for what is right and true. We are to reach out to those who are hurting. We are to share the good news of Jesus with those who are still in need of a Savior. In other words, our part of the battle is rescuing those who are trapped in the clutches of the enemy. Everything else is up to the Lord. Everything else will unfold as He has planned and when He has it planned. There is nothing that we can do of our own strength that will change what He has planned.

However, we can pray!

We can pray for His Will to be done. We can pray for those who are in need of a Savior. We can pray for the hearts of the leaders, and we can pray for His kingdom to come.

It has been said that our part of the battle is to fall to our knees in prayer.

Are you correctly doing your part?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you still sitting on your comfort zone?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
(Matthew 10:16 (NIV))

Most of us recognize this passage as being from when Jesus sent out His disciples to do what He had been doing. They were to proclaim the good news, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, and drive out demons.

I don’t know about you, but that is so far beyond my comfort zone that I truly only feel comfortable with proclaiming the good news.

But, . . .

Jesus sent out His disciples even knowing that they probably felt that what they were called to do was outside of their comfort zone!

They went!

We are not given details of what transpired, but we are also not told that they failed at any of these tasks. Up until this point, they were used to seeing Jesus do all of these things. They knew who He was. They knew that if He called them to do these things, then He would give them the power and authority to step out and complete what He had asked of them.

Do you think that they were nervous?

Do you think that they were afraid?

Do you think that they doubted themselves?

I am certain that they had all of the very same concerns that we would have, yet, they willingly stepped outside of their comfort zones. I am so thankful that they did, for without that lesson in faith in the promises of Jesus, they would have not been able to step outside of their comfort zones after the resurrection. They would have believed, but their confidence, their trust in the abilities that the Lord had blessed them with, would not have existed as strongly and they would not have been able to build His church.

They trusted in Jesus and they stepped outside of their comfort zone.

How well do you trust Jesus?

Are you still sitting on your comfort zone?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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We are to recruit others into a citizenship that never ends!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
(Philippians 3:20 (NIV))

If someone where to ask you what your address is, you would undoubtedly be able to answer with an exact location. My father spent over twenty years in the U.S. Army, and our address constantly changed depending on his assignment. For this reason, he always used his parents home address as his permanent mailing address, even when he was out of country.

If they were to ask you what country you were a citizen of, you would also be able to answer, even if you are one of the few who possess a dual citizenship. Which one do you consider your primary address and citizenship?

In both of these types of situations, people will most likely claim a primary, or permanent residence or citizenship. If you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you don’t have two citizenships – one in heaven and one on earth. You only have one. You are a citizen of heaven first and foremost. Your time on this earth is only a visit, a walk of faith on your way to your true residence.

Do you truly feel that this world is not your home? Do you grow tired of the things that you see and experience as you walk through this physical life?

If you profess a faith in Jesus, then you should feel uncomfortable in this world. You should long for heaven!

For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven.
(Hebrews 13:14 (TLB))

I long for the day that I will see Jesus face to face, but, until then, I have a task set out before me. It is the very same task that each person has that professes a faith in Jesus.

We are to make disciples!

We are to share the Gospel!

We are to recruit others into a citizenship that never ends!

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you prepared for this rapidly approaching day?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

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))

What did the Disciples do when Jesus was crucified?

They gathered together. They prayed. They fellow shipped with each other.

What did the Disciples do when Jesus was resurrected?

They gathered together. They prayed. They fellow shipped with each other.

What happened when the Holy Spirit came upon the church at Pentecost?

They gathered together. They prayed. They fellow shipped with each other.

What happened when the early church was persecuted?

They gathered together. They prayed. They fellow shipped with each other.

Are you seeing a trend in what the Body of Christ is called to do? We cannot face this sinful world on our own, even if we profess a faith in Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. We are called to meet with other believers. We are called to encourage one another. We are to spur each other on toward love and good deeds. The early church took this seriously. Today, we don’t gather together because we would rather sleep in, or the weather is too bad, or we just don’t feel like it. What will the church look like, not if, but when we face persecution? What will the Body of Christ be like? Will we see a great falling away, or will we see a faith like that shown when our ancestors in the faith were fed to the lions?

We read Daniel, Ezekiel and Revelation and think that these events are long in the future. Are they? Many are saying that things are unfolding in this world very similarly to what these prophetic passages have recorded. If you have professed a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, then you have a responsibility to put on the full armor of God. You have a responsibility to prepare yourself so that you can recognize the attacks of the enemy. You have a responsibility to spur one another on and to encourage one another to stand firm in the faith. Salvation was not just offered to you. It was offered to all who will receive. All who accept have become adopted sons and daughters of God. We are a family, and contrary to the terminology used today, this family is not dysfunctional. The day is coming when we will meet Jesus in the air!

Are you prepared for this rapidly approaching day?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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