What is your house built upon?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
(Matthew 7:24 (NIV))

If you have ever built something, no matter how big or how small, what was the first thing that you did? What was the first step you undertook to make sure that your endeavor would be successfully completed?

If you are in school studying to achieve a career goal, the first thing that you do is build a solid foundation of the basics in the subject that you are interested in. If you are the athletic type, you study and get the best equipment and learn how to properly use it so that you have a solid physical foundation upon which to build? If you are an architect or a structural engineer, you work diligently to make sure that the building has a solid base upon which to rest.

I hope that you are starting to pick up on the concept that Jesus presented, for it applies to all aspects of life. Why, then, do we tend to forget that we need to build a solid foundation of faith? You can say that you believe, but unless you dive headfirst into God’s word and into the teachings of Jesus, do you truly even know what you believe? Sadly, far too many people in this day and time spend a few minutes cherry-picking a few passages and make false assumptions on what it means to profess that Jesus is their personal Lord and Savior. They are eager to say that they believe, but when presented passages that actually present the truth, they walk away. They did not build a firm foundation.

Jesus also presented this concept in another way through the following passages.

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
(Matthew 13:1-9 (NIV))

No matter how you understand the concept, either good soil, firm foundation or building your house upon the rock, it all is the same. If you do not build your life and your faith upon the truth of Jesus, then it is built on shaky ground and will not last.

What is your house built upon?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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When was the last time that you were still?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
(Psalms 37:7 (NIV))

How many times have you found yourself wanting to do what God would have you do, only to have your “apple cart” upset by someone who is doing the worldly thing? I know that it happens far too often for my tastes. It is hard to keep the world from creeping in when this happens. We must do as the Psalmist told us. We must be still and wait on God. God has an eternal time clock and an eternal plan for not only us, but for the whole world and everyone in it. We must wait on God for what He is working in our lives. If we diligently seek Him, He will fill us to overflowing with the gifts that He would have us possess. We must also keep still and patient when it concerns the wicked schemes of others.

Often, people have come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior only after they have succeeded in all worldly matters. Sometimes they achieve everything that they wanted from the world and still find an emptiness that they cannot fill. Sometimes, the world turns on them and they hit rock bottom and then they turn upward to receive Jesus. Either way, God was patient with them. He was still and waited until the time was right for these people to be reached. We must not look on these people and envy them for their worldly gain. We must pray for them and wait on God to work in their lives. Who knows? Maybe these people that are succeeding in their wicked ways will someday need to turn to God, and God has kept you waiting so that you could be the vessel that He uses to touch them. We must also remember that God created each of us as unique individuals and that He does not have two identical life plans or plans for salvation.

Be still. Listen to God. Is He telling you to watch and pray for those around you? God speaks in different ways to different people. He is that still, small voice. He does not force Himself on anyone, but He is eager to speak to those who will be still and listen.

When was the last time that you were still?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you willing and eager to go?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
(Isaiah 6:8 (NIV))

Do you have that willingness to do whatever God requires?

Many people just sit back and take the attitude that God will send someone else. What if that someone else that God is calling is actually you? Would you respond in the way that Isaiah did? Would you arise to the occasion and take on the task that God has for you or would you shrink from the face of the unknown because it is more than you could possibly do on your own? When we are presented with the unknown, many people would rather just sit in their current situation instead of facing the possibility of something uncertain. This “comfort zone” has been the undoing of many people. Remember these words.

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
(Matthew 19:26 (NIV))

It is not the possibility of losing when God is in control, but it is the fear of the unknown, the fear of moving out of your comfort zone.

What is your point of fear? Is it the unknown, or is it the idea of leaving your comfort zone? How can you answer God’s call if you won’t even get off of the couch?

Are you willing and eager to go?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Ready, eager and willing!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
(Luke 22:15 (NIV))

Talk about an ultimate example of love. Jesus was eager to do what He did because He loves us. He was willing to suffer for us.

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

Not only did Jesus go willingly to the cross for us, but He was eager to do the things that led up to the cross. He knew that the results of His actions would mean salvation for all who would simply accept the free gift. His love for us was greater than the desire to have the cup pass from Him.

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
(Luke 22:42 (NIV))

I have heard it said that the nails did not keep Jesus on the cross, after all, He could have performed a miracle at any time. What did keep Jesus on the cross was His overwhelming love for us. He was eager to face what He faced because of that love.

How do you view His eagerness and His willingness? Have you come to the full realization of just what He did for you? He was willing to suffer the ultimate pain and death for you. He was willing to be beaten and ridiculed for you.

Are you eager in your acceptance of His sacrifice for you?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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How are you living?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him.
(Colossians 2:6 (NIV))

Have you stopped and actually thought about these words? On the surface, they seem straightforward and almost too plain. Take another look.

When you received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, how was your attitude? Were you sad? Were you humiliated? Were you full of self pity? I would venture to say that you were probably excited. You were probably ready to shout from the highest mountain. You were probably ready to tell the whole world about Jesus. In other words, you were excited and eager to live your life with Jesus.

How do you live your life today? Do you have the same enthusiasm that you once had? Do you have the same eagerness and excitement that you once had? Or, has the newness worn off? Do you find yourself sitting at church and your mind wanders to things that it should not wander to? Do you find yourself occasionally doing things at work that you know you shouldn’t do? Are you losing your excitement? Are you losing the newness of the relationship that you once had with Jesus?

We are instructed to continue to live in Jesus. We must not revert back to the way we were before we accepted Jesus. We must not pick up new sins with the attitude that we are forgiven. Accepting Jesus as personal Lord and Savior means that we desire to leave our sinful nature behind and become more like Jesus. Jesus gave us a gift beyond price. When we accepted it, we had joy, we had peace, and we had excitement. We lived those emotions. Now, we must continue to live as if it were the first day of our salvation. We must live it with joy, peace and excitement.

How are you living?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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