How are you at waiting?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

I waited patiently for the Lord;
     he turned to me and heard my cry.
(Psalms 40:1 (NIV))

I recently saw something that enhanced my understanding of this passage with a little alternate translation for “waited patiently.” It hinted that the original would better be translated along the lines of “to eagerly expect.” I am not a Hebrew scholar, so I will have to defer to someone who is, but I wholeheartedly agree with the implications from this proposed translation. If you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, we have turned to the Lord in eager expectation! We are not simply waiting, but, rather, we have placed our faith in a proactive relationship with our Lord and Savior.

Have you ever prayed for something and passively just sat by and waited?

There is an extremely good probability that you were fully engrossed in eager anticipation of your prayers being answered. You were probably to the level where you doubled down on your prayer because you longed for His answer.

What about your salvation?

Once you came to the awareness that you were a sinner in need of a savior, did you wait patiently or did you profess a faith with eager expectations of an eternity with the Lord?

With all that is going on in the world, are you simply waiting patiently for His return or are you eagerly expecting what you long for?

Faith is not a passive relationship with the Lord. Faith should be born out of an eager expectation of something better than what you are capable of on your own.

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

Ever since the fall from grace, humanity has longed for a path of redemption. Abraham and his descendants were selected to be the lineage through whom God would bring that redemption. There was waiting and there was also eager expectation. Today, we have the evidence of that eager expectation through what God did for His creation.

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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
(John 3:16-18 (NIV))

Today, we have the benefit of being able to see how many things have been brought to fruition by the Lord. There are still many things that are yet to transpire. Are you simply waiting or are you eagerly expecting what the Lord will do?

How are you at waiting?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

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.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Do you love the world or do you love Jesus?

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))

Are you eagerly awaiting Jesus?

Your answer to that question is a direct result of how you look at the world and how you look at Jesus.

If you are focused on the world and look to the world for answers, then you are not eagerly awaiting Jesus even if you claim to believe. If you believe that everything is going to get better because you trust those in power, then your faith is not in Jesus, but in fallen humanity.

If you look at the world in disbelief as each ungodly decision is made as it falls deeper and deeper into complete rebellion against God, then you know beyond any doubt that your citizenship is firmly rooted in your faith in Jesus.

To put it simply, do you trust man or do you trust Jesus? Do you believe what the world tells you or do you believe what God told us long ago? If your answers are not what you expected, now is the time to repent and change your priorities. Don’t wait! Tomorrow may be too late!

Do you love the world or do you love Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Do you desire to give God your best or your second best?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

“Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the LORD Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.
(Malachi 1:14 (NIV))

Do you give your second best to God? Do you expect God to give you His best?

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?
(Luke 11:11 (NIV))

It is true that all of our righteousness is as filthy rags, but we often tend to make them even more filthy because we do not offer our very best to God. We offer Him the blemishes of our life and expect Him to take them as our very best. We, in turn, eagerly await God to grant us our every desire for His blessings to be poured out upon us. If we expect God to bestow His best upon us, we should desire to give God our very best in gratitude. Lets face it, our best is still so far inferior to the least that God could give us. If we simply desire to give God our best, then we will not only be doing what we should, but, we will probably be blessed as a result. Perhaps we should even consider this act as an act of generosity, for out of the desires of our hearts we give.

A generous man will prosper;
    he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
(Proverbs 11:25 (NIV))

Perhaps we should even consider this act an act of faithful obedience. God is testing each of us to see what we are willing to give to Him so He will know what He can give to us. I would even venture to say that the story of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30 applies.

Do you desire to give God your best or your second best?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Do you desire to have faith like David?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
(Psalms 23:1-6 (NIV))

David was probably one of the most prolific writers of all times. By today’s standards, he would have been considered a “self-made man,” yet, he focused on God in all that he wrote about. He eagerly embraced all that God had graciously bestowed upon him and gave thanks at all times for what God had done for him. It is true that David strayed, but when he was confronted with this fact, he realized his mistakes and repented. Psalm 23 speaks of the grace and mercy that God has bestowed upon David, and will bestow on anyone if they only seek after God. God will not allow those who earnestly seek Him to follow the paths of unrighteousness or to be troubled by enemies. We will still have troubles, but God is our assurance of victory through the troubles.

David wrote that God would prepare a table before him in the presence of his enemies. He did not say that God would destroy the enemies. It is God’s Will that none should perish. Perhaps the reason that you still have enemies is this fact. God is using you to be an example of His grace and mercy to those who hate you.

How do you react to your enemies? Do they see Jesus in you and in your actions?

Do you desire to have faith like David?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Do you await your hope?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
(Romans 8:22-25 (NIV))

When Paul wrote these words to the Romans, a few people still had memories of Jesus as He walked the earth. They longed for the kingdom that Jesus taught would come. Some people, such as Paul, did not walk with Jesus when He walked the earth. They came to believe after Jesus was crucified, resurrected and ascended into heaven. They clung to the very promises that Jesus proclaimed even when He was on the cross. They longed for the righteousness of God’s Kingdom to come into existence and transform the world into the vision of heaven that Jesus spoke of. Their hearts ached and their spirits groaned in desperate desire for this to happen. They hated the world as it had become.

Today, almost two thousand years since these words were written, the world is vastly different than it was then. Much has transpired resulting in far more troubling scenarios such as weapons of mass destruction, abortion on demand, terrorism, euthanasia, plagues, and an ever increasing frequency of natural disasters. As believers, we “know” that our hope is coming soon. We may not see this hope in the physical sense, but having hope requires a faith in things unseen.

If we only hoped for things that we could see, what would we be able to hope for, for the things that we see on a daily basis are firmly rooted in sin. I don’t know about you, but I long to place my hope in something far greater than what I can see, for what I see causes distress and my spirit to groan.

It is true that we are closer to seeing our hope than any other point in history. Each second brings us closer to the glorious return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. This is my hope! This is my prayer! Each day I await for the fulfillment of my hope. I pray that I am able to await patiently.

Does your spirit groan at the things of this world? Do you await your hope?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

God’s Word truly is sweet to the taste!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
(Psalms 119:103 (NIV))

Have you ever noticed how a new bride seems to hang on every word that her husband says? Have you noticed that a loving husband will listen intently to every word his new bride speaks? Unfortunately, this comes to an end. The newness wears off and every day life settles in. Soon, neither party truly hears what the other is saying.

Unfortunately, our relationship with God also starts to take on these characteristics of every day routine. One day we forget to pray and soon we are not reading His Word at all.

We must treat God and His Word just as we did when we first discovered it. We read His Word and eagerly took its wisdom to heart. It truly was sweet to the taste. We must return to that time. We must look upon God’s Word as we did when we were starving for His Truth. We must eagerly taste of His Word.

Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
(Psalms 34:8 (NIV))

God and His Word are good. They are sweet morsels in a world of bitterness. We must be willing, or perhaps I should say that we must be longing to overcome the bitterness through the sweet morsels that God has so graciously given to us.

Is God’s Word still as sweet to you today as it was when your faith was new?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery

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
Subscribe to daily email delivery