Have you had your daily bread?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
(Matthew 4:4 (NIV))

What do you find yourself living on?

There is an old saying “You are what you eat.” Another way of saying it is “Garbage in, garbage out.” But, to be honest with you, what Jesus was talking about is not physical food.

What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
(Matthew 15:11 (NIV))

It is what a person puts into their heart, into their mind, and into their spirit that is the bread that Jesus was speaking about. In this case, it is very true that what you put into your life is what you will get out of your life. You can’t fill your life with garbage and expect to be able to produce something beautiful. You can’t fill your life with sin and expect to be righteous. You can’t fill your life with hatred and expect to be loved.

If you have ever tried to go on a diet, you know very well that it is difficult to change your habits in the physical world. It is also very difficult to change your habits in relationship to spiritual endeavors. Thankfully, we have help. We can turn to Jesus, profess our sins, and accept Him as Lord and Savior of our life. When we make this turn, when we choose to cast away the sin that has held us in bondage, we are professing that we desire to change our habits. We are professing a desire to fill our lives with what is of God. We are professing a desire to feast on the goodness of God.

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
(John 6:35 (NIV))

We are to partake of the goodness and mercy that is freely given to us through the cross. We are to partake of the bread of life that is only found in Jesus. It is not just a once and done event. We are to feed on His truth and God’s Word every day of our lives from that moment on. We are to make time to sit in His presence and feast on the goodness of His promises. Are you in the habit of living off of His goodness each and every day? I pray that your answer is a resounding “Yes.”

Have you had your daily bread?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What is the source of your sustenance?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
(Matthew 4:4 (NIV))

We spend so much time thinking about what we eat. We spend so much time worried about eating the rights things in the right amount so that we don’t put on weight, or so that we will lose weight. It seems like every day we hear about new diets or nutrition supplements that are designed to make us the best possible physical specimen that we can be. The things that we put into our bodies are important, but why do we spend so much time and effort with this aspect of our lives while we neglect a very important aspect of our growth and maturity? Why do we ignore the spiritual aspects and focus on the physical when the physical is here today and gone tomorrow?

We need to focus on feeding our spiritual side. We need to feed on the very Word of God.

Jesus IS the Word made flesh.

Jesus IS the bread of life.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem means house of bread.

I find it interesting that in order to receive salvation, each of us must accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. We must embrace Jesus as the bread of life. But, we are not to stop there. We are to immerse ourselves in God’s Word in order to become like David, a man after God’s own heart. We can’t know the Father without spending time in His Word. We can’t truly know the Son, without spending time with the Word. We can’t mature in our faith without knowing the very heart of God! They go hand in hand.

We eat physical food to strengthen our bodies. We must also strengthen our spiritual nature. We need more than milk. We need to mature in our faith!

In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.
(Hebrews 5:12-13 (NIV))

Are you acquainted with God’s Word?

What is the source of your sustenance?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What does your life consist of?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
(Matthew 6:25 (NIV))

There are many things in this physical world that can distract you in the course of your lifetime. Everyone faces times when they are worried about having enough to eat. If you have ever had children, then you can also relate to the notion of not having clothes that fit, or perhaps you have needed better clothes for a job interview. Let’s throw one in that is truly a modern issue – when your car breaks down. It is these types of distractions that Jesus was addressing. Think about this from another perspective. Jesus was telling us to not get so involved in our day to day lives that we forget to enjoy life. We should not get so overwhelmed by the things of this world that we forget to turn to the Creator of this world.

He knows what we need even before we need it!

This precious gift of life that we have is far more than the physical needs and desires that we all have. It is so much more than that. If we can focus on Jesus, then we will have all that we ever need, for what Jesus offers is eternal. We will be hungry again. We will be thirsty again. Our clothes will grow old and fall apart. Our cars will break down. We will face issues that will try to distract us, but life is not about these issues. Everyone faces trials. Everyone faces trouble. It is a matter of priorities. If we focus on Jesus and not on the things of this world, then we focus on what is truly important.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 (NIV))

We can overcome the worries of this world if we focus on Jesus. Our lives don’t have to consist of the worries brought about by the things of this world.

What does your life consist of?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What do you see being produced in your life?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
(John 15:5 (NIV))

Sadly, too many people have twisted this concept around to mean that if you believe in Jesus, then you are surely to be blessed with worldly treasures and positions. This concept has slowly invaded our churches as many people flock to those who claim the fruit is of this world. The last time I read anything about fruit, it had nothing to do with riches or worldly attributes. If you stop to think about physical fruit, you think of a food group that doctors always tell us to eat more of. Fruit is healthy. Fruit builds you up. It helps to make you stronger, just as the fruit you will bear if you remain in Jesus!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
(Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV))

Do you see anything in this passage that says that we will bear fortune or fame? Do you see anything in this passage that says that we will be promised worldly riches? God does not measure things as the world measures them. In fact, with recent history in mind, if the world claims that something is good, run as far and as fast as you can away from it, for it will be opposed to the true goodness that comes only from God. What the world claims as good is not healthy. It does not build you up. It only serves to destroy.

When you look at your life, what do you see? Perhaps I should ask this another way. When others look at your life, what do they see? Do they see love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control or do they see things of the world?

What do you see being produced in your life?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you still hunger and thirst?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
(John 6:35 (NIV))

Jesus liked to put spiritual things in a physical context so that people could understand them. In order to understand them, it is essential that you think outside the proverbial box of this physical world and come to the realization that Jesus is drawing a parallel to something that we can associate with. Many things, such as this passage, are not to be taken literal from the physical perspective, but that are absolute truths when you look at them from the spiritual perspective.

In the physical world, we know that when we eat or drink something, we will find ourselves hungry or thirsty in a short period of time. It is simply the way the physical world is.

But . . .

If you partake of Jesus, He offers eternal life. When you turn to Him as your personal Lord and Savior, your hunger for grace and mercy is forever satisfied. Your thirst for abundant and eternal life is forever quenched. It only takes one honest and sincere repentance and acceptance of Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior to find that you are forever satisfied. You may be asking about times that you do things that you shouldn’t and you need to repent. Everyone has those moments. Everyone must turn to Jesus and repent for things that we all do, but this does not mean that you have to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior all over again. That has already been done!

Think of your relationship with Jesus in terms that may be easier to understand.

Everyone has people that you love. Have you ever done something that hurt that person? If you are wise and you value that relationship, you ask for forgiveness for that particular instance. You don’t have to start the whole relationship over. You have a small setback and then you get back on track. When you choose to make Jesus your personal Lord and Savior, the sinful things that you do after that moment are not a reason to start all over. They are a reason to repent, to make a mid-course correction, and to get back on track with Jesus.

Everyone who has ever lived knows what it is like to hunger and thirst physically. Have you ever ached so much spiritually that it felt just like a severe physical hunger or thirst? Turn to Jesus. He will satisfy your spiritual hunger and He will quench your spiritual thirst.

Do you still hunger and thirst?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What is it that you seek first?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?’ or `What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
(Matthew 6:31-33 (NIV))

What is it that you seek first?

With Christmas almost here, many people turn ino materialistic animals. They think that they have to give the perfect gift. They think that they have to have the latest gadget because it will make their life complete. They think that they have to give more expensive gifts because they are being judged by their gift.

I pray that people will come to the realization that it is not about bigger and better gifts. It is not about finding the perfect clothes to wear. It is not about preparing the perfect meal or making sure that the supply of drinks does not run out. It is simply a matter of priorities.

I pray that people will come to the realization that all that they truly need is found in a manger and at the foot of the cross!

Focus on Jesus and seek His righteousness as your priority. When you find yourself aligning your life along God’s plan and His grace, then everything else will slowly come into focus. What better time to realign your priorities than at the time of year that we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. Birth represents a new beginning. The birth of Jesus gives each of us that opportunity for a new beginning – a beginning without the baggage of the failed priorities of the world.

Again, I ask the simple question. What is it that you seek first?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Why worry about what Jesus has already overcome?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
(Matthew 6:25 (NIV))

The pressures of society sure have had an impact on our lives. We worry about having the right education. We worry about having a stable future. We worry about being able to afford the latest and greatest designer clothes or electronic gadgets. We worry far too much! Don’t misunderstand me. There are some things that we should be concerned about, but when we see people standing in line because they are worried that they won’t be the first ones to be able to purchase the latest smart phone, our society has a problem. When we see groups of people in a panic because they are worried about who gets elected, or who got elected, our society has a problem.

Humanity, for the most part, worries about trivial matters.

What is the one thing at this very moment that concerns you the most?

What would be the ramifications if your concerns came to pass?

Would God still be on His throne?

Would Jesus still be your personal Lord and Savior?

Would all of God’s promises still be true?

If something is of concern, do not worry. Pray!

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
(Matthew 6:34 (NIV))

I find it intriguing that the words written in Matthew tell us that each day has enough trouble. It is human nature to not like trouble, to not like conflict. Is that why we worry? Are we simply afraid of the troubles that we think will come?

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
(John 16:33 (NIV))

Why worry about what Jesus has already overcome?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you capable of feeding those in need?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

He replied, “You give them something to eat.”
(Luke 9:13a (NIV))

I realize that Jesus was telling the disciples to have faith and give the people what they needed, which in this case was food. However, I just recently came to realize that there is so much more to this passage.

The first thing that came to mind is how do you reconcile what Jesus commanded with the following passage?

For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”
(2 Thessalonians 3:10 (NIV))

Like so many other things that pertain to humanity, it is a matter of the heart. What is written of in 2 Thessalonians is a matter of laziness. They are not willing to do what is needed to meet the basic needs of life for themselves. It is a lie that is perpetrated on those whom they know. It is a desire to get everyone else to take responsibility for them.

Jesus was referring to something completely different when he instructed His disciples to give the crowd something to eat. Jesus knew that the people who had come to hear Him speak were seeking something and were willing to sacrifice for it. They were not expecting to freeload and have everything taken care of for them. They had taken upon themselves the responsibility to seek and go after what was beneficial to them. They were seeking something that fed their spirits. They were seeking something that went above and beyond the physical needs that they had. They were working for what they sought after. Because of this, Jesus had compassion on the crowd just as He has had compassion on all of the others who earnestly sought Him.

Seeking Jesus is not easy. It is work. We are taught a lesson through the disciples and the crowd on that day. Jesus will provide for those who truly seek Him. He fed the crowd after He fed them spiritually. If you stop to think about what He told His disciples, He was also telling them to not only take care of the physical needs, but to soon be prepared to take care of feeding the spiritual needs. They stepped up and delivered.

Are you capable of feeding those in need?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you been rejuvenated by the water?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
(John 4:14 (NIV))

It is certain that no matter what you do in this world – eat, drink, sleep, or rest, it will not suffice for more than a few hours. The hot summer sun makes us thirsty. We need food to sustain us physically. We need sleep when we are worn out by the toils of this world.

There is only one sure thing in this world that will sustain us. Jesus Christ is that sustenance. He is the Word of God made flesh. He offers us something that comes from God and does not know the worldly laws that say nothing lasts forever. Jesus offers us grace and mercy and a peace that passes all understanding.

Water is said to be able to rejuvenate someone when they are weak, yet this rejuvenation does not last. The gift that Jesus Christ has brought to us is the Water of Life for salvation which never loses its ability to rejuvenate. Once you drink from this fountain, your eternal life is promised and you will never thirst for salvation again.

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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We are of great value to God

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
(Luke 12:27 (NIV))

All of us are guilty of it. We all worry about what we will wear, what we will eat, where we will live, and many other things that consume us on a daily basis.

Jesus’ words tell us not to worry about such things, for God cares for the lilies, and they are of less importance than us. God clothes them in such splendor that nothing we do can match them, yet God loves us and cares for us more than the lilies. They are fleeting and are gone in a very short period of time. Once they are gone, there is no trace of them. They do not leave this world and have the opportunity to spend eternity with God. Only one created being has that opportunity.

Would God allow us to go beyond His grace and mercy. It is true that humanity must work for food. Look at the Garden of Eden and the aftermath. Jesus was not saying that we did not need to not work, for God said that we would toil for our food. What is implied is that we are of far greater value to God than the lilies, and that God has a far greater reward for us.

Calling upon the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, will allow us to be clothed in righteousness, something that no other created being can achieve. Being righteous before God is far more spectacular than anything that the lilies may show.

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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