Don’t lower your standards!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.
(1 Corinthians 3:18-19A (NIV))

What standards do you live by?

There is the standard that God has set for us that He longs for us to follow and then there is the standard that the world sets.

The world says that truth is relative and that if it feels good, do it. The world says that no one else matters. Life is about getting all that you can get no matter what you have to do to get it. If we follow that philosophy, then we play right into the lies of the enemy. We become foolish in the eyes of God, for we have literally traded gold for ashes.

Have you ever felt like a fool?

What made you feel that way? Who do you think felt that way about you?

Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and felt that you are foolish in the eyes of man? Have you ever looked in the Bible and felt that you are foolish in the eyes of God? Have you ever looked at yourself in relation to the world and felt that the world sees you as foolish because of your faith in God?

There is a question that asks if you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? The way that the world is going, people who profess a faith in Jesus are coming under persecution. The world looks upon us as foolish. Would you be convicted of being a fool for Jesus?

God has set a higher standard than the one the world has set. Some call it foolishness, but I call it wisdom.

Don’t lower your standards!

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you ready for a transformation?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living^©

Do not conform any longer 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 12:2 (NIV))

Do you conform to this world?

Think about this and what it truly means!

Do you do and say things in order to get what you want? Do you steal what is not yours so that you can have it? Do you think about lustful things? Do you want to be rich? Do you watch things that you shouldn’t see?

I could go on and on, but I believe that my point is one that you understand. The things of this fallen, sinful world are things that we, as the Body of Christ, should not seek after. We should seek after things that are righteous in the eyes of God.

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

If you seek after something that is contrary to any or all of the fruits of the Spirit, then it should be avoided. Seek to be transformed into a person whose life reflects these characteristics.

Are you ready for a transformation?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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This doesn’t sound very appealing, does it?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
(Romans 7:15 (NIV))

How many people can truly relate to what Paul wrote to the Romans?

Do you ever find yourself doing the very things that you hate while you turn your back on the things that you want to do?

We all have certain pet sins that we just can’t seem to get rid of. We long to turn away from the things that we hate, but our sinful human nature leads us right back to the very things that we despise.

As a dog returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his folly
(Proverbs 26:11 (NIV))

This doesn’t sound very appealing, does it?

Why do we do the things that we despise and turn away from what we truly long to do?

No one is perfect. No one can live a life of complete righteousness in the eyes of God. We all will fail more times than any of us care to admit. Why do we do this? How do we overcome our human frailties?

God knew that we would do things like this. God knew that once humanity fell from grace, sin would have a very powerful hold on each and every one of us. Thankfully God knew that we would need a savior to bring us grace and mercy. We, as fallen humanity, cannot do it on our own.

Accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior does not mean that you are automatically made perfect. It simply means that you realize that without Jesus, you are nothing. Without Jesus, you have no hope of salvation.

Have you ever truly stopped and thought about the words that Paul wrote?

If the man who had the Damascus road experience and was called to preach the Gospel to the gentiles faced this dilemma, why do you think that we will not face it? We must not punish ourselves, but, rather we should do as Paul did and focus on Jesus. The more that we focus on Jesus, the less time that our sinful nature can present itself.

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Innocence or sin?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
(Matthew 19:14 (NIV))

Innocence and innocence betrayed! We were once little children in the eyes of God, innocent and very willing and eager to climb onto the lap of “Abba, Father.” Our innocence also lead to our fall from this peaceful existence into a life of sin and death. Our innocence was used against us by Satan in order to get back at God. Satan wanted to be God, and in his attempt at getting his desires, he was cast down from heaven. In his anger, he deceived humanity in our created innocence and now we are no longer innocent in the eyes of God. We are no longer those children who could sit on the lap of our “Abba, Father.”

Reading the words written in Matthew 19:14, I can’t help but wonder if Jesus was trying to tell us to come back to God as we were before the fall from grace, innocent and naive about the deceiving nature of sin. Deceit and distrust are a learned characteristic, as are honesty, truth and righteousness. We can be taught either characteristic, but, it is an attitude that actually makes us turn towards one direction or another. Little children are trusting by nature and have not learned to be wary of anything. When it comes to God, we need to trust wholeheartedly as a little child. When it comes to Satan, we must be wary of all things and have the wisdom of his ways so that we can avoid him.

Which attitude do you wish to have? Do you desire to have the innocence that God desires for you, or do you desire the wisdom of sin that Satan uses to trap? It is your choice!

Innocence or sin?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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How is that account doing?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

The length of our days is seventy years–
or eighty, if we have the strength;
yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

Who knows the power of your anger?
For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.

Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
(Psalms 90:10-12 (NIV))

How many people do you know, or maybe you, yourself, who feel that they are immortal. Many people feel that they have all the time in the world. We are as grass in the eyes of God. We are fleeting in the grand scheme of things. Yet, God still wishes for us the things that He has promised. This life is but a short time when compared to eternity. How can we compare this brief existence with the eternal life that God has promised through His grace and mercy? We must realize that this brief time that we have is not the important part of our existence. It is only a small grain of sand on the beach of time. It is how we spend our “sand” that determines where we will spend our “beach!”

Our days our limited. We must act as they really are, and not let the rush of everyday life blind us from the fact that in one hundred years from now, will it really matter if we had a big house, a fancy car, or a big bank account? What will matter is the account that we have invested in in God’s eternal “bank.”

How is that account doing?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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God, help me. I don’t know what to do.

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
(James 5:16b (NIV))

I don’t know about you, but there are many times that I just don’t feel effective. I simply feel overwhelmed, overpowered and overshadowed by the things in my life. These are the things that have a tendency to make us grown in agony because we simply have no other response that we can bring forth. I simply utter a few simple words and they always help me through whatever I am facing.

“God, help me. I don’t know what to do.”

Have you ever uttered these or similar words? I often wonder just how many people do say things likes this on a daily basis. I believe that everyone utters words like this at some point in their lives, whether they believe in God or not. I firmly believe that those who are strong enough in their faith to admit that we need God each and every day are the ones who will usher up simple prayers like this on a daily basis. We might even find ourselves saying them all throughout the day.

Perhaps this is what makes someone righteous in the eyes of God. We turn to Him daily because we cannot make it without Him. Contrary to what the world may say, I do not see this as a weakness. I see this as a strength that is firmly rooted in a hope and a faith that this world does not understand. When you see acts of terrorism, do you rejoice in what the world is doing or do you offer up a prayer to God? When you see wars and rumors of wars, do you find comfort in the circumstances or do you go to God and ask for peace? When you see injustice, do you think that this is how it should be or do you ask God for the strength to help you change it? When you see the lost, do you turn up your nose and think that they deserve what they get, or do you pray that God will touch them through you?

These types of prayers do not take long, but they show your heart. It shows a desire for the things that God calls righteous. If you seek the things that God calls righteous, then it stands to reason that God will call you righteous. It is when you pray for God’s Will that you find your prayers become powerful and effective, even when you do not feel powerful and effective.

Do you feel effective? Keep praying those short prayers asking for God’s help. He will show you His Will and then you will be effective.

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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