What are you in step with?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
(Galatians 5:25 (NIV))

Do you listen to the Spirit?

Are you receptive to that still, small voice?

If you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, it is so easy to think that this is always true. Sadly, for most people it is not. Even those who desire nothing but to be in His Will make mistakes. Even Paul struggled with this. Thankfully, he wrote down his thoughts for us.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
(Romans 7:15-20 (NIV))

Paul did not give up. He did not give in to his sin!

It is a matter of attitude. It is a matter of priorities. Even when we want to do what is right, we will fail. The key is to always keep your eyes focused on Jesus and your spirit willing to listen and learn from the Holy Spirit. When the times come, and they will, when you fail to do the right things that you know you should do, it is important that you do the things you did when you first accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.

Admit that you are a sinner in need of a Savior, still!

Humbly seek His grace and mercy.

Repent and pray for the strength to stand firm in your faith.

If we strive to live by the Spirit, we will desire to keep in step with the Spirit, but since we are still not mature in our faith, we will falter. In much the same way a child who is walking with their father will become sidetracked by all of the things that catch their eye, we, too, are still a child in our faith journey. We will inevitably become sidetracked. We will sin. When this happens, it is important to remember that we must get back in step with the one who is leading us on this faith journey.

What are you in step with?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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How great is your love since accepting Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.
(John 15:13-14 (NIV))

Jesus must have counted the whole world’s population, before, then and in the future, to be His friends. He did exactly what was stated in John 15:13. He laid down His life, and He did it without any hesitation. He could have easily changed the course of the events that lead up to His crucifixion, yet, He let them play out exactly as God the Father had intended for them to happen.

Why would anyone be willing to do such a thing?

Faith, hope and love!

Faith that you are not ending your existence, but are placing your eternal existence in the hands of God the Father. Hope that those who receive the benefit of your sacrifice will turn from their ways and follow the Will of God. Love of others to such an extent that you do not think of the consequences to yourself if you follow through with your actions.

We think that we would be able to lay down our lives for those whom we love, such as spouse and children, yet, how many of us would be willing to perform the same act for someone we do not know? We may never know the truth about our intentions versus our actual actions, yet, we must be ready to do whatever is called on from us no matter what or who is involved.

Even when we stop to give thanks to all who have willingly made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could have the freedoms that we have, do we truly understand the how and why of such great a worldly sacrifice? If we give thanks to those whom we don’t know and many never knew us, why do we have such trouble giving thanks to the Lord for His greater sacrifice, especially when He calls us friends?

What if Jesus had stopped to think? What if He came to the realization that Bob, Joe, Mary, and Sue will never amount to anything? What if He had then drawn the conclusion that he would not do what He needed to do? What if He thought that they, that we, do not deserve it!

But, he did not do this! He went to the cross for all of us. Are we ready to do what we must do when the time comes?

How great is your love since accepting Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you out of your earthly mind?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.
(2 Corinthians 5:13 (NIV))

Have you ever heard the expression, “They’re out of their ever loving mind.”?

Perhaps you prefer saying something like one of the following. One fry short of a happy meal. The elevator doesn’t go all the way up. He has a few loose screws. Or, he doesn’t have the sense that God gave him. But, no matter how you say it, the implications are that the person in question is crazy or even stupid.

If you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, then this is exactly how the world sees you! The world even calls us uneducated and ignorant. What is so ironically funny is that there are many believers who are just as educated according to worldly standards as those who make these claims.

Where do you claim to belong in this attack on the sanity of those who profess a faith in Jesus?

I don’t know about you, but I love the words that Joshua spoke.

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
(Joshua 24:15 (NIV))

I don’t care what the world thinks of me, for this world is not my home. I have been, and will continue to do what I am called to do to share my faith. At this present moment in time, the world thinks that they are right, but the Lord is patient. We must continue to be out of our minds in hopes of sharing the truth of the Gospel with those who are in need of a Savior before it is too late.

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
     in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
     to the glory of God the Father.
(Philippians 2:10-11 (NIV))

We can profess Jesus now and be saved, or we can profess Jesus is Lord when it is too late. I don’t know about you, but waiting until it is too late is the epitome of being out of your mind, but sadly, that is how the world thinks.

With that in mind, I have but one more question for you to consider.

Are you out of your earthly mind?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you offended by the name of Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
(Matthew 24:10 (NIV))

As many of you may know, I like reading many different translations. The New International Version translates this as “turn away,” and the English Standard Version translates this as “fall away.” But, the following translation came across my computer screen today and it made me stop!

And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
(Matthew 24:10 (NKJV))

Did you catch the word that caught my attention?

I don’t know about you, but we live in a time where everything about Jesus is offensive to those who are of the world. Whether they use the word “offended” or “triggered,” the meaning is clear, especially when you take into account the remaining sentences regardless of the translation.

and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
(Matthew 24:11-13 (NIV))

With this in mind, it is important that every person who professes a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior take a serious look at what they truly profess. This requires more than I can get into in just a few words, but it all comes down to an inner search with respect to who Jesus is, what He taught, and what His disciples have verified as they spread the good news. In essences, do you believe that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God? Do you believe that salvation is found in no other name? Do you believe that Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and to not tell us that our sin is okay? Do you believe that Jesus is calling us to repent of our sins, even the ones that we are comfortable with, and turn to Him?

Comfortable sins!

I believe that this is what the enemy has used to have people turn away or fall away. It is now what makes people offended. They don’t want to know the truth. They simply want to know their sin. If anything calls their sin what it truly is, they call that offensive. They become triggered and lash out at those who profess a faith in the One who is calling us to repentance.

They have turned away from the truth, and they have become offended by the truth.

It’s time for a reality check!

Are you offended by the name of Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you given up the indulgences of the flesh?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.
(Galatians 5:13 (NIV))

Do you still indulge in your past sins?

If you have professed a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, what does your answer say about your faith?

By professing a faith in Jesus, you have admitted that you are a sinner in need of a Savior, but that does not mean that we can continue in our sin. Think of this in comparison to the relationship of a husband and wife. What happens when one spouse commits adultery and the other spouse forgives them? Does that forgiveness give the one who strayed in the relationship permission to do it again? If you answered that it does not, then why do those who profess a faith in Jesus do what we all agree should not happen?

We are told that the Blood of Jesus washes away all of our sins and that we are made white as snow through the cleansing blood of the Lamb. I love this amazing fact, this amazing gift of grace! I also love that if we truly seek His face, we are forgiven. If we repent, we are forgiven. It is a matter of attitude. We must desire to change. We must desire to repent daily and follow Jesus, but we are told that we are not to continue to deliberately choose to sin. We are to focus on Jesus and when we focus on Jesus, the sin that we have indulged our fleshly nature with soon becomes non-desirable and eventually nonexistent.

But, we can’t do it on our own. We must rely on Jesus every single moment of every single day of our lives!

There is a saying that each of us has a God-shaped hole that we try to fill with anything and everything that a human heart and a human mind can conceive. When we indulge the flesh, we attempt to fill that hole with the conceptions of our sinful nature. When we choose to serve one another humbly in love and obedience to Jesus, we indulge the righteousness that we are called to emulate. We choose to fill that God-shaped hole with what God intended.

It comes down to a personal choice.

What choices do you make on a daily basis?

Have you given up the indulgences of the flesh?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What do you have?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
(1 Corinthians 13:1 (NIV))

I am at a loss with this passage!

I simply do not understand how someone who professes a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior could live without showing the love that Jesus has called us to show. I simply do not understand how someone could be so in touch with God’s Word where they can recite scripture and not understand the very heart of what they are saying!

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
(1 Corinthians 13:2-3 (NIV))

Everything that has been recorded since Genesis shows the overwhelming love that God has for His creation. If you truly stop to reflect on why everything was created to begin with, you realize the the Lord wanted to be in a loving relationship. You realize that, even though He knew what would happen, He gave us free will so that we could choose for ourselves whether we rebel or whether we love and follow.

Think about that!

We have each been given a choice of whether we would rebel, whether we would blindly follow a set of rules, or whether we would follow out of love. Basically, these words to the church in Corinth are targeted to those who simply follow the rules. They look at themselves in much the same way that the Pharisee saw himself in the following parable.

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
(Luke 18:9-12 (NIV))

The Pharisee did not feel love. He did not feel compassion. All that he felt was a attitude of “I’m right and you are wrong!”

Instead of love, he possessed arrogance.

What do you have?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Everything hinges on one important word!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
(1 John 1:9 (NIV))

IF . . .

Two little letters that far too many people simply overlook.

If you have ever done any programming or have ever created a formula in a spreadsheet, you may be familiar with an IF > THEN statement. In essence, IF something happens, THEN something else can be expected. In all honesty, this concept makes perfect sense, but why do so many people bypass the IF and still expect the THEN?

IF you work hard, THEN you will be rewarded. Too many people want the reward without the work.

IF you get good grades, THEN you can do anything that you put your mind to. Too many people want the end result without the commitment required to get there.

IF you show compassion, THEN you will be shown compassion. Too many people still have a double standard when it comes to what they do and what they expect others to do for them.

IF you confess your sins, THEN . . .

IF you profess a faith in Jesus, THEN . . .

What do you expect for the THEN when you think of these two IF statements?

Even the passage that nonbelievers know contains an IF > THEN statement. You have to look closely, but it is there!

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.
(John 3:16 (NIV))

IF you believe in Jesus, THEN you shall not perish but have eternal life.

Society has adopted a false Gospel. They have left off the IF and gone straight to the THEN where everyone is saved because God is love. It is our responsibility as believers to share the Gospel in its true form. We are to make disciples and teach them correctly. We are to show people the importance of two little letters.

Everything hinges on one important word!

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you let down your guard?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
(Proverbs 4:23 (NIV))

God has called people to stand guard, to be watchmen against the attacks of the enemy. Anyone who professes a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior is called to be ever vigilant and warn others of the lies and deceitful tactics of the enemy. We are to be the proverbial watchmen on the walls for our families, our churches, our communities, and our world. We are called to share the Gospel, but we are also called to stand guard for the sake of the Gospel in much the same manner as the watchmen posted on the walls of the old city of Jerusalem.

We are to be a warning of impending danger!

I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the Lord,
give yourselves no rest,
(Isaiah 62:6 (NIV))

We have a responsibility, but we must also stand guard over our own hearts. We do not want to see any lies of the enemy change what we treasure as the truth. We must stand guard against the thief that comes to steal, kill and destroy our love for the Lord which is our greatest treasure.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:21 (NIV))

What is the current state of your heart?

Is the Lord still your greatest treasure?

We must be diligent. We must be able to protect our own hearts from the attacks of the enemy.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
(Ephesians 6:11 (NIV))

We must make sure that we are fully girded and ever vigilant. We don’t want to ever have to answer this following question.

Have you let down your guard?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What are you in the process of building?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
(1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV))

Did you realize that you are called to be a builder?

No matter what type of skills we may have in this physical world, each of us who profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior are called to be there for other people who also profess a faith in Jesus.

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
(Matthew 18:20 (NIV))

When we gather together in His name, we encourage each other, we strengthen each other, we provide support for each other. In other words, we build up the Body of Christ by holding each other accountable to what the Lord has called us to do. We are stronger together!

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))

With all that has transpired in the world over the last several years, are you a voice of encouragement to others? Do you remind them of who that are and whose they are? Do you point people to the path that leads to eternal life? Do you urge people to hold fast to their faith when all around them seems dark? Do you help people to see the light that is asking them to press onward toward the prize that is only found in Jesus?

If you are doing these things, then you are a builder!

But, we also have the capacity to build barriers and to put up obstacles to faith just as the Pharisees did? We must stay focused on Jesus and make sure that we encourage and not hate. We must build and not destroy. We can do tremendous things when we love as Jesus loves, but we must stay focused on Jesus so that what we are called to build is not done in vain.

Unless the Lord builds the house,
     the builders labor in vain.
(Psalm 127:1a (NIV))

What are you in the process of building?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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How do you look upon other people?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
(Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV))

There is that strange word, again!

Others.

We have instructions to look after the interests of those that are not ourselves. What a concept in this day of the “What’s in it for me” mentality.

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
(John 14:12 (NIV))

Do you have faith in Jesus?

Think about what He has done for anyone who is simply willing to receive. He was and is the Son of God, yet, He came to this earth to die for others. He did not have His interests in mind when He went to the cross.

Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
(John 19:28-30 (NIV))

“It is finished.”

Three simple words that show that this was all part of a plan to save others. He thought of you and I while He was on that cross. What can we do to express our faith so that we do not become selfish and conceited?

How do you look upon other people?

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