Have you found a new beginning?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
(Proverbs 1:7 (NIV))

What is it about human nature that makes us all think that we are capable of anything and everything on our own strength, skills and abilities? It starts as a toddler. I still remember my now adult daughter as a two year old adamantly saying “Me do it!” Now she has a little girl who is almost two. She is just now only beginning to express her independence in a similar manner. I knowingly look forward to the quest for independence that my granddaughter will be going through. Without such a quest, we don’t mature. We don’t grow. But, there comes a point when and where we must also be willing to grow by seeking wisdom and instruction from a source beyond ourselves.

Some people never do grow to that point, and even those who do have relapses where we despise wisdom and instruction. We have all experienced something today where we thought that we could do it better than the person who was doing it. Perhaps some of us even said it out loud!

What happens when that human nature that likes to rebel against authority comes into direct rebellion against the Lord?

Actually, I don’t have enough time to recount all the things that have been recorded when this has happened. Most of the Bible is the story of how God created, man rebelled, God reached out to save, and man rebelled again. Even when Jesus stepped out of heaven to come to this world, that story continued. It will continue until the Lord returns. The big difference is that now we can repent and accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. We can choose to fear the Lord, or should I say that we can choose to fear the consequences from the Lord that result from our sinful actions. I have previously said that this fear is not one of trembling, but of respect. In the same manner that we feared our father when we were growing up, we need to fear the Lord. The Lord is full authority and just in His reprimands. He still loves us. He loves us enough to not allow us to stay in rebellion. He will try to draw us to Him so that we can learn and repent.

Some people have interpreted this fear to mean respect. I agree with this concept. If you respect the Lord, you also fear His reprimand. It is your desire to do what pleases the Lord. It is said that David was a man after God’s own heart. How do you think that this came to be? David feared the Lord, yet he also loved and respected the Lord. When he came to this point in his life, David found a new beginning that led him in step with the Lord.

Have you found a new beginning?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Time to repent and turn toward the blessing!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.
(Psalms 33:12 (NIV))

Our history is riddled with things that we should not be proud of, but is that a reason to not love our nation?

Think about that in terms of your families. Are they perfect? Do your children always do what you wish that they would do? Do you still love them even when they do something wrong?

Think about this in relationship to God’s love for us. Do we always do the right thing? Did that stop Him from sending Jesus to die for our sins so that we could have salvation?

Our nation is made up of people and not a single one of us is perfect.

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

We can’t expect something that is comprised of sinful people to be perfect. There is only one who is perfect! Only when we repent and turn to the Lord and keep His commands will we be blessed and guided by His hand. We have to choose to follow the Lord. We have to live our lives in a way that honors God. We have to decide individually and as a nation.

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))

Jesus came to set the captives free. He came to bring us true freedom – a freedom from the law of sin and death. That freedom is far greater than any worldly independence. We have the ability to have both. We have the ability to be free as individuals and as a nation. Both require one simple action on our part. We must individually accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior and we must, as a nation, turn to the Lord in repentance. Where are each of us personally in our acceptance? Where are we as a nation in our repentance?

Time to repent and turn toward the blessing!

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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We have a choice. Let’s make the right one!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.
(Proverbs 14:34 (NIV))

How do you think the Lord is reacting to the events that have been transpiring in this nation?

If you were to venture a guess, would you say that we, as a nation are exalted or are we condemned?

Before you respond based on your circle of friends, please keep in mind that even in the midst of Sodom, the Lord found righteous people. This simply shows that the Lord will save His own even when they are surrounded by sin. With that said, are we as a nation exalted or will we be condemned for the sin that is running rampant?

We have been given a very special gift as a nation. Some people will contest this, but we started off seeking religious freedom and a separation from tyrannical rule. We grew as a nation of people who read the Bible and who believed in the principles that it contained. Even if individuals chose not to believe, they still chose to live by these principles. We have not been perfect, but we have continually strived for what is right. Today, the definition of what is right has been changed so drastically be those who wish to have nothing to do with God. We have gotten to the point where we see more evil being called good and Judeo-Christian values are being called evil.

Have we failed as a nation?

Have we allowed sin to take over because we were too afraid to step up and say that it was wrong?

As we celebrate the anniversary of the day that we declared our political independence, we need to stand up and declare that we are a nation under God. We need to stand for what is good according to the Lord and not according to society. We must not be ashamed of the Gospel. We must not back down in the face of the enemy. We must take action.

We must pray like we have never prayed before!

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
(2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV))

We have a choice. Let’s make the right one!

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Will you stand firm in your faith and your freedom?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
(Galatians 5:1 (NIV))

What is the difference between freedom and independence?

Do you think that they are the same?

We, as a nation, are about to celebrate the anniversary of our independence from rule by another country. Is this the same as freedom?

We, as believers, celebrate the fact that we have been set free. We are no longer bound by the sins that shackled us. Is this the same as independence?

One of the definitions for the word freedom says that it is a state of being free from confinement or physical restraint. One of the definitions for the word independence says that it is freedom from the control or influence of others. I find it interesting that the word freedom is used in the definition of independence.

I also find it interesting that this country was settled be those seeking freedom to worship God as they saw fit. They may not have all faced physical restraint, yet they were restrained in other ways. These people faced persecution because they did not believe as the official church believed. In the course of seeking their freedom to worship, they gained their independence. They were no longer controlled by others.

Over the course of many years, the freedom that was sought for became a desire to be independent.

Do you see the trend?

When we seek freedom, independence is earned. When we give up freedom, independence is taken away. This is true for both the physical and the spiritual. If we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, we are set free from the bondage of sin and death. If we allow a small foothold to sin, we are once again burdened by what we had previously cast off. I honestly believe that this hold true for all aspects of our lives, and not just our individual spiritual lives.

Think about that for a moment.

Over the last several years things have changed in our country. Many are willing to give up freedoms in exchange for a dependency. Many are willing to give up freedoms for what they think will mean peace and security. Many are willing to give up freedom of religion in exchange for political correctness.

We have become complacent. We have become too willing to appease a vocal few. We have allowed the vocal fee to take our freedoms.

Freedom isn’t free. It has a heavy cost.

Jesus died on the cross to be able to set us free from sin. Countless people throughout our history have died to ensure that our freedoms remain. Have we become a consumer of the actions of others? Are we willing to sit back and observe or do we embrace the freedom and the price that has been paid and must be paid? Do we change our thoughts as easily as we change the channel? Do we stand firm in God’s Word or do we let others fill us with their thoughts?

Remember that Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we could be given salvation. Thousands of men and women since then have paid the price for freedom. Are we willing to simply sit on the sidelines or will we stand firm in our faith and in our freedom?

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