How well do you love?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
(1 John 4:18 (NAS))

It has been said that there is a thin line between fear and hate. If you fear others, then it is because you are close to hating others. This is probably not intentional, but, it is true.

It is through love that hatred is abolished, and through this, fear is abated. You cannot fear someone that you love. They are opposite extremes and diametrically opposed to each other. You either love with no fear, or you fear with hatred as the root.

We are to live with Jesus as the example. Jesus did not know fear or hatred. He had compassion and mercy on all that He encountered. It was their reactions to Him that set the tone of the interactions. No matter what happened, Jesus always responded in love and mercy. If we are to be followers of Jesus, then we, too, should respond to all whom we see with love and mercy. Jesus gave us instructions on what to do.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
(John 13:34-35)

How well have you carried out this new commandment? Can others tell that you are a disciple of Jesus?

How well do you love?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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If you are searching for something new, turn to Jesus!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
(Acts 17:21 (NIV))

Does this sound familiar to what is happening in our society today?

It appears that being woke isn’t exactly a new thing. The name may have changed, but the sinful nature that is at the root of the condition is still the same. Whether is was then or it is now, human nature is always trying to break free of the history that defines us. In fact, if the Athenians would have had social media, I can only imagine the posts and arguments that could have occurred. It is in this exact environment where God was able to use Paul to reach those who were open to any and all new knowledge. The only difference between then and now is that then they were actually looking for the truth. Paul was able to use that inquisitive interest to explain to them what the truth is. Today, after thousands of years of truth, the inquisitive minds are looking to shun the truth and replace it with whatever is irrational and foolish.

Today, they have been given over to depraved and reprobate minds!

They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
(Romans 1:29-32 (NIV))

Can you think of some cities in this world that are now known for “new” thinking and “new” living?

Are any of these cities a place where you would want to live?

Seeking after truth is not a new human characteristic. It has been the inmost desire since the fall from grace. Over the course of all of human history, people have tried to define their own truth. Paul made it clear that there was an absolute truth in the God of creation. Today, everyone wants to create their own truth. They want to shun the teachings of the last few thousand years as well as the basic concepts of truth. Everything has gone from a simple good or evil, to a sliding scale of infinite possibilities even when the scientific evidence clearly indicates that there are but two choices.

I will admit that in human eyes, many things do have a range of possibilities, but in God’s eyes, that is not the case. Nothing that we come up with will be right and true.

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

Anything that leaves God out of the equation is a lie.

The fool says in his heart,
     “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;
     there is no one who does good.
(Psalm 53:1 (NIV))

If you are searching for something new, turn to Jesus!

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What does your life currently look like?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
(2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV))

What do you do when something gets old?

If you are like most people, you hold on to things until they are no longer of value. It is at this point that you decide to throw away the old things, the trash, and replace them with something new.

What happens when the old things have more value to you than is obvious from the current state of the objects?

Think about that last question in relation to antique cars that are lovingly restored. What about antique furniture or very rare musical instruments? In the eyes of the right person, even old, dilapidated things have value and are worth restoring to new condition. This is how our Father sees each of us. In His eyes, we are worth so much more than we are worth in our own eyes. He has freely given each of us a way to be restored. God’s plan for restoration does not leave us in our sinful, fallen state. All that we have to do to be restored is to accept the offer freely given through the cross of Jesus Christ!

Do you long to be a new creation?

It is as easy as ABC.

A is for admit that you are a sinner in need of a savior.

B is for believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Him from the dead.

C is for call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.

If you can honestly profess this and claim it as your own, then you are a new creation in the eyes of God. The old has gone! The new is here!

What does your life currently look like?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you trying to fool God with your external regulations?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings–external regulations applying until the time of the new order
(Hebrews 9:9-10 (NIV))

External regulations applying until the time of the new order!

Carefully consider the implications of that statement.

It sounds too much like we, as humanity, prefer to put on a false front in order to appear to be doing what we should do. This false front is not what we truly are, but, rather it is a simple covering that hides the true person within. Consider a house that is is need of repair. A fresh coat of paint will hide many imperfections and make the house look like something that it is not. It will appear to be spotless and without flaw, but just beneath the surface lies the imperfections that will soon show through the fresh coat of paint. You simply cannot make a rotting shell structurally sound by painting over it.

The same is true of our inner most desires.

If we long to sin, putting on a suit and going to church will not change our heart no more than sitting in the garage will make us a car.

God gave us instructions on how we are to live and how we are to treat Him, each other, and ourselves. If you stop to think about the Ten Commandments, they are all based on relationship and maintaining relationship, first with God and His commands, then with family (father and mother), and then with others. Exodus 20:1-17 tells us exactly how we are to be in relationship with God and with each other. These words can be taken to heart and lived out as part of our true being, or they can simply be a false front that we use to hide our true self.

God sees the difference.

He knows what is in our hearts. External facades will not hide the truth from God. Only a true acceptance of His grace and mercy will do that. We must have an understanding of professing Jesus as your Lord as well as your Savior. This will open up your heart to allow what is under that fresh coat of paint to be remade. We cannot become good enough from the outside in. We must allow God’s grace and mercy to work on us from the inside out.

He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him `unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man `unclean.’ “
(Mark 7:20-23 (NIV))

If what comes out of us is what makes us unclean, we must stop trying to deal with the external and allow God to deal with the internal in our lives.

Are you trying to fool God with your external regulations?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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A new name!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.
(Revelation 3:12 (ESV))

“and my own new name.”

If you are like me, you have probably read this passage before and did not comprehend the meaning of the word recorded to the Church in Philadelphia.

There are three distinct names that will be written on those who hold on to what they have, who hold on to their faith in Jesus and the truth that comes from that faith.
1. The name of my God
2. The name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem
3. Jesus’ new name

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
(Acts 4:12 (NIV))

I am only speculating, but does this mean that once everything has unfolded and we are in heaven with Jesus, He will have a new name because there will be no one left for Him to save? Yeshua, His Hebrew name, means a savior or a deliverer. It stands to reason, and inferred from this passage in Revelation, that this means that once this part of His persona is complete, He will take upon Himself a new name to reflect His new status in much the same manner that those who are victorious will be given a new name.

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
(Revelation 2:17 (NIV))

There are so many things contained within God’s Word that we read and will only completely understand once they have unfolded according to His plan. They are the things that will probably happen just when we think that nothing could get any better. I don’t profess to know what His new name will be, but I do know that it will be magnificent. I also know that I long to be in His presence when this day occurs for I love the current name, the name by which we are saved.

A new name!

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Has the new you arrived?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
(2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV))

What were you like before you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?

Now that I have asked that question, and hopefully you have given it some thought, I have another question to ask.

Is there any difference in you before you accepted Jesus and after you accepted Jesus?

Let that question sink in. Accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior is supposed to be made at the point where you realize that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. It is supposed to be the acknowledgment of the fact that you cannot change yourself. It is the point at which you fully understand the following passages.

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

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 6:23 (NIV))

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))

I realize that for many who read this, it is a truth that you have already accepted and embraced as part of your new life in Christ, but there are those who profess a faith in Jesus and still continue to do the very things that they did before that confession. They just can’t seem to let go of the old. Not only do some refuse to let go, they choose to embrace the old even when they profess that they are a new creation in Christ. They fail to realize the one important thing that Jesus told the woman caught in adultery that still applies to us today.

Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
(John 8:11b (NIV))

We must repent. We must turn from our sins. We must deliberately choose to leave the old behind so that the new grace and mercy freely given through the cross may manifest itself in our lives.

Has the new you arrived?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Have you fully embraced the new thing that God has done?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

See, I am doing a new thing!
      Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
      and streams in the wasteland.
(Isaiah 43:19 (NIV))

What is your attitude on change?

Do you like things to stay the status quo? Are you comfortable when you know exactly what is happening each day? Are you the kind of person who has everything planned out and you make sure that everything goes according to your plan? What if the status quo is bad? What if we are trapped in a sinful cycle that self perpetuates the more that we try to stay the course, to maintain the status quo?

Ever since the fall from grace, humanity has been trapped in a sinful cycle and everything that God did to show us what to do seemed to fall on deaf ears. He would make a covenant with us and we would break it. He would raise up a remnant and make them the ones who inherited the covenant only to find that they eventually broke it again. This happened more times than we probably care to admit. All of this was done to show us that we are not capable of His righteousness due to our sinful, fallen nature.

God had to do something new!

He sent His Son, Jesus, to walk among us, to teach us, and to die for us so that our sins could be washed away. This would have not been complete without the final step. He had to defeat the power of death! He had to be resurrected from the grave.

I, even I, am he who blots out
      your transgressions, for my own sake,
      and remembers your sins no more.
(Isaiah 43:25 (NIV))

As we face another uncertain new year, remember the new thing that God has done. Remember the love that He has for us. Remember the power that overcame sin and death at the cross. Remember Jesus!

Have you fully embraced the new thing that God has done?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you simply need to be made new?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
(Matthew 9:16-17 (NIV))

What do you expect out of the upcoming new year?

Do you expect to see anything new in your life if you don’t make plans to change? Do you expect to have closer relationships if you don’t put in the effort from your end?

Think about that concept.

If you want to lose weight, you take steps that will increase your chances of this happening. If you want to get in shape, you take steps that will increase your chances of this happening. If you want to pursue a new relationship, or if you want to strengthen an existing relationship, you take steps that will increase your chances of this happening. You can’t simply decide to do anything and it happen instantly. Using the analogies from Matthew, if you did a complete about face with getting in shape, you would probably hurt yourself. You need outside help to set you on the right path. We always want to change from the outside in. Humanity always wants to simply put a patch on the old and broken and keep right on going.

Too many people think that a spiritual change is not any different?

We think that we can change our lives while ignoring the outside help that makes it possible to change. In this case, the change comes when we invite Jesus into our lives. He then changes us from the inside out and it is a change that we cannot do ourselves. All that we can do is ask for the grace and mercy to be changed, to make us new. Once we acknowledge that we are sinners in need of a Savior, Jesus starts to change us. He doesn’t simply put a patch on the old and broken. He works in our lives to completely make us new and whole!

What do you expect out of the upcoming new year?

Do you need to ask Jesus to save you? Do you need to lay down your burdens at the foot of the cross?

Do you simply need to be made new?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you still weary and faint?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.
(Jeremiah 31:25 (NIV))

Is the world beating you down to the point that you are just drained, weary and faint?

I realize that this question is probably too close to the truth for many of us today. I fully understand just how someone could feel this way. It seems as if each day brings something new and different to the forefront for us to be concerned about. These words were written long before Jesus came into the world. These words were written long before the nation of Israel was scattered. They were written long before Israel was brought back into their land. This whole passage in Jeremiah describes the promises that the Lord has made. It also describes promises fulfilled, for we see these things right before our eyes as God unfolds them for Israel.

Do you think that what is happening in the world has caught God off guard? Do you think that He had no idea what this year would bring? If you answered “Yes” to these questions, you need to take another look at your definition of God. If you answered “Yes” to these questions, you need to stop worshipping the little god that you have put in a box and start worshipping the true God who is Creator and Lord of all.

I realize that the promise God made was to Israel, but if we place our faith and trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, then that promise is also for us. In fact, every promise that God has ever made is extended to those who believe in Jesus.

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
(2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV))

If the Lord has said that He will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint, then we should claim this promise as our own. We should proclaim it to the world so that others may know that they, too, can be refreshed and satisfied simply by professing a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.

Are you still weary and faint?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What is the condition of your heart?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
(Ezekiel 36:26 (NIV))

Have the last few weeks made you stop and take a long, hard look at your life?

Have you found that the things of this world that you once thought were important no longer hold that exalted place in your life? Have your priorities shifted to the point where you feel that you have had a change of heart?

There are many characteristics of a life that is self-centered and self-absorbed. Most of these are described by a reference to the heart. Hardhearted. Cold-hearted. Heart of stone. I am sure that you can probably think of others, but I think that you understand the concept. The more time that we spend focused on the world and what it can provide to us often leads us to become non-caring with respect to other people that we see. Let’s face facts. When we are focused on the world, it tells us go for all that we can get no matter the consequences.

Does this sound like the type of life that we were created for?

Sadly, when we live our lives in this manner, we also lose sight of God! Our hearts become hardened to anything that relates to our relationship with the Lord. We can even get to the false conclusion that we are good and that we do not need God, Jesus or the grace that is freely given through the cross.

This is definitely not the way that God created us to live!

I want to ask the same question once again. Have the last few weeks made you stop and take a long, hard look at your life? The world may see these last few weeks as an attempt to avoid a pandemic, but God had other plans. What has He shown you about yourself? Has He been trying to remove your heart of stone?

What is the condition of your heart?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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