What do you think God is saying to us?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors. See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts instead of obeying me.
(Jeremiah 16:12 (NIV))

If God was speaking to Israel through Jeremiah because of their sin, what would He be saying to this world today?

God was using Jeremiah to remind Israel of the covenant that He had made with their ancestors to bring them out of Egypt and to give them the land if they would be obedient to His commands. He also used Jeremiah to remind the people of the consequences of their ancestors forsaking Him.

“When you tell these people all this and they ask you, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the Lord our God?’ then say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors forsook me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped them. They forsook me and did not keep my law.
(Jeremiah 16:10-11 (NIV))

It did not stop there. He then used Jeremiah to tell the people that they were worse than their ancestors!

We don’t have a way to look back in history and see Israel’s society firsthand. All we have is God’s Word and that they followed other gods. What do you think that they did?

Did they sacrifice their children? We do this to the god of convenience.

Did they worship and idolize wealth and fame? Our society does.

Did they ignore God? We do much more than this.

Did they lust after things of the flesh and abandon God’s order? It is called a lifestyle choice.

Did they practice witchcraft and sorcery? Do I even need to say what our society does?

I could probably go on and on with speculations on what they did. I could also go on and on about the things that are happening in our society today, and even in our churches, and I am certain that you would sadly see many similarities. Do I venture to say that you would even see worse things today?

Are there any Jeremiah’s in the world today? Is there anyone who is telling God’s truth and telling the world that we are behaving more wickedly than our ancestors? Is there anyone who is calling people to repent of their wicked ways and to turn to Jesus? We think that we are better than our ancestors, but how many people spend time daily in God’s Word? Our ancestors did? How many people fear the consequences of sin? Our ancestors did. How many people have accepted sin as a lifestyle choice? Our ancestors didn’t do that! If we profess to have a faith in Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, but do not hold fast to the truths that He taught, have we forsaken our faith? Have we accepted a sugarcoated false gospel?

What do you think God is saying to us?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What is the condition of your heart?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

The LORD detests men of perverse heart
but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.
(Proverbs 11:20 (NIV))

Have we become a people of perverse hearts? Do we accept what the world calls okay even though God’s Word tells us that it is not okay? Do we have a desire to intentionally disobey God’s Word? How can we truly call ourselves part of the Body of Christ when we do not do what He tells us to do? Basically, how can we ignore the fact that we are not obeying His command to go and sin no more as He told the woman caught in adultery?

When we have perverse hearts, we think that we can do whatever we want. We think that God will overlook what we do. Sadly, many in today’s church and in the non-believing world think this is how God works. Proverbs 11:20 tells us differently.

But wait!

Didn’t Jesus come to forgive our sins?

Jesus did come to offer us grace and mercy. The key word is offer. We have to accept that offer and accept the terms that go with that offer. We are to repent. Just like what Jesus told the woman caught in adultery, we are to go and sin no more. He did not tell us that to get salvation we turn to Him and beg for forgiveness and then keep on deliberately sinning. Too many people falsely believe that believing in Jesus will earn them salvation no matter what they do from that point on. Jesus told us that He would tell these type of people to get away from Him because He never knew them.

With so many passages telling us that we are to turn away from our sin, how can anyone honestly believe that Jesus condones a perverse heart? How can we believe that people who simply give lip service to Jesus will actually see the salvation and grace that they think they will get?

Jesus did not come into this world, live as one of us, teach us, and die on the cross so that we can continue in our sin. We have to have a change of heart. We have to accept all conditions of the offer of grace.

What is the condition of your heart?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you gotten off course?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?
(Galatians 5:7 (NIV))

We all face distractions in our lives. The key is to not allow the distractions to make us change course!

Think about that in relationship to your walk with Jesus. Paul often referred to this as a race where the winner gets the prize.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
(1 Corinthians 9:24 (NIV))

The only difference is that we are all in our own race and if we win, we get the prize. That prize is eternal life with the Lord in heaven. If we are running for such a valuable prize, why do we get distracted by things that have no eternal value? Why do we get off course chasing after things that don’t matter? We must keep our eyes upon Jesus. We must stay focused on the prize!

Have you gotten off course?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you believe the Lord?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
(Genesis 15:6 (NIV))

What is your definition of righteousness?

If you are like me, it is probably not an easy thing to define at the personal level. We see ourselves and all of our flaws and we come to the conclusion that we can’t truly call ourselves righteous. We know all of our faults and imperfections. We probably even know some that are only faults and imperfections in our own minds. We see people who seem to have it all together and we compare ourselves and all of our known issues with a false perception of these individuals.

Did this passage in Genesis say that Abram was better than his neighbors? Did it say that he was wealthier or better looking than his neighbors?

No!

It simply says that he believed the Lord!

Do you believe the Lord?

That question may be as difficult to answer as my previous request to define righteousness. First of all, there is a difference between believing “in” the Lord and believing the Lord. Let me explain with an example. I believe in gravity. The concept makes sense, but do you believe gravity? Have you ever put gravity to the test? Have you ever said to gravity, I believe in you, but can I believe that you will keep me from floating away? If we believe in something, we acknowledge its existence. If we believe something, then we hold fast to the truth that it represents. Using the gravity example, we can say that we believe in it, but we have to believe the principle that if we step off of a cliff, we will fall to our death.

Believing in the Lord does not stop your from doing your own thing. Believing the Lord means that you trust Him and you know that His guidance is perfect. Believing the Lord is a major step to obeying the Lord. Being obedient to the Lord is a very good definition of righteousness. Abram, in his belief, was obedient.

Do you believe the Lord?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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