Are you still serving your idols?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.
(2 Kings 17:41 (NIV))

Have you ever looked up the definition of the word “idol”?

I would venture to say that a majority of people know what the word means, but sometimes seeing it written out before you makes you realize just what a word does mean and the full implications of that word. In this particular case, idol means an object or representation of extreme devotion or worship whether a person or a false god. One of the definitions for the word shows that it can also mean a pretender or impostor. With these definitions staring you in the face, why would anyone place a pretender, a false god, an impostor above the one true God?

Do you focus on your job? Do you focus on your house and you cars? Do you focus on the trips that you take? Do you focus on your possessions? Are you glued to your phone even when you are with other people?

Does your life revolve around anything besides the Lord?

Basically, anything that we elevate above our relationship with the Lord is a false god. It is an idol. It is a pretender! Take a serious look at your life. There is an old saying that says where you spend your money tells you what you choose to worship.

Are you still serving your idols?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What do you ask for? What do you seek?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
(Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV))

Many people know this verse, but they take it all wrong. They ask for worldly things that only benefit themselves. They do not fully understand and comprehend that what this speaks of is actually a desire for the knowledge of God and not for a desire for personal gain of worldly things.

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?
(Matthew 16:26a (NIV))

Worldly possessions are not what God is speaking of, for we already know that God does not see worldly possessions as human nature sees them. To God, the ultimate treasure is an intimate knowledge of Him. It is for this knowledge that Jesus came and died so that we may have a relationship with God the way that God designed us to be in relationship with Him. We ask for this intimacy and we eagerly knock at the door to be allowed into this intimate relationship.

God did not send His Son, Jesus, to die so that we could have material possessions. Jesus died so that we could be reunited with God in spite of our sinful nature.

What do you ask for? What do you seek?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you find God’s Word to be great riches?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.
(Psalms 119:14 (NIV))

What single thing is it that you truly rejoice over?

Is it money? Is it your job? Is it your family? Is it your possessions? Is it your bank account?

I hate to say this, but we are all guilty of having things that we rejoice over more than we rejoice over God’s Word. It is human nature. We are physical beings who live in a physical world so our desires are often physical in nature. We like to see it, feel it, touch it, hold it, and taste it. If we can’t do these things, then all too often we don’t truly see the value in something.

We desire to store up physical treasures for ourselves.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV))

It is a matter of priorities. Each of us have set them for ourselves or we have let the world set them for us. We must stop and take the time to listen to God. We must take the time, according to Psalms 46:10, to “Be still, and know that I am God.”

We should rejoice in what delights our heart. Our heart will find comfort in the familiar. If we spend all of our time thinking about money, then our heart will delight in riches.

If we desire to delight ourselves in God, what should we spend our time thinking about?

Do you find God’s Word to be great riches?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Does your step have a Godly bounce?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

All the nations may walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.
(Micah 4:5 (NIV))

Does walking with the Lord our God give you joy?

There are so many things in this world that people are joyful for. Some find great joy in their possessions. Others find it in their work. Still, others find it in a new love relationship. I will be honest and say that some of these things that bring joy to people can be very uplifting. Just think about the knowledge of a job well done, and who can overlook the joy of looking into the eyes of a newborn child for the first time.

When someone is joyful, it is said that they have a bounce in their step. Everything about them exudes the joy that they feel on the inside.

Think about that for a moment!

If we can be joyful and have a bounce in our step from things that are fleeting, how much more joyful and how much bigger of a bounce should we have in our step because we walk with God? We should be so filled with joy that we do more than bounce. We should float. We should glow. We should radiate the joy that comes only from knowing Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior!

We should be so joyful that nothing of this world can steal our joy or our bounce!

I have only one question to ask of each of us.

Does your step have a Godly bounce?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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To whom should our thanks be directed?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And call upon the name of the LORD.
(Psalms 116:17 (NAS))

Do you look at our Thanksgiving holiday as a sacrifice to the Lord?

Far too many people look at Thanksgiving as a day to overeat and watch football. They don’t look at Thanksgiving as an act to be performed unti the Lord.

Are you truly thankful for what God has given to you, or do you take it for granted?

Are you more concerned with thanking the cooks than you are for thanking God for providing the blessings that sit before you?

Are you more thankful for the physical possessions that you have than you are for the gift of grace that was freely given to you?

Just what are your priorities? What are you thankful for? Are you more thankful for the things that will rust and decay than you are for grace that never goes away?

I pray that each of us truly recognize where our thanks should be directed.

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Where is your treasure?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Luke 12:33-34 (NIV))

Now is a fantastic time to seriously take a look at what you are thankful for. What is the treasure that you hide in your heart? What single thing in your life would devastate you if it were suddenly taken away from you?

I know that these are hard questions. I look around at what I have and it is not my physical possessions. They will decay with time. It is not my work, for it is only a means by which God has blessed me to support myself and my family.

To me, my earthly treasures are my family – my parents, my wife and my children. I can’t imagine facing a single day without them. Even this treasure will fade. However, there is a treasure far greater than anything that this world has to offer. Through this treasure, my heart rejoices for I know that Jesus is that treasure. He is the hope. He is the salvation. Through Him, nothing the world sends my way will devastate me. I have the hope that only Jesus can bring. I have the hope of seeing my family.

I know that any time is a time of reflection upon the things that you have been blessed with. Don’t forget to take a look at all of your blessings and then thank the one who blessed you.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
(1 Chronicles 16:34 (NIV))

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
(Psalm 100:4 (NIV))

Where is your treasure?

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What is your greatest treasure?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
(Matthew 13:44-46 (NIV))

What is your greatest treasure?

Are you like some people and have a car that you keep spotless and in perfect condition? Do you have a home that is the epitome of what you have spent your life in pursuit of? Does your position bring you prestige and stroke your ego?

Sadly enough, these treasures are the misguided and fleeting possessions of someone who places their faith and trust in the wrong things. They are the treasures of someone who has their priorities all wrong.

Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with having these type of possessions if God has blessed you with them. What is wrong is an unhealthy obsession with these possessions that results in an exclusion of God’s Kingdom from your life.

Are you willing to give up your earthly treasures for what God has freely given to us through His son, Jesus Christ? Would you willingly give up your car that will eventually rust and stop running for a treasure in heaven that will never fade or diminish in value? Think about that question. What God offers us is far more valuable to possess than any possession that man can make, yet, we are often so reluctant to let go of what will rot and fade for something that will last for ever.

Are you willing to do what the people in this parable were willing to do?

They realized the uncompromised value of what they had found and realized that they needed to sell everything in order to obtain it. They were willing to let the things of man be set aside to allow the things of God to be obtained. It was a matter of priorities.

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?
(Luke 9:25 (NIV))

Are you willing to let go of your worldly treasures for the treasure that God has waiting for you?

Is that your final answer?

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What is your idol? What is your sin?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
(Exodus 20:4-6 (NIV))

Did you ever have a car that you were protective of? Did you ever play a sport in high school and thought that you could not live if you didn’t play? Did you ever have a musical instrument that meant everything in the world to you? What about your spouse? Your children? Any of these could be idols if you get your priorities wrong.

An idol does not have to be a statue of someone or something that represents a false god. An idol could be something that takes the place of God. Money, possessions, a car, a big house, any of these can be an idol. In today’s society, it is common for people to focus on an idol. Even if this is a “small” idol, it is a sin.

Sin is anything that separates us form God. Idols block our focus and our relationship with God. Have you removed all of your idols from your life?

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