In other words, don’t be a builder!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

The stone the builders rejected
     has become the cornerstone;
(Psalms 118:22 (NIV))

People longed for and anticipated this prophecy being fulfilled for centuries. When it was fulfilled, the religious leaders did not recognize Him because they did not recognize how the scriptures were to unfold. In essence, they had built up their own interpretation to the point that it no longer represented the truth. When the truth stood right in front of them, they did not recognize Him.

I find it saddening that far too often people will be searching for something and when it is right before them, they do not recognize that what they have is what they longed for. When Luke wrote Acts, he alluded to this by referencing the passage from Psalms.

then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is
     “‘the stone you builders rejected,
          which has become the cornerstone.’
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 4:10-12 (NIV))

We often attempt to build our own truths. This is especially true in our worship and our faith. If you don’t believe that this happens, all that you have to do is take a long hard look at all of the man-made denominations. We are so intent on building up our man-made rituals, practices and ideologies that we often miss what is the common foundation, what is the common cornerstone for what we profess to believe.

It is my prayer that we can look beyond the man-made rituals and return completely to the truth that is only found in Jesus. We must tear down any man-made stumbling blocks that we have put in our way. We must strive to only seek God without any man-made add ons.

In other words, don’t be a builder!

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you truly believe all Scripture?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
(2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV))

Do you believe this?

What about prophecy? Do you believe the things that we are told that have not yet happened, such as the Euphrates river drying up, will happen?

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East.
(Revelation 16:12 (NIV))

If you don’t think that prophecy is important and relevant to our day and time, just do a Google search for the Euphrates river drying up. In a span of two years the river has dropped so much that in some places it is just a small stream.

AND, . . .

There are reports, photos, and videos of prison cells that were under the water!

It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
(Revelation 9:14 (NIV))

I realize that in this day and age when many things can be faked through 3D animation and photo editing, people will scoff at this. For those who verify the content, you have two options. To the skeptic, these are simply passed off as coincidence, but if you truly believe what Paul wrote in his letter to Timothy, then we need to take these seriously.

Many people believe that Jesus will not return until the Gospel has been preached to all nations, or ethnicities. There have been studies done that indicate that there are over 7,000 different people groups and that a little over 3,000 still have to be reached with the Gospel. Based on the following passage, what makes us think that we can have the official count?

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
     neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
     so are my ways higher than your ways
     and my thoughts than your thoughts.
(Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV))

Please don’t misunderstand me with this concept. I am not saying that we, as the church, should give up sharing the Gospel. What I am saying is that we are not the final authority. All that we can see is as if looking through a glass darkly. God will unfold His timeline on His authority and not ours. All that we are called to do is watch and share the Gospel until He returns. Based on that, if there is Scripture that we don’t like or don’t want to believe, then we are the problem and need to repent and watch!

Do you truly believe all Scripture?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you possess understanding?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
   ” `You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
      you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
(Matthew 13:14 (NIV))

It seems like every generation has its doubters. People who simply choose to ignore what their heart is longing for them to see. I don’t know what they use as an excuse, but these are the very people that were written about in Matthew. They are the ones who think that they are so sophisticated because they think they have a scientific explanation for everything. They think that anyone who believes is an uneducated idiot.

Am I the only person who feels that the number of these people is on the increase. It may simply be that they are getting more vocal about their lack of faith. Personally, I feel that these times are described by God. God has planted the wheat. Satan has planted the seeds that grow the weeds of discord and both are growing.

Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.
(Matthew 13:30 (NIV))

It is sad to think that there are people who, no matter how much they see, will vehemently deny the very thing that can save them. They will fulfill the prophesy of Isaiah. They will fulfill the retelling of that prophecy.

We must pray for these people. Perhaps you know of someone like this. Perhaps they are a loved one. Dare I say that perhaps someone who is reading this in mockery is such a person. We must pray for them so that their hearts will be softened and their eyes opened. We must pray for the fulfillment of another passage of scripture.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
(2 Peter 3:9 (NIV))

Faith is a simple, yet complex thing. Perhaps it doesn’t really call for understanding. Perhaps it simply calls for acceptance – an acceptance of one’s own faults and sins and an acceptance that we all need a savior.

Do you possess understanding?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What victory does your faith desire?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
(1 John 5:4 (NIV))

What type of faith do you possess?

Do you look upon the Bible as God’s Word as it relates to what He has done in the past as an example of how you should live your life in the present?

If you answered yes to this question, you are correct, but is it possible that you have overlooked the fact that the Bible unfolds God’s plans for humanity from creation to the fall, from perfection to sin, from hopelessness to redemption, from crucifixion to resurrection, from ascension to return, from belief to redemption, and from rejection to glorious return? God’s Word is so much more than stories to set examples for your lives. If you read the Bible and come away with an understanding that it is only for improving your life in this world, you are missing out on God’s plans for redeeming the fallen and defeating the enemy once and for all. It is true that He sent Jesus as an atoning sacrifice to redeem us from the consequences of sin and death, but He has also unfolded a plan to restore perfection to His creation once and for all!

Are you aware that about twenty percent of the Bible is prophecy?

We read the prophecies that point to Jesus and we often ask ourselves how those people could have been so blind to what was unfolding? How could they have not recognized that Jesus was the Messiah whom they longed for? We see in hindsight that Jesus fulfilled every single prophecy about His first coming. We can look back on that and feel that we have proof that it happened, yet, we fail to see the prophecies that God is unfolding right before our eyes! We have been told what to look for in the time of the end, but how many believers are paying attention to the events in this world? Are we becoming just like the generation that was told what to look for when Jesus came? Are we guilty of being just as blind to what God is unfolding today?

Do you possess a faith to look beyond your personal life and realize that God is still unfolding things according to His purpose right before your eyes?

As believers, we look to Jesus as a guarantee of salvation from an eternity in hell. But, do you look to Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords who is doing the will of the Father? Do you have the faith to realize that God’s plans are unfolding and rejoice as things unfold in anticipation of the final outcome? Do you long to be in His presence or do you long to return to the worldly normal?

What victory does your faith desire?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Can you love like this?

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. 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 1:1-3 (NIV))

Each of us who profess a faith in Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior cling to the truth in the following passage.

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
(John 14:12 (NIV))

We long to do what Jesus did, but are we focusing on the correct things that He did? Do we long to speak in tongues? Do we long to understand all things? Do we long to prophecy? Do we long to give of ourselves like Jesus did? It is true that He did all of these things and much more, but we forget why He did them. Everything that the Lord did was out of love. All other things pale in comparison to the greatness of His love for us.

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))

It was love that drove Him to do everything that He did!

If we profess a faith in Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, we are to love just like He loved and still loves. We must rejoice over what makes Him rejoice. We must correct in love those who break His heart. The type of love that was shown by the Lord was not one where He accepts anything that you do, but rather it was a love willing to sacrifice itself to offer salvation and repentance for those who would answer the call. It was a love designed to turn people away from the path of sin and death and turn people to an eternity in His presence! We must present this love in such a way that draws people to Him, discipline and correction included.

A fool spurns a parent’s discipline,
     but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.
(Proverbs 15:5 (NIV))

Some would say that it is a tough love. It is a love designed to show the sinner that they have a better option. It is a love designed to show the sinner that they do not have to face the eternal consequences of their sin.

Can you love like this?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you want to be credited as righteous?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

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

Based on this passage, would we be considered righteous in God’s eyes?

Think about that for a moment. Abram was promised to be the father of multitudes too numerous to count. He was promised to be taken to a place where his descendants would possess all of the land that he could see. Abram believed that the Lord would keep these and other promises and the Lord credited this to Abram as righteousness.

How do we stack up in comparison to Abram?

We have been promised that the Lord would return for His church. We have been told what to look for as the beginnings of the worldly events that will happen just before He returns. We have seen signs in the heavens. We have seen nation rise against nation. We have seen kingdom rise against kingdom. We have seen wars and rumors of wars. We have seen good being called evil and evil being called good, yet, too many people who profess a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior are going about their lives hoping that the situation in the world gets better. They are hoping that things will return to normal. They aren’t looking to the promises of the Lord!

Does this sound like we are believing the Lord?

We should respond to these events with the assurance that our Lord and Savior is coming soon. We should respond by looking up. We should respond by telling everyone that now is the time to repent and accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. We act as if we only believe the Lord when it has anything to do with what we read about in His Word that has already happened. We choose to ignore or not believe the one quarter of the Bible that is prophecy. Abram believed the Lord’s prophecy of his descendants. Why do too many people today have trouble believing the Lord when He says He will do something?

Now is not the time to play church. Now is not the time to ignore what the Lord has foretold. If believing the Lord is credited as righteousness, those who are called righteous will be with Jesus. Do you want to be credited as righteous?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you prepared for what’s next?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
(Luke 21:29-31 (NIV))

What is it that you see going on in the world?

Do you even care?

There is so much happening in the world that it makes me wonder what people are thinking anymore? There is so much turmoil. There is so much hatred. There is so much persecution, and there is so much mockery of Jesus and the Body of Christ.

Has the world turned its back on things that are good? Has the world replaced good with evil?

I follow numerous prophecy sites just as a way to get the latest on what is happening. I want to say that I don’t take everything literally as the truth from these sites. I weigh what is presented and compare it to Scripture. I also compare the sites to other sites to see if there is any continuity between the messages that are given. I study and pray for discernment.

It is true that many things contradict each other. I do not argue that fact. What I do see is an increase in the things that are being reported. I see an awareness that is growing. I am also seeing more and more things that are in agreement from sources that have no way of being able to corroborate what they are presenting. In essence, they are witnessing to what God is in the midst of doing! More and more are pointing to the very same thing!

A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
(Deuteronomy 19:15b (NIV))

Many sites are saying that something major is going to happen soon and that what is going to happen will be widely known by the whole world by September. I am by no means date setting, but with the confirmation from more sites than I can count, we must be ready for whatever the Lord has planned no matter what day or hour that it is planned for!

Think about that for a moment.

For almost two thousand years, people have been looking for the events that will lead to the return of Jesus. At no other time in history have all of the events lined up as they do right now. They line up so perfectly that many Bible scholars are calling this the Great Convergence. Things are happening all over the world at a rate that most people can’t even begin to comprehend. Would you be caught off guard if God’s plan began to rapidly accelerate even more and things did unfold today, tomorrow or perhaps even in September?

Do you recognize the things that are happening? Do you find yourself anticipating more events to unfold as foretold?

There are things that are happening all around the world that appear to make the case for the time getting closer.

No matter when the true church is removed and when Jesus does return, we must realize that we cannot sit idly by and accept what the world is telling us. If we do, are we truly followers of Jesus? If we do, are we truly part of the Body of Christ?

What is it that you see going on in the world?

Are you prepared for what’s next?

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

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(Romans 5:7-8 (NIV))

I am sure that you have heard that when things are looking like there is no hope is exactly when God steps in. Think about that for a moment. How many times have we read a passage that paints a picture of complete despair only to be followed up by a sentence that begins with two word?

But God!

From a worldly perspective, there is nothing worse that death.

But God!

We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.
(Acts 10:39-40 (NIV))

With everything that is going on in the world, we, as the Body of Christ, know that God is up to something. Everything that is happening appears to have been written about in prophecy. In fact, there are those who believe that what is happening is a direct unfolding of prophecy. Based on these End Time prophecies, we know that the whole world is going to be facing tribulation like it has never seen before. For those who don’t profess a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, there will be a seven year period that will be ever increasing trouble followed by eternal judgment.

But God!

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))

I just love the way that God steps in when all seems completely lost! He always has something amazing in store for those who love Him. I can’t wait to see what He does. When all seems lost, keep looking up and remember two little words that carry so much power.

But God…

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you accept the proof?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.
(Acts 17:31 (NIV))

Far too many people simply think of Jesus as the baby in the manger. They see the sweet innocence and gladly embrace a child. Some even fully embrace that He was sent by God.

Some see more than this.

Some see a teacher. Some see a prophet. Some see a martyr. Some see even more than this.

I fully embrace the description that the Bible gives to Jesus. This is a combination of Old Testament prophecy that is mirrored in New Testament fulfillment. I see Jesus as all of these things and more. He was a sweet and innocent babe. He was a teacher. He was a prophet. He was a martyr in that He came to die for our sins. But, there is more.

He is God’s only begotten Son. He is the son of man. He is both fully God and fully human. Jesus came to teach us. He came to show us God’s plan for salvation. He came to die so that plan of salvation could be realized. He died and was buried. On the third day, He arose again to being hope and fulfill the promises that had been made. He ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father, and He will return to judge the world.

There, I said it. Too many people simply do not want to admit that God’s plan also includes a day of judgment. They don’t want to admit that there will be consequences for their actions.

Think about that for a moment, though.

Who would you rather be judged by – a perfect Creator in God, or God who became human so that He could fully understand our temptations? In order for God to set a day of judgment, He had to have appointed someone to act as judge. He had to appoint someone to act as a mediator between Himself and sinful man. He had to come into this world to live as we live and to set an example for each of us. He had to face the same temptations that we face. He had to overcome them and offer Himself as a replacement for our punishment.

Judgment is something that we all dread. It is something that we would rather not think about. It is something that we will face if we do not turn to the One whom God sent.

The first time that Jesus came into this world, He came to offer salvation. He came to show us how to avoid judgment. We can accept this offer or we can face judgment.

Do you accept the proof?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
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What scripture is being fulfilled today?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
(Luke 4:18-21 (NIV))

For hundreds of years, the nation of Israel literally waited for the fulfillment of the prophecy foretold in these words. Yet, as it unfolded right before them, most did not recognize what they had been waiting for. They did not recognize it for they had become so wrapped up in their interpretation of how it would happen, that they did not see God’s interpretation as it unfolded.

If we had been alive at this time, would we have recognized the fulfillment of this prophecy or would we have been like the majority of people? Perhaps even more important is our perception and understanding of what is to come in our life time. We have the luxury of being able to look back through history and see the events as they unfolded. We can recognize the events in hind sight, but how will we be in recognizing the events that are unfolding right before our very eyes?

Jesus will return. He will come for His church when the time is right.

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, `I am the Christ, ‘ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
(Matthew 24:4-8 (NIV))

What scripture is being fulfilled today? What do we look for that is our interpretation of these events? We must focus on God’s Word so that we truly understand God’s interpretation and not our own.

I know that I don’t want to be one who watches things unfold and I miss out on what God is doing because I have my own interpretation. I want to know God’s plans and His heart so that I may see things through His eyes.

God is setting the world’s stage for some amazing events. I don’t want to misunderstand any of them. What scripture is being fulfilled today?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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