Keep living according to His purpose!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
(Romans 8:28 (NIV))

Have you ever truly stopped to take a serious look at your life?

For most people, this is not something that they ever consider doing. They develop a plan for what they want and never stop to think about whether their life is being lived based on their desires or if it is being lived according to God’s calling. To be honest with you, they never even stop to consider if they truly love the Lord or if they are only giving lip service as an afterthought.

With that in mind, I have some very serious questions for you.

Do you love God?

Have you been called according to his purpose?

Are you living your life according to that calling?

If those questions make you feel uneasy, then I have done what I have set out to do. I have made you take an inward look at your faith and the answers that you have arrived upon are being used to tug at your heart. Unless you are completely comfortable with your salvation, you will have doubts and concerns. Unless your walk of faith leads you hand in hand with Jesus, then you will have doubts and concerns.

Are all things working out for your good or is your life a complete shambles?

I am not saying that following Jesus will allow you to live a perfect, stress free life. I am saying that God will walk with you through the troubles and lead you out by His grace if you will only keep your eyes focused on Jesus. He has done this many times through the Old and New Testaments. How many times did Joseph face hardship before God placed him second in command over all of Egypt? I could recount several examples, but suffice it to say, God will lead you through the tough times to something that is good in His eyes. So, when you are feeling helpless, hopeless and lost, remember that you are not alone.

Keep living according to His purpose!

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

What is in your heart?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
(Proverbs 19:21 (NIV))

No matter what we may have planned, God has His own plan for us. Many people think that they are the masters of their own destiny. They think that they can do whatever they please, make whatever plans they want, and then reap the benefits of this way of thinking.

How often have we seen the “self-made” man or woman appear to be getting everything that life has to offer: money, fame, love, etc. How many times have you later seen that same person at the pits of despair due to their over indulgence and the effects of their life style?

We have a choice every day that we live. We can choose to follow our plans and ignore God and His Will for our lives and then pay the consequences later, or we can listen to that small, still voice that God uses to talk to us and do His Will. We may think that we can do our own thing and ignore God. Yet, there is always that overshadowing knowledge that what we are doing is wrong. We may not admit it, yet, we always know that something is missing in our lives. There is a hole, an emptiness, that longs to be filled. This emptiness is the longing for God and the desire to be in God’s Will for our lives.

Do you have a hole or are you whole?

What is in your heart?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Are you truly willing to go where He leads?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
(Luke 9:23 (NIV))

As we approach the day that we acknowledge as the day of the crucifixion of Jesus, we need to stop and reflect not only on what Jesus did for us, but also on what He has called us to do.

We are to take up our cross daily! We are to follow Him!

Keep in mind that Jesus was speaking to His disciples before the crucifixion and all that we have recorded is that He told His disciples that He would be killed. We have no record of Him saying that He would be crucified on a cross. Can you imagine just what the disciples thought when He told them to take up their cross daily and follow Him? Were they able to put this together in their minds with what would happen, or did they have an epiphany the day of the crucifixion? When did they truly realize that Jesus was calling them to a life of sacrifice in which their lives were no longer their first priority? Did they realize that there lives were no longer theirs? They had a purpose far greater than any of them could have ever conceived of for their lives.

What about you?

When did you realize that Jesus is calling you to change, to repent, and to follow Him no matter where He leads? When did you realize that as a follower of Jesus, your life would become so much more than simply existing for a few short years? When did you realize that Jesus had given you a purpose greater than yourself? When did you realize that Jesus is your purpose?

Are you truly following Jesus?

Are you truly willing to go where He leads?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

How is God working things in your life?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
(Romans 8:28 (NIV))

There are so many things that I could ask based on this passage, but they all hinge upon a single question.

Do you love God?

If your answer is that you love God, then have you been called according to His purpose? Have you answered His call?

Contrary to what many people believe, if you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, and you rely on this profession to show that you love God, then you have a calling. We don’t just simply sit back and do whatever we want while reaping the blessings. We are each called to share those blessings with the world. We are called to share Jesus!

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
(Mark 16:15-16 (NIV))

These words were spoken to the disciples after His resurrection and at His ascension, but they still apply to you and I today. The disciples passed that responsibility to others, who passed it to others, who passed it to others as it eventually made it to you and I. The instructions haven’t changed. We, as professing members of the Body of Christ, are all called to preach the gospel. That calling hasn’t changed since it was given, but what has changed are the people who are the ones who should now be responding to that calling. Those people are you and I! What has changed are the individuals who have been gifted with unique abilities to reach people that only they can reach.

Think about that!

There are lost people in your circle of influence who need to know Jesus.

Have you ever shared the Gospel? Have you ever felt a burden for a lost individual? Have you ever prayed for God to show you how to tell someone about Jesus? Have you ever asked God to specifically show you His will and His call upon your life? Perhaps you are simply content going through life thinking that you have your salvation and that someone else will take the responsibility of sharing with the people whom you are called to shared Jesus with?

If you truly love God, then you should want to tell everyone about what He has done.

Think about that in terms of a worldly relationship. When you were dating someone new, you told everyone you know about that person. You probably talked on and on about the cute way that they smiled and how they made you smile. Think about what God has done for you through His Son, Jesus. Isn’t it something far greater than a cute smile? Do you love the Lord? Do you have something so wonderful to share because of this new relationship?

Do you love God enough to share Him with others? Do you simply sit back and allow His calling to go unanswered? If you don’t answer His call, what does that say about your love for Him?

How is God working things in your life?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

How is God working in you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
(Philippians 2:13 (NIV))

Have you felt a tugging at your spirit lately?

If you are like many people who profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you feel that God is unfolding something that most of us thought would not come in our lifetime. Do you feel a sense of urgency in sharing the Gospel as events in this world accelerate and converge with the outcome all pointing to the the soon return of Jesus?

In God’s grand scheme of things, He can make things unfold without our help, but He would prefer to work through us in such as way that it becomes obvious that the results are not of our own doing. God works in and through His people. He gives us a mission, a calling, that He longs for us to fulfill. He wants us to draw closer to Him as we help spread the Gospel.

If you profess a faith in Jesus, then you have opened the door to your life in such a way that the Lord should be working in you. We are all called to help spread the Gospel, especially “for such a time as this.”

How do you feel that God is working in you? Are you filled with compassion for the lost? Are you called to share your faith with your family and friends? Are you heartbroken because good is now being called evil and evil is now being called good? What is God working in you that will bring you to act, to respond to His calling, so that you fulfill His good purpose? Does something weigh heavily on your heart? God has given you a burden, and an assignment, to match the burden that He has for the very same thing. Go to the Lord in prayer and ask for wisdom to be obedient to that burden, to that calling, so that you may respond as He longs for you to respond.

God desires to work in each of us, but it is up to us to be willing to respond to that still, small voice. We must be willing and able to discern that tugging and allow God deeper into our lives so that He will manifest His works even when we are not capable of such things on our own.

With this front and center, I have but one more thing to ask?

How is God working in you?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

What do you know?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
(Romans 8:28 (NIV))

This is a difficult thing for many people to grasp, for they see only the immediate results of things as they happen. Humanity does not have the luxury of being able to see the long term consequences of any given event or series of events.

All too often we jump to worldly conclusions and do not see the “God” scheme of things. No matter what we may face in this life, we must remember that God is in control. If we are His through the grace and mercy granted through His Son Jesus Christ, then our ultimate good is heaven. If that is true, then everything that happens in this world can be taken as a temporary situation. This is hard to fathom when a loved one faces death or when a country faces terrorism, but, we must remember that what we see in the physical world is only a small fraction of the battle that goes on in the spiritual world.

If we hold steadfast in our faith in Jesus, then we are assured of our “good.”

What do you know?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Are we seeking the lost for Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
(Luke 19:10 (NIV))

What is your understanding of why Jesus came into this world?

His primary purpose was to bring restoration between God and a sinful, fallen humanity by offering salvation to anyone who would simply believe. This singular task was and still is intended to bring people back to the Father after the enemy deceived us in the Garden of Eden. When humanity allowed sin into the world, we lost the ability to be in relationship with the Father, for He is perfect and cannot associate with sin. Jesus came to offer humanity a way out of our sinful nature so that we can be in relationship once again with the Father. All of the problems that humanity faces are a direct result of our sinful, fallen nature. Poverty, greed, lust, and everything else are simply symptoms of the root problem and that problem is sin. Jesus didn’t come into the world to deal with the symptoms. He came to deal with the cause of all of the symptoms. He did not come into the world to be a social justice warrior, He came to destroy the root cause of social injustice. He did not come into the world to redistribute wealth. He came into the world to destroy the enemy and to turn people back to loving God instead of money.

Jesus came into this world to destroy the power of sin! He came to call people to a relationship with the Father through Himself. He came to redeem humanity for a loving Father.

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))

If Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, and we are called to do the works that He was doing, are we fulfilling this calling? He even left instructions for this task with His disciples.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
(Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV))

If Jesus told His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, this is a self-perpetuating assignment. As disciples bring more people to Jesus, these new disciples are given the same task as those who discipled them. In essence, our primary task is the same as what Jesus proclaimed of Himself. We are to seek and to save the lost by showing them Jesus. We are to do what Jesus did!

Are we seeking the lost for Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Have you discovered your God created purpose?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

For you created my inmost being;
       you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
       your works are wonderful,
       I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
       when I was made in the secret place.
    When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
    All the days ordained for me
       were written in your book
       before one of them came to be.
(Psalms 139:13-16 (NIV))

God has created each of us to be unique. This was His plan from the beginning of time. It was His plan from your conception. It was His plan from your birth.

If God has planned for you to be unique, why do so many of us spend time trying to be just like someone else?

Perhaps we spend too little time looking for the unique creation within us and spend too much time looking for what the world has to offer us. We should stop and look inward at what God has already given each of us to see that He has already given us a unique life that does not need worldly influence to be happy and successful.

God does not make mistakes! He has made each of us and He knows us intimately.

He loves us as we are. He does not approve of our nature when we seek outside gratification because it leads to sin. He wants us to turn to Him as Creator, Lord, and Savior.

Do you fear your God given uniqueness? Do you long to be like someone else? God has already created them. He wants you to spend time in His presence and discover who He created you to be.

Have you discovered your God created purpose?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Will you continue to stand firm in God’s authority?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
(Romans 13:1 (NIV))

As I sit down to write this, I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

I wonder what the weather will be like. I wonder how my day will go. I wonder what the outcome of the election will be, but I do not wonder who is ultimately in charge!

Can you say the same thing?

No matter who may win the election, it will not come as a surprise to God. He will not look down on this nation and say that He didn’t see it coming. In fact, everything that is happening is happening as a part of His plan. The stage has been set. Whether the same players come back for the next act or new people come into the spotlight, the results that God has planned since the beginning will still unfold according to His purpose. If we truly have placed our faith in Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, then we know who ultimately wins. Based on world events, many people believe that His victory is closer than we know.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:7 (NIV))

Will you be at peace no matter the outcome of this election?

Will you continue to stand firm in God’s authority?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Is there a difference between gathering and assembling?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
(Hebrews 10:25 (NIV))

It is amazing how subtle nuances in a translation can make something take on a completely different meaning. Since we have to rely on translations from the original Aramaic and Greek, the understanding of the full meanings of the original language and how it is translated into English can vary slightly. Each translation conveys the meaning, but sometimes the subtleties give a much better understanding of the depth of the original language. This is why I like to cross reference between many different translations to try and fully understand the intentions behind the words. This passage is an excellent example of just this.

What do you think of when you read the phrase “meeting together”? Do you simply think of a gathering of individuals that come together for a short time and then go their separate ways?

Now, let’s take this one step further and reference a different translation.

not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
(Hebrews 10:25 (NKJV))

What do you think of when you read the phrase “assembling of ourselves together”? Does this paint a mental picture of unity and purpose where people come together for a common goal?

I heard something today that brought these two phrases into a much better understanding. I think that this analogy will also paint a very interesting picture for you as well.

The example was of a watch. When you gather the components of a watch into one location, everything is there, yet it has no purpose. They are still just individual parts that do not work together. But, when those parts are assembled in the correct way, the result is a fully functioning time piece. Now, how does this apply to believers who simply gather together versus being assembled into a functioning body of believers? We, as the church, should be more than the sum of our individual parts. We should rely on the Lord to assemble us in such a way that we bring glory to Him by uniting in the task that we have been assigned.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
(Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV))

If all that we do is gather, then we are not fulfilling our calling. We must be willing to assemble!

Is there a difference between gathering and assembling?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook