What does the Lord do with you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
(Psalms 145:20 (NIV))

It is said that your life is defined by your choices!

Think about that in context to the following and see if you don’t agree.

Who you date and who you marry.

If you go to school and where you go to school.

The things that you love to do and the things that you do to earn a living.

How you see the world and how the world sees you.

If you have children or if you don’t.

If you got that promotion or if you quit your job.

I could go on and on about the choices that we all face and how each choice impacts our life far beyond what we could possibly imagine at that moment. Think about the choices that you have made in your life. Your life, as it is, is a direct result of your choices with each choice taking you down a path that is completely different from the one if you had only chosen differently. With that in mind, it is often said that life is a journey. You never truly know where you will go in life until you are there. Some people try to control that journey by making choices that they feel are the ones that will lead to wealth and power only find themselves alone and miserable. Others will make choices in life based on friendship and love only to find themselves surrounded by people who love them deeply no matter what they may have of value in this world.

I realize that I have avoided the biggest choice that anyone can make in this life, and that is the choice you make about the Lord.

To put it simply, the choice you make about who you say He is will impact you for all eternity. He is waiting with open arms to embrace you and to show you such grace and mercy, but you have to accept it. You have to claim it. You have to love the truth and love the Lord. You have to proclaim it! If this is your choice, then the Lord will watch over you. Sadly, you must be prepared for horrible consequences if you do not, for we are told what will happen to all who do not profess that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords and their personal Lord and Savior!

What does the Lord do with you?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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How do you feel that you test in your actions?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else,
(Galatians 6:4 (NIV))

When you were in school, did you ever have to grade your own work? Were you honest?

Let’s face the truth. We are not good at accurate self evaluation. We tend to over estimate our capabilities and achievements while we under estimate our weaknesses. If you don’t believe this about yourself, think back on high school and what you remember. Then ask someone who knew you then and see if the two match up. It is human nature to have an over inflated sense of self worth.

Is this true when we look at our faith and our evaluation of our so-called righteousness? Do we look down on others while we have a tendency to look upon our own relationship with Jesus as close to perfect?

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
(Isaiah 64:6 (NIV))

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

No one is above anyone else. We are all sinners. With this in mind, if we must test and compare, then we must limit our evaluation solely to ourselves. How have we matured? How do we respond to others? How do we see ourselves? When we test ourselves, we must be sure to grade ourselves honestly. It may even be wise to err on the side of under evaluation so that we continue to strive for the goals that Jesus has set before us.

How do you feel that you test in your actions?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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How can we overcome human nature?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
(Colossians 3:5-8 (NIV))

If you are like every single human that has ever lived, you probably read this and come to the conclusion that it would be easier to go live in a cave. The only problem with that approach is that it doesn’t solve the root problems that have plagued humanity since the fall from grace. We would still have our sinful nature, and our sinful nature would run rampant and unchecked in the solitude that we would run to. The solitude would take away the external stimulation, but the root cause would still be there.

On our own, we fail miserably at controlling our sinful nature. If we don’t live it out, we think about it. No one is capable of walking in righteousness because we are all sinners by nature.

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

We may be able to escape sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, but we will fail at anger, rage, malice, slander or filthy language. Living in a fallen world with a fallen, sinful nature doesn’t make it easy to walk in the ways that Jesus commands. If you are like me, you can look back on your day and see a multitude of events that you should have taken a different direction. Let’s face it, by the time you wake up, get ready and get out the door, you have probably done things that are better left unsaid. Then, there is the day at work or at school. How many incidents can you count from your last day at work or school? It also needs to be mentioned about family and friends. We seem to lash out at those we love the most. We take out the frustrations of the day on those we see at the end of the day.

I have come to the conclusion that being human is difficult!

We can’t do it on our own. We need help. We need someone to turn to. Someone who has inside track on the who, what, where, when, why and how of being human while still being righteous.

We need Jesus!

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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School has started!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.
(Proverbs 22:6 (NIV))

School has started in many places. The sad thing is that far too many people rely on the schools to train their children. Most don’t even know what is being taught in schools anymore?

There is more to training, more to an education, than simply being feed worldly knowledge. Worldly knowledge changes as society changes. History is rewritten and basic principles that once held true are obsolete.

Do we want to rely on someone else to instill within our children the concepts of right and wrong when they are doing wrong themselves? Why do we allow our education system to have control over what is taught without so much as asking what is being taught?

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
(James 3:1 (NIV))

I know that this passage is referring to teachers of God’s Word, but it does not take any stretch of the imagination to realize that those who are teaching falsehoods will pay a high price for their actions.

And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.
(Mark 9:42 (NIV))

Do you see the correlation? We must be very careful to teach the children according to God’s Word or we will be held accountable. I pray for teachers in the public school systems. I pray for the students in the public school systems. I pray for all teachers and students in hope that God’s Word will go forth even in the midst of societal pressures.

Also, I pray for the parents that they may have the strength and the courage to teach their children and to stand up for what is righteous and godly in the midst of all the world is becoming.

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

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
(Romans 15:13 (NIV))

Are you full to overflowing?

Now, the next logical thing is to ask what you are full of.

Some people are full of themselves. They brag and boast as if they were the only person to have ever walked the earth, or perhaps the best person to have ever walked the earth. Some people are full of hatred. No matter whom or what they see, they cannot bear the thought of liking it. In essence, they don’t like themselves and they take it out on everybody else. Some people are full of patriotism. They are proud of the fact that they belong to something that they feel is greater than they are. To some, it is a school. To others, it is the nation in which they live.

It is my prayer to be full of the joy and peace of God.

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

I long to be guarded from the attacks of the enemy. I long to show God’s peace through the attacks that I know will come.

As a kid, we often joked about someone being full of it. We vehemently denied that accusation. Now, I long to be full it. I want to be full of the Holy Spirit. I want to be able to stand accused and convicted based on what God is able to pour out through me. I long to be able to overflow with God’s joy and peace so that it impacts all around me.

What do you long to have overflow from you?

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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