Are you kind, compassionate and forgiving?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
(Ephesians 4:32 (NIV))

We are called to be kind, compassionate and forgiving!

So, just how hard can this be?

The last time that I looked, these characteristics go against anything and everything that we call human nature. They go against the very desires of the flesh that makes up our physical existence.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
(Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV))

We are called to be kind, compassionate and forgiving, yet our very flesh is doing all that it can to keep us from this calling. Our flesh calls us to focus on three individuals, me, myself and I. We must learn to desire the characteristics that God desires for each of us to possess. We must learn to shift our focus to others and learn how to see others as God sees them.

We must learn to shift our focus from the physical to the spiritual!

We must learn to shift our focus from ourselves to others!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
(Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV))

When you focus on what God desires for you, then you start to change from the inside out. You no longer see the world from the perspective of what’s in it for me. Rather, you start to see the world from the vantage point that we are all in the very same sinking ship. We are all sinners in need of a Savior. When this happens, you see in others what you know was at one point in you. You begin to see, and understand, that no one can do for themselves what Jesus has done for you. You realize that in order for them to be shown this great love, you must be the hands and feet of Jesus. You must share with them what was once shared with you. In essence, you need to show kindness. You need to show compassion, and you need to show forgiveness. It will be these characteristics that draw people to you. It will be these characteristics that allow you to show them Jesus.

Are you kind, compassionate and forgiving?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Is it worth forfeiting your soul for it?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
(Mark 8:36 (NIV))

What do you possess that has the most value to you?

Does your answer reflect a worldly point of view or an eternal, spiritual point of view?

I hate to say this, but each of us, even those who profess a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, still have worldly things that we desire. Even if it is as simple as desiring enough to live off of, this is a worldly desire and a worldly focus. We forget what Jesus taught His disciples when they asked Him to teach them how to pray.

Give us each day our daily bread.
(Luke 11:3 (NIV)

I do want to clarify that desiring enough to live off of versus desiring riches are far apart. With that said, back to my original question. What do you possess that has the most value to you? Are you so focused on your bank accounts, your homes, and your cars that you have completely neglected your spiritual soul? To put it another way, there is a saying that we are not physical beings with a soul, but rather, we are eternal beings with a temporary, physical body. How you see yourself will determine what you desire to gain.

The passage in Mark is not the only passage that tells us to not focus on the world!

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin 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))

What is it that you treasure? If it is not the things of God, I have one important question to ask you. Be truthful with your answer. Your eternity depends upon it!

Is it worth forfeiting your soul for it?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What is your house built on?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
(Matthew 7:24 (NIV))

It is important to have a firm foundation!

If you don’t believe this, try standing on a slippery floor in your socks, or try standing on an icy hill.

Stability is important in all aspects of life, both physical and spiritual. Everything that we do must have a firm foundation or it crumbles and falls out from underneath us. Too many of us look at the physical world and focus on our financial stability, yet we fail to even consider out faith as something that requires a firm foundation. We profess a faith in Jesus, yet we don’t act like it. When the least bit of trouble occurs, we start looking at our resources to figure out what to do. We look at our finances. We look at our jobs. We look at our health, but we never look to Jesus when He should be the foundation of all the things that we do.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))

What we turn to shows where we have placed our confidence. It shows where we have placed our hope. It shows where we have placed our assurance.

Think about that in relationship to the foundation of your house. Unless you were involved in the actual construction of your home, you have never seen its foundation. Yet, you trust that it will hold up your house. You have placed your confidence, your hope and your assurance on something that you have never seen. We trust the physical even when we cannot see what is there, so why do we not trust the spiritual when we also cannot see what is there? We have faith in the people who built our homes, yet we fail to have even that much faith in the One who gave us life, who gave us grace, who gave us mercy. When you don’t look to Jesus’ words and when you don’t put them into practice, you are standing on the slippery floor. You are standing on an icy hill. You are unstable in the very foundations of your life.

If you are reading this, you have probably professed a faith in Jesus, but do you truly live your life firmly rooted in His firm foundation?

What is your house built on?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Why are you still stumbling in the darkness?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
(John 8:12 (NIV))

Now is not the time to be living your life walking in the darkness!

What happens when you walk in darkness in the physical world?

You trip, stumble, fall and get injured!

What happens when you walk in spiritual darkness?

We know that spiritual darkness is sin. We now that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We know that the wages of sin is death. Do I need to go any further with this, especially with all that we see going on in the world?

Each of us has a choice to make. We can continue to walk in our sin, in our darkness, or we can repent and follow Jesus who is the bringer of light. Don’t wait until it is too late! The darkness makes you stumble and fall, and you never know just what will happen to you in the darkness. Too many people never make it out. They die in their sin. They never accepted the free offer of mercy and grace that would have lifted them out of darkness into His glorious light. If you haven’t accepted this offer of amazing grace, I have but one question for you.

Why are you still stumbling in the darkness?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you still tripping over things in the darkness?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
     they do not know over what they stumble.
(Proverbs 4:19 (ESV))

Have you ever gotten up in the middle of the night and the power was out?

You probably thought that you could walk through your house without a flashlight or by memory. I have been brave enough to do this a few times. More often than not, I end up tripping over something, or I stub my toe. Usually this happens because I didn’t count the number of my steps correctly to get around an object. This is a painful and stressful experience. It is at these moments that you are reminded just how important it is to walk in the light.

Walking in spiritual darkness is even more dangerous than walking in physical darkness. Our sinful, human nature has kept us in the dark for far too long. This darkness hides the dangers of the sinful existence that we all have lived. Each and every single one of us faces the consequences of our sin, for the wages of sin is death. No one can escape that death sentence, for we are not capable of doing anything on our own that will erase the stain of sin from our lives. When you walk in the darkness of sin, you are blind. When you turn to others who are also walking in the darkness of their sin, it is the blind leading the blind. This only results in more pain as you trip, stumble and fall in the darkness of your sin.

Thankfully, God provided a way out. He provided a light in an otherwise dark and dying world.

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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
(John 3:16-21 (NIV))

It is so simple to have the light of the world light up your world!

Are you ready to walk in His light? It is as easy as ABC.

A is for admit that you are a sinner in need of a savior.

B is for believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Him from the dead.

C is for call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
(1 John 1:7 (NIV))

Are you still tripping over things in the darkness?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you willing to suffer for your faith?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
(Romans 5:3-4 (NIV))

We also glory in our sufferings!

How many people do you know who can honestly claim this for their lives?

I do not know a single person who likes to suffer let alone glory in the act. However, we look at things from an earthly perspective where suffering means pain, hardship and possibly even death. Paul wrote these words to the body of believers in Rome as a spiritual roadmap knowing that they would suffer physical suffering for their faith. In this particular case, suffering was a choice that these people made simply by professing a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. They could have stayed with the worldly view and rejected Jesus, but they chose to reject the world and embrace Jesus. They were suffering because they rejected what was considered to be the truth by their society. In other words, they didn’t go along with the idea that they should do what everyone else was doing. They recognized the lies of society and embraced the truth of Jesus.

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
(John 15:18-19 (NIV))

They recognized the truth in these words and clung to the hope that was made manifest through their suffering. They clung to the hope that they had in Jesus!

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
(Romans 5:5 (NIV))

I love how the writer of Hebrews ties it all together.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))

Perseverance builds character. Character builds hope, and hope builds faith!

Are you willing to suffer for your faith?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Where am I in the harvest?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
(Matthew 9:37-38 (NIV))

There is one thing about a harvest that most people fail to realize. Eventually, anything and everything that can be harvested has been brought in and the rest is either plowed under or burned. In other words, the harvest will come to an end!

This is true of a physical harvest as well as a spiritual harvest. You can only pick so many apples before all of the good ones are taken. You can only pick so many ears of corn before all that is left is only worthy of feeding to the pigs. You can harvest only the wheat that is ready before you end up with chaff. Eventually, what is being harvested is all taken!

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

If you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you are part of that harvest. It doesn’t end there. God doesn’t want anyone to perish, so He has an assignment for you and for I. We are also called to work the harvest, but we know that God has hardened the hearts of those who only desire their sinful nature. We know that He has given them a delusional spirit because of their desires. They have rebelled against God for so long that He has given them exactly what they wanted. We know that in the end days, both the wheat and the weeds will grow up evenly. We know that at harvest time, the wheat will be brought into the barn and the weeds and chaff will be burned. This can only happen when the harvest is complete. This can only happen when the Lord of the harvest looks upon the harvest field, the earth, and sees that the harvest is complete.

Many people believe that the harvest is rapidly coming to an end. Once that end arrives, the field will be completely stripped of the wheat that was gathered during the harvest. Farmers throughout history have burned off the stubble and the chaff after a harvest. They have collected what was offered up and they have burned the rest to dispose of it. If we, as sinful humanity, are the harvest field, why would anyone choose to be left behind? Why would anyone choose to face the fires?

You need to ask yourself one very important question.

Where am I in the harvest?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Be vigilant and stand firm!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.
(Romans 16:17 (NIV))

How firm is your spiritual foundation?

Are you grounded in God’s Word well enough to know the difference between the truth, partial truth, and a lie?

What causes division? If you look at any scenario, it usually starts with a subtle difference such as what Satan used in the Garden of Eden. It is a twist of the truth to make you think that the twisted, partial truth is correct. This results in one group accepting the truth while another group has accepted the partial truth. The next subtle twist takes the partial truth further away from the truth. Eventually you have two sides who have split over something that started out small but grew to such a point that there is division between the groups.

Division is not a good thing in the Body of Christ!

God created each of us to be unique, but our uniqueness is not the same as division. Our uniquenesses complement and fulfill the uniquenesses of other members of the Body, but division separates us. It tears us apart, and if we are not careful, it will draw us away from Jesus. We must be so well grounded in God’s Word that we can distinguish partials truths and lies from the truth of the Gospel. We must not accept, or even entertain, anything that is less than God’s truth.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!
(Galatians 1:6-9 (NIV))

Sadly, we still have people just like those whom Paul wrote of. They try to pervert the gospel of Jesus. They twist and manipulate words and by doing so, they twist and manipulate lives. Avoid such people. Stand firm in the truth. Measure everything against the truth of God’s Word. Do not be deceived.

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
(2 Corinthians 11:3 (NIV))

Be vigilant and stand firm!

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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The struggle is all too real!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
(Ephesians 6:12 (NIV))

How do you see the world?

Perhaps I should ask it in this way. What is your world view?

If you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, then your world view should reflect that in all that you do. It should not be limited or confined to the hour or so that you spend in church on Sunday. It should not be something that you decide to leave at home when you go to work. It is not something that you can turn off and on to suit you. It is not something that you hide when the circumstances are not favorable. It is a choice that you must make every single minute of every single day of your life!

If you choose to leave your faith behind because of your environment, how do you think that you will be rewarded by Jesus? I venture to say that you will not be rewarded, for rewards are for those who are faithful.

Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
(Matthew 7:22-23 (NIV))

It is time to take stock of your life. It is time to take stock of your actions and your choices. If you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior but repeatedly choose to do something that is contrary to what Jesus desires, are you truly walking in His will? Emotions have nothing to do with it. Personal desires and likes have nothing to do with it. Our emotions, our desires and likes are sinful, yet far too many of us who proclaim Jesus as Lord still choose to follow our sin instead of submitting to the authority and Lordship that is only in Jesus. We submit to the powers of this dark world!

Think about that the next time you decide to watch something on television. Think about that the next time you choose to get mad at other drivers. Think about that when you make a decision to go along with anything that you know goes against what Jesus would desire for you to do. Think about that when you vote for someone who supports anything that goes against God’s Word!

We must stand firm in our faith!

The struggle is all too real!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What are you living on?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
(Matthew 4:4 (NIV))

What does your diet consist of?

We have a tendency to think that the only thing that matters is what we put into our physical body, and some people don’t even worry about this aspect of their existence. Far too many of us fill out bodies with things that are harmful and we never even think about the consequences.

How many people are actually concerned with the spiritual nutrition that they should be concerned with?

There is an old saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” Think about that. If you spend time feeding your mind and your spirit foul and harmful garbage, eventually you will get to a point where that is what comes out. You are what you eat, both physically and spiritually.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
(Philippians 4:8 (NIV))

We must embrace the Word. We must read it. We must study it. We must strive to live by it! We must feast on the sweetest truths and the sweetest promises that humanity has ever been given. These sweetest truths and promises can only be found in the very heart of the One who created us. When your diet consists of daily time spent feasting on God’s Word, you grow to understand the very heart of God. This daily diet allows for a fuller life as God intended. It helps you to live in the present and promises an eternal life through the atoning blood of Jesus.

Far too many people are still living on sin.

What are you living on?

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