It is time to let your light shine!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
(John 1:5 (NIV))

Do you believe these words?

With all that is going on in the world, do you believe these words?

With all of the evil that is rampant and when the good is vilified, do you believe these words?

It is so hard to look at the things that are happening in the world, and in our own country. It is as if the whole world has gone mad. It is as if the whole world is upside down. Darkness is spreading and it seems as if it can’t be stopped. To be completely honest with you, it cannot be stopped in the natural. It is a spiritual war and it has spilled over into the physical reality that we call the world. Because it is a spiritual war, we have hope. Because it is a spiritual war, we know the final outcome.

Darkness will not prevail!

Have you ever been in a room so dark that you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face? What happens when you are able to light a small candle? The light from the candle prevails over the darkness. No matter how dark something may seem, it only takes a little light to bring hope. It only takes a little light to bring clarity and vision.

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))

Perhaps this is why the powers that be want to remove any and all reference to Jesus. They are trying to remove the light. Perhaps this is why the powers that be want to push other beliefs. These beliefs are contrary to Jesus and are darkness. Contrary to what the enemy may think, darkness cannot drive out light. It can make it grow dim, but it cannot engulf the light. Light will prevail.

There are many books and passages in the Bible that speak of terrible times when the darkness will try to overcome the light, but we, as the Body of Christ, know what happens in the end. We know that the light of Jesus will defeat the darkness. The darkness will not be able to overcome what God has planned.

Do you feel that you are overcome with the darkness that is all around?

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
(Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV))

As a member of the Body of Christ, it is time to let your light shine!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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I love it that God chose to do a new thing!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
(Isaiah 43:19 (NIV))

Have you ever stopped to think about this passage? We have a tendency to think that we are the ones who always want something different. We think that we are the ones who want to do a new thing, but if you actually think about it, God is the only One who has ever done good and new things! All we ever do is ruin what He has done!

God created everything. He created it all as a location for us, His creation. What did we do? We ruined it!

All throughout the Old Testament, God would do something for us as a part of His nature, and we would ruin it. He gave us promises and we disobeyed. He sent prophets and we ignored them. Finally, His ultimate plan came into fruition. He sent His Son, Jesus. He came as Emmanuel, God with us. Do you realize that the last time that God walked with His creation was before the fall from grace in the Garden of Eden? He came back into His creation so that He could walk with us and talk with us. He came to teach us exactly what He longs for us to do so that we can have fellowship with Him once again. He came to offer us a way out of our sin and back into His grace.

All throughout history, man has tried to elevate himself up to be able to reach God. God’s new thing saw Him coming to earth to meet us! His new thing brought grace and salvation to all who would simply accept the ultimate gift. God restored us to Himself at no cost to us. He paid it all!

I find it interesting that God’s new thing brought restoration to a lost world. I find it interesting that His new thing is something that He paid and we receive the benefits. I love it that God chose to do a new thing!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you have the wisdom to rest in the presence of God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.
(1 Kings 19:3-5 (NIV))

Have you ever been put to the test and simply wanted to give up and die?

It is not uncommon for people to feel that way. Elijah, who had just called down the fire of God upon a wet alter and proved that God was the true God and not he false prophet’s gods, felt this very thing when he was confronted with an attack from the enemy. Queen Jezebel had just threatened his life as a result of what had happened and Elijah ran for his life. Think about this. Elijah had just called upon God in a mighty way and He showed up, yet, at the threats of a single woman he forgot who was fighting on his side and ran. He literally wanted to die!

We all face situations in which we want to throw in the towel and give up, but we must remember who is on our side. We must also remember that God is not in the mighty deeds at all times. Just as with Elijah in 1 Kings 19:11-13, He was in the whisper. He was not in the wind, the earthquake or the fire.

What is it in your life that is currently testing you? Have you spent quiet time alone with God to hear His Will, or have you buried yourself with activity? Have you simply stopped everything because of the stress of the situation? Remember that Elijah rested and then traveled farther away from what was troubling him before he was able to discern God’s voice.

Perhaps we must simply place our trust and faith in God to deliver us. When we simply do this, He will answer in that whisper that only we can hear. We cannot hear it when we are in the heat of the battle.

What do you hear when you are faced with a test? Do you have the wisdom to rest in the presence of God?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you listening to your Father’s instructions?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction
    and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
(Proverbs 1:8 (NIV))

I am afraid that we have become a society were the parents look to the children for answers. Too many parents allow the children to make the decisions for themselves and sometimes even for the whole family. We, as parents, have become afraid of losing our children’s friendship. As a result, we lose our children and the roles get reversed.

Society has become too permissive with respect to allowing things to get out of hand. We no longer teach our children right from wrong. We live in a society that tells us there is no absolute truth, so consequently, there is no absolute right and wrong. Truth is relative. What is correct in one situation may not be the correct thing to do in another situation. We no longer have a moral compass by which we can steer our lives. It is permissible to do anything as long as no one gets hurt. I want to know who is responsible for this idiotic idea.

All throughout the Bible we are taught that there is a way that we should live. If we don’t live in that manner, then we sin. We miss the mark that God has set before us. Sin is not only the actions that hurt others. Sin is also the private acts that only scar the individual. Sin never leaves anything as flawless and pristine as before it occurred.

I don’t know what you think, but it seems to me that we, as a society, have stopped trying to reach that higher standard. We no longer desire to better ourselves in the eyes of God. We have not only stopped striving for God’s standard, in far too many cases, we have turned one hundred and eighty degrees in the opposite direction. How can we face ourselves? How can we face God? We have allowed leniency to take the place of love. We have allowed permissiveness to take the place of instruction. We have allowed rebellion to take the place of respect.

We, as a nation, need to return to the basic principles that God has given us. Here is where we can start.

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

Are you listening to your Father’s instructions?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you cheerfully sowing into God’s kingdom?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
(2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (NIV))

Giving is a difficult thing to do sometimes, especially when you are facing hard times.

Has your giving changed recently? Have you cut back on the money that you give to your church and to other organizations? Have you found yourself thinking that “Just this once I’ll not give” only to find yourself with a knot in the pit of your stomach? Have you stopped giving of your time because you are using your time in efforts to bring in more money? Has your attitude changed about what God has given you and will give you?

We are all creatures of habit. No matter what our intentions may be, we often find ourselves responding as the world responds. We look upon the worldly situation as the only situation that will provide for our needs. When things turn bad, we quickly find ourselves forgetting what God has promised. We worry.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?’ or `What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
(Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV))

Have you ever stopped to reflect upon the fact that God uses us to bless others? What you give will bless someone, who in turn will bless someone else. What you give will return to you in ways that only God can imagine. Are you cheerfully sowing into God’s kingdom?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What flows from within you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.
(John 7:38 (NIV))

Have you ever stopped to look at your reflection in the mirror?

If you are like most people, you do this several times a day. Some are deliberate and some are purely by accident as you pass in front of a mirror or some other object that reflects your appearance. Are you happy with what you see reflected? Are you happy with what you see coming from your physical reflection?

Let’s take this one step further! Have you ever stopped to look at your spiritual reflection?

Sadly, most people don’t really take this serious of a look at themselves. Most people are superficial when it comes to spiritual matters. I hate to say this, but far too many people who own a Bible have not ever read all of it. Most of us tend to get things moving and then wonder why there are problems with our lives. We fail to look to the Creator. We fail to believe what has been recorded. We fail to focus on the things of God’s Word while we focus on the things of this world. This approach is, in essence, similar to buying a car and driving it without looking at the owners manual to see what needs to be done to make sure the car runs the way that it should.

Humanity was designed to be in fellowship with God. We had eternity with God. We had life beyond all understanding, but we broke that fellowship in the Garden of Eden. Jesus renewed that possibility for fellowship. He renewed the ability to spend eternity with God. He renewed the ability to have life beyond all understanding. This gift came with a price that Jesus willingly paid. All we have to do is believe!

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.
(John 3:16-17 (NIV))

Living water renews! Living water restores! There is only one source for such a powerful element and that is belief in Jesus! If you believe, then true belief calls for you to share the source with all who are in need of it. Do you truly believe in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior? Is it visible to others?

What flows from within you?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Just what is your definition of everyone?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
(Acts 2:21 (NIV))

Have you ever truly stopped to contemplate the meaning of this passage?

To fully comprehend the meaning of this passage, you have to accept the definition of the word “everyone.” You also have to accept the fact that there were no modifying words applied to the word “whoever.” It did not say whoever is like me, or whoever is from your social status. It simply says whoever!

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))

God does not place limitations on the words “everyone” and “whoever,” so why do we? Why do we think that “everyone” who is like us or “whoever” is like us are the only ones that can be shown the grace of God? If you stop to think about this silly concept, then I can safely say that most of us would not be eligible to call upon the name of the Lord, for we don’t match the ethnic or social status of Jesus when He walked this earth. We also don’t match the ethnic or social status of Paul, who is credited with spreading the Gospel to the Gentiles. In case that you forgot, Paul had been a Jew among Jews and basically anyone who was not a Jew, the Gentiles, were looked down upon by the upper echelon of Jewish society.

In other words, we don’t have any right to attach disclaimers and exemptions to the definition of the word everyone! It means every person without exception!

Just what is your definition of everyone?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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