Have you been caught in your foolishness?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”
(1 Corinthians 3:19 (NIV))

Can you imagine what God thinks of our attempts at solving the world’s current problems?

In all honesty, I could probably stop after asking that one question and let your imagination run wild. You can probably paint a very vivid mental picture quite easily of God’s reaction to everything that is going on in the world today. Do you envision the Lord doing a face palm and shaking His head? Do you envision Him shedding a tear because of our so called wisdom? I am sure that what we have done and what we are doing breaks the very heart of God!

Where do you stand with respect to the wisdom of the world?

Perhaps I should ask a different question.

Do you believe that there is any wisdom to be seen in this world?

I pray that you haven’t fallen into the prideful human characteristic that thinks, “If they would only listen to me!” Far too many people can claim this arrogant attitude when they should be prayerful and seek the Lord for His wisdom.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
    and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
(Proverbs 9:10 (NIV))

If our righteousness is as filthy rags, and we see as if through a dark window, then how can we truly possess any real wisdom? What we call wisdom is merely a series of glimpses of the infinite picture and we have the arrogance to believe that we know everything about the infinite picture! Now I understand why the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.

We must turn to the Lord and seek His wisdom. We must be willing to abandon our wisdom and recognize it as foolishness, for our wisdom will soon be recognized for what it truly is.

Have you been caught in your foolishness?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What do you hear?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.
(John 8:47 (NIV))

Contrary to what the world thinks, God does speak to us if we only know how to listen.

Just like in any relationship, we have to know the heart of the other person. We have to know them on a deeper level than just a casual acquaintance. We must be able to pick up on subtle intents based on our knowledge of the person. For all of the married men who are reading this, I am sure that a subtle roll of the eyes by your wife carries a meaning that only you understand. With this as an example, perhaps it is easy to understand that intimacy with someone means that not all communications are with words. Sometimes we are able to “hear” things because we know someone so well that we can understand things that others would not pick up on.

Does God always speak in an audible voice?

If we have accepted His Son, Jesus, as our personal Lord and Savior, we can be called His children. That is God reaching out to us in love. If we spend time with His Word, we know His heart. That is us reaching out to God in love. We draw closer to Him and we begin to know what breaks His heart and what bring Him joy. We begin to recognize the subtle differences in us as we mature in our faith and our relationship with the Lord. We feel peace and joy when we walk with Him and we feel anxiety and sorrow when we stray.

We have also been given the Holy Spirit to guide us. That is God walking with us in love. He is that still, small voice that lives in us to teach us how to walk with the Lord in a relationship as a loving Father and His child.

There are so many ways that we are able to hear what God says. We just have to be open to hearing and be willing to respond. We must desire a relationship with God in order to hear Him.

Do you desire that relationship?

What do you hear?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Will you be cut off or pruned or are you bearing fruit?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
(John 15:1-2 (NIV))

Every believer probably thinks that they are bearing fruit for the Lord, and hopefully that is true. Have you honestly stopped to reflect on your life in relationship to this to seek the Lord and ask if your actions are producing what He desires from you? You may think that since you go to church, you are doing well, but do you witness to others? I realize that all of heaven rejoices when a single sinner comes to salvation, but that is not the end of our responsibility.

We are to share the Gospel so that others may come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. We are to witness. We are to tell others about the Lord in both words and in our actions. How can actions tell someone about Jesus? Just in case you have forgotten the old say, actions do speak louder than words. Our actions are to bear fruit.

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))

I don’t know about you, but these all sound like actions to me!

We can exhibit these fruits in such a manner that others notice a difference in our lives. We can let them see Jesus in our lives before we even begin to tell them about Jesus! Your actions will open up a window of opportunity that will often have others asking what makes you different. That is when you share Jesus in words.

I just realized something that I want to share with you. If our actions lead us to bear fruit, I want you to consider something. When you see a fruit tree or you see fruit in a store, does it pounce on you and tell you that you need it? You are enticed by what you see and experience. Your senses draw you in. The same thing can be said of the fruit that we bear for Jesus. If we present the fruit in such a way as to allow a person’s senses to draw them in, then they will desire to experience the sweetness of what the Lord has to offer. It is our assignment as members of the Body of Christ to yield fruit. Are we living up to that task?

Will you be cut off or pruned or are you bearing fruit?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Don’t be foolish!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.
(Proverbs 17:28 (NIV))

With all that is going on in this country and the world right now, it seems that everyone has an opinion. The sad thing about that is that far too many people feel that they need to voice their opinions even if they know absolutely nothing about the topic. Everyone thinks that they are right and those who possess an opinion contrary to theirs is the enemy. Sadly, the number of people who remove all doubt about being a fool is skyrocketing rapidly.

Not many are keeping silent. Not many are holding their tongues.

We have all been guilty of saying things that we wish we had never said, but it appears that remorse is no longer an emotion that is capable of being felt by many. Instead of being able to accept differing opinions and the truth, far too many people rebel. They get angry. They mock the ones who bring the truth.

Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.
(Proverbs 9:7 (NIV))

Unfortunately, we see this increasing with every passing day. We also find it hard to truly distinguish what is the truth in the moment. I honestly believe that this is a direct result of the concept put forward in recent years which states that truth is relative. This concept is built upon the false idea that what is true for me is not the same thing that is true for someone else. I believe that those who are so vehemently vocal and angry have been taught that there is no absolute truth and that their version is just as viable as someone else’s version of truth. In particular, they oppose God’s truth, or the idea that God even exists, because they feel that His truth is not their truth.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.
(Psalm 14:1 (NIV))

It is clear how God defines a fool.

Don’t be foolish!

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Don’t lower your standards!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.
(1 Corinthians 3:18-19A (NIV))

What standards do you live by?

There is the standard that God has set for us that He longs for us to follow and then there is the standard that the world sets.

The world says that truth is relative and that if it feels good, do it. The world says that no one else matters. Life is about getting all that you can get no matter what you have to do to get it. If we follow that philosophy, then we play right into the lies of the enemy. We become foolish in the eyes of God, for we have literally traded gold for ashes.

Have you ever felt like a fool?

What made you feel that way? Who do you think felt that way about you?

Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and felt that you are foolish in the eyes of man? Have you ever looked in the Bible and felt that you are foolish in the eyes of God? Have you ever looked at yourself in relation to the world and felt that the world sees you as foolish because of your faith in God?

There is a question that asks if you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? The way that the world is going, people who profess a faith in Jesus are coming under persecution. The world looks upon us as foolish. Would you be convicted of being a fool for Jesus?

God has set a higher standard than the one the world has set. Some call it foolishness, but I call it wisdom.

Don’t lower your standards!

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