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))

There is an old saying that a leopard can’t change its spots. They are an integral part of what makes a leopard a leopard. Have you ever heard that same saying used in reference to a person? It is maliciously said of someone in a derogatory fashion to imply that that person is a bad apple and will never change. In other words, once a thief, always a thief. Once a murderer, always a murderer. Once a liar, always a liar. Once an adulterer, always an adulterer. People are implying that what will always flow from a person’s life will continue to be what has flowed from their life in the past. They claim that there is no chance of ever changing!

Has your life changed since you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, or are you the same person putting forth the same sinful life as you were before accepting Jesus?

I realize that this question sounds so far off base, especially when you understand the truth that accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior has started a process in your life that changes you from the inside out! Sadly, those who say such things as a leopard can’t change its spots have completely missed the concept of redemption and grace. It is even more saddening to hear this kind of language directed at others when it comes from someone who professes a faith in Jesus. No wonder the world calls the Body of Christ hypocrites. They see a small sampling of those who claim to know Jesus and they see these type of actions. All that they see flowing out of these individuals is anything but life-giving.

We are called to share Jesus with the world!

I am sure that many of you remember the old fad from several years ago – WWJD – What Would Jesus Do? I’m not trying to be cliché, but there is a lot of truth in those four little letters and those four words. What flows from our lives is supposed to be Jesus, but do our actions reflect that?

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.
(John 3:16-18 (NIV))

If anyone believes in Jesus, they are not condemned. They are in a process of becoming mature and Christlike. Is everyone at the same point? No! But, you can rest assured that the Holy Spirit is at work and He is preparing the way for the living waters to flow if we will only allow them to flow. It is up to us. We must decide if we truly believe in Jesus and then let the rivers flow!

What flows from within you?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Lord, give me faith to walk on water!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
(Matthew 14:31 (NIV))

If you profess a faith in Jesus, then you know the story of Peter and his attempt to go to Jesus by walking on the water. We like to point out that Peter’s faith failed him and that he began to sink, however, I think that we are focusing on the wrong thing. Recently, I had someone point out to me that his faith was stronger than that of the other eleven, for they never even thought of going to Jesus. They never thought of stepping out of the boat to put their faith to the test. Only Peter took the step of faith and only Peter was willing to risk everything for his faith.

What type of faith do you have?

What type of faith do you want?

Are you willing to step out and trust the Lord when He calls you to something, or will you be like the eleven and simply sit by and watch as others take that step?

There is one thing that I do want to clarify. Jesus did not call the eleven to walk on water. He only called the one who desired to go to Him. He only called Peter, and Peter responded. The other eleven were comfortable where they were. They did not want to put themselves in danger. They did not ask Jesus to call them to do something different from what they already knew. To put this in perspective, they were perfectly happy in what we like to call their comfort zones.

Are you happy in your comfort zone? Are you content to simply live you life not knowing what the Lord has called you to do?

I wrote the following several years ago as a much longer piece. The following shorter segment has often become my prayer. I am only human. Sometimes I falter and miss what I am being called to and other times I take that step of faith. Still, I keep these words front and center. I keep praying to be able to fulfill them all of the time.

Give me faith to walk on water
To overcome my fears
To rest in the truth
That You are always near
Give me faith to trust Your greatness
To truly know Your heart
Give me faith to walk on water
If that’s where You are
© 2016 Dennis J. Smock

Looking around at the world today, I know one thing. I want more of Jesus! I want to be like Peter and take that step of faith.

Lord, give me faith to walk on water!

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What is welling up inside of you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
(John 4:13-14 (NIV))

I want to ask you a question, if I may.

How many times have you felt the presence of God and you actually felt like you had something welling up inside of you? Did you feel like you could “bubble over?” Did you feel refreshed and cleansed?

I have often wondered if this is how we personally experience the Living Water that Jesus gives to us.

Think back on the times when you know that you felt God’s presence the most in your life. How did you feel? Do these thoughts evoke the feelings that you would associate with water? It quenches your thirst. It refreshes. It cleanses. It is cooling. It is soothing. It is comforting. Fresh water is often thought of as bubbling up, or welling up, from a spring. The sounds of bubbling water are relaxing and peaceful. Do these thoughts describe the sensations that you felt when you felt God’s presence?

I find it very interesting that we can go without food for many days, but that we cannot go without water or we will die. Water is essential to our survival. It is so much a part of us. Still, in our physical form, we will eventually not be able to be refreshed. Water is an integral part of each of us.

I have said before that I believe that for every physical aspect of life, there is a corresponding spiritual aspect of life. Water is important to our physical bodies and Living Water is important for our spiritual well being. Just as water is essential to life, Living Water is essential to eternity. Somehow our bodies know this. It is our minds that make us not see the obvious.

Living Water rejuvenates. It cleanses. It soothes, It is calming. It is peaceful.

It is the way that God pours out upon us the closeness of a relationship with Him that we lost at the Garden of Eden. Living Water brings peace. It brings joy. It brings patience. It brings kindness. It brings self-control. Just as physical fruits cannot mature without water, the fruits of the Spirit need the Living Water to grow to maturity.

What is welling up inside of you?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you thirst for righteousness?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
(Revelation 22:17 (NIV))

I don’t know about you, but this sounds like an open invitation to anyone who thirsts for righteousness.

It does not place any limitations on who can respond. The only requirement is that you must have a thirst for life as God intended it.

We have all experienced thirst in our lives, but have you ever been so thirsty that your very being craved cool water? You knew deep within your being what was needed and your desire for it was so overwhelming that you thought of nothing else. Was anything else able to satisfy that thirst? That is the type of thirst that we must have when we seek the Lord!

With everything that has been happening around the world, do you thirst for the peace that passes understanding? Do you desire for the sinful nature of this world to go away? Do you long for people to live as God intended? Is there anything except God’s grace and the water of life that will quench this yearning? Have you discovered anything about yourself in the last few weeks that you do not like and want to change? Do you still thirst after the world or have you found something that can satisfy your thirst for all eternity?

Do you thirst for righteousness?

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

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

At once they left their nets and followed him.
(Matthew 4:20 (NIV))

When was the last time that you reacted immediately to a situation?

If you are like me, this probably doesn’t happen very often if at all. To be honest with you, most days I have trouble deciding what I want for dinner.

Each one of us who profess a faith in Jesus did not come to this decision as quickly as Peter and Andrew did. We had heard of Jesus most of our lives before we came to the decision to give our hearts to Jesus. Could we have and would we have been so quick to follow Jesus if He had appeared to us at our work and told us to follow Him? Would we have believed Him? Would we have left the comfort of what we knew and in an instant make a decision to leave it all behind and follow who in essence was a complete stranger? From a logical perspective, this sounds like lunacy. From a worldly perspective, it sounds like lunacy, but from a Godly perspective, it sounds like redemption, grace and salvation!

I have often wondered how I would have reacted if I were Peter or Andrew. Would I have been able to take that leap of faith? Would I have recognized that moment in time that would change my eternity? Would I have been able to place my trust in Jesus so quickly?

Think about that with respect to your life and how you came to faith in Jesus. Was it a well thought out decision or was it a quick and bold move? No matter how quickly the decision was made, the important truth is that you did make that decision. Even so, I want to give you something to think about. Peter gave his commitment “at once.” We do know that Peter was sometimes quick to do things, such as stepping out of the boat to walk on water. We also know that Peter vowed to never abandon Jesus, yet he denied Him three times. We also know that Jesus restored and forgave him. Perhaps Jesus saw something in Peter that is something that we should be willing to take hold of. Peter was willing to place his faith in Jesus even if he didn’t understand. He made the commitment and then relied on Jesus to see him through. We rely on our intellect to come to the decision and then we rely on our intellect to determine how we react. Is this really faith?

Are we able to decide at once to follow Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Have you been born of the Spirit?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”
(John 3:5-6 (NIV))

More people are aware of the verse just a few short sentences before this passage.

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.
(John 3:3 (NIV))

In fact, even nonbelievers are familiar with this passage to the point where they have created bumper stickers saying that they were born okay the first time. Ironically, their comments support the words that Jesus spoke about flesh gives birth to flesh. They either don’t understand the concept of being born again or they choose to rebel against the idea out of ego and pride. Think about that for a moment. When do we see the very first rebellion against God and what was the cause of this rebellion? Ever since Satan declared that he wanted to be God, pride has become a major issue. Pride became such an issue that it caused the fall from grace. It caused all the sins of the world. If you look at the Ten Commandments, everything that the Lord God told us to obey are things that lead us to Him and away from pride. We are to honor only God and His Name. We are not to pick part of His creation and worship it. We are to obey the Lord and live according to His desires and laws. Anything short of that is a sin.

All flesh has been corrupted by the fall from grace. That is why our ancestors were driven from the Garden of Eden. They had corrupted God’s perfect creation. As descendants of Adam and Eve, we are just as guilty.

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.
(John 4:24 (NIV))

We cannot approach God in sin. We must be cleansed. We must be made anew. We must accept the grace and mercy given to us on the cross. We must accept the Spirit of God and allow Him to work in us from the inside out and make us people who are focused on things of the Spirit instead of things of this earth. We must allow God’s Spirit to be birthed in us!

Have you been born of the Spirit?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Have you been born again?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, `You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
(John 3:5-8 (NIV))

I once saw a bumper sticker that said “Born OK the first time.” After two thousand years, it is hard to believe that people still do not fully grasp what Jesus was speaking about. Either that, or they prefer the sin that the flesh has them in.

The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.
(Matthew 26:41b (NIV))

The body, or the flesh, is weak and prone to sin. Sin cannot be overcome by the flesh. How can weakness overcome sin? It take a stronger presence to overcome the power of sin. Those who reject the Holy Spirit are rejecting God’s Grace and telling the world that they love their sin. Only righteousness can stand before God. Righteousness comes only from accepting Jesus Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to enter into your life. This is what Jesus spoke of when He said that “You must be born again.” Those who reject this, reject God.

Take a close look at your life. Have you allowed the Holy Spirit to enter into your life in such a manner that the world sees the difference? Have you been born again?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you a new creation in Christ?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
(2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV))

Everyone wants a clean start. We have all done things that we are not proud of. Quite often, we wish that we could simply forget our past and start again with a clean slate. Perhaps that is why so many people love to celebrate the beginning of a new year. It is as if you get a reset on the things that you wish you could have done differently. Sadly, too many people resolve to do things differently, but end up giving up on their plans after only a few days.

There is a reset that we can take advantage of that has so much more probability of lasting more than a few days. In fact, it has the ability to last for all eternity!

Think about that and what it truly means. Man’s religion can’t change you. Only by accepting God’s offer of a reset through the acceptance of Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior can you change for all eternity! Only through the process of being born again, can the new creation come.

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
(John 3:1-6 (NIV))

Are you a new creation in Christ?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you clothed as a new born?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
(John 3:5-6 (NIV))

When we were born of flesh, we were born of this world and of the things in it.

Unfortunately, being born of this world and the things in it meant that we were born into sin. Not a single one of us was born into this world without the power and the consequences of sin looming over us.

Satan is the god of this world and all of its fleshly sins. We are born of flesh. God cannot associate with Satan, so we must be “born again” of the Spirit.

In order to escape sin, we must be born of the Spirit to be of God. The Spirit is of God. Jesus came into this world to offer us a way to be clothed in the things of God. He offered us a way to become a new creation in the eyes of God! Jesus provided a way for each of us to be born anew. In order to enter into God’s kingdom, we must “shake off” the world and put on the Spirit and clothe ourselves in things that are of God and not of this earth.

Through inheritance, we become just as pure as the new born infant that we celebrate. We think of becoming more and more like Jesus, but have you ever stopped to think that we have to truly become a new creation for all that we know was of this world. All that we cling to as good was of this world. We must leave all of the behind and start anew. We must be clothed in the innocence of a new born baby.

Are you clothed as a new born?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Is the Lamb your shepherd?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat upon them,
nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
he will lead them to springs of living water.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
(Revelation 7:16-17 (NIV))

Isn’t it a marvelous picture that these words paint? Every person who has ever lived longs for what these words speak of. Whether they are a believer or not, this picture appeals to everyone.

What I find of interest is that these words do not come in a part of the Bible that is often read. They appear in Revelation. This is probably the most misunderstood book of the Bible, yet it holds the most promise for those who accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. True, Revelation speaks of the judgments of God against the wickedness of man. At the same time, it speaks of the fulfillment of the promises that have been with man since Adam and Eve.

Which side of Revelation do you wish to be on? Do you wish to be on the judgment side or the fulfillment side? It is your choice. Accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior or don’t. Jesus himself said “He who is not with me is against me.” (Matthew 12:30a (NIV))

Are you with Jesus?

Is the Lamb your shepherd?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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