It is time to recognize His power and presence!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

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 3:8 (NIV))

What do you think of when someone says that they are born of the Spirit?

What do you think of when someone says that they are led by the Spirit?

It is human nature to think that this is a lie simply because you don’t feel that way about yourself? Still, for anyone who professes a faith in Jesus, this is prayerfully the desire of your heart. As followers of Jesus, we should be listening for that still, small voice. We should be seeking the newness of complete restoration that only comes from God. We should be seeking to know which way the wind is blowing so that we may follow the Holy Spirit!

In order for this to happen, we must be willing to surrender all, and not only what the world can see. We must be willing to confess our sins and repent, to turn away from the very things that weigh us down and keep us away from truly knowing the very heart of God! We must desire to have a heart that seeks after God in all of His majestic goodness, grace and glory. We must desire a pure heart in the eyes of God!

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
     and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
(Psalm 51:10 (NIV))

I have been closely watching the revivals that are ongoing on many college campuses right now. There is a spirit of confession. There is a spirit of repentance. There is a true hunger for God, and He is honoring that.

I have seen pictures and videos of people lined up for blocks waiting to get in. I have seen videos of what appears to be thousands of people standing outside of the chapel praising God while they are watching a large video screen of the events inside. This started as a college student revival. What I am now seeing is people of all ages driving hours on end to be close to God. People are hungry. They desire God. They are worshiping in places and under circumstances that most would have never imagined. They know that there is a hole in their lives that only He can fill.

They are surrendering to the power of the Holy Spirit!

Where will this lead?

Only God knows!

How long will this last?

Only God knows!

If you hunger and thirst for righteousness, then it is time to surrender to the Holy Spirit.

It is time to recognize His power and presence!

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What do you think you know?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

As you do not know the path of the wind,
     or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
     the Maker of all things.
(Ecclesiastes 11:5 (NIV))

Humanity has come a long way since this was written. We think that we may know how to track the path of the wind and we think we know how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, but have we mistaken human knowledge for Godly wisdom? We know enough about these two subjects to be dangerous. The sad and dangerous part of this is that we have taken human knowledge, which is very limited, and used that to say that we no longer need God.

Can we trace the complete path of the winds since the beginning of creation? God can!

Can we bring together two unique strands of DNA and form still another unique individual and nurture and protect that individual as he or she grows? Can we create DNA? God can!

Even with the family genealogy softwares that are available, can we trace the lineage of each unique person who has ever lived? God can!

Human nature is so narcissistic that we think we have all the answers. We can’t even answer the biggest question of all: Why do we still sin?

Regardless of what you may think you know, your knowledge is just a grain of sand in comparison to the eternal wisdom that is our God.

What do you think you know?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 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.
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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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Can you truthfully proclaim that God is your strength?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
(Psalms 73:26 (NIV))

When we are young, we feel that we are invincible. As we age, we start to experience things that we would have never expected when we were younger. We soon find that our physical bodies start to slow down. We experience aches and pains that we used to not have. In other words, our flesh starts to fail. We find that we have changed as does everything in this physical world.

The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
(Psalms 103:15-16 (NIV))

Where do you turn when your heart is failing?

Where do you turn when your flesh is aging?

When do you turn when your eyes grow dim?

There is only one place to turn. Turn to Him!

God should be our strength when we are young. He should be our strength when we are growing old and gray. We should learn to trust in God in all circumstances no matter where we are in life, for He is the one who gave us life.

Can you truthfully proclaim that God is your strength?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you possess a confident faith?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV))

Just what is the difference between hope and faith?

According to some definitions of the words, hope can be summarized as a feeling. Faith can be summarized as confidence. I know that this greatly oversimplifies things, but for the sake of argument, let’s go with these simplified definitions.

In other words, confidence is rooted in the feeling that we have. Let’s face facts. We have all had times in our lives when we just knew something would work out. We couldn’t give a reason for knowing, we just knew that it would. We had a feeling that we could not explain. That feeling gave us confidence. it gave us faith. Some things just feel natural. They feel perfect.

Trusting in Jesus is one of those things that feels perfect. It feels natural to place our trust in Him. We are confident of that feeling of trust. Our relationship with Jesus has gone beyond one of a feeling of hope to a confident faith. We don’t have to see Him. We are confident in His presence. We can feel His presence. Just as we feel the wind, we can feel His presence bathing us in His love.

Do you rely on what you can see before you believe? You can’t see the air, yet if fills your lungs and gives you life. You can’t see the wind, yet it can be powerful enough to move even the largest of objects. Faith and hope are just like the air. They fill you up and give you life. Faith and hope are just like the wind. They are powerful enough to move the most stubborn of objects.

Without hope and faith, without feeling and confidence, we are lost. Jesus is the only one who can give us what we long to possess. Jesus is the only one who can redeem us from our sin and the death that results from that sin.

I have a confident feeling that comes from knowing Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior.

Do you have that confident feeling?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you understand God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.
(Ecclesiastes 11:5 (NIV))

Does this still apply today?

Science can track the winds and predict where they will strike. Doctors know what happens each week as a baby grows in its mother’s womb. We have become very aware of our surroundings and as a result, we seem to think that God is not so difficult to understand if He exists at all.

Personally, it appears to me that the more we increase our understanding of these things, the more we should be in awe of how they actually work. We should recognize that they are far too complex to be mere accidents. They are designed.

Do we truly know about these things, or are we blinded to the truth by the limited knowledge that we have gained? We feel that we are in control, but nothing could be further from the truth. We only understand a very limited piece of God’s creation. As a result, I feel that even though our knowledge is increasing, we still only possess a fractional amount of knowledge.

Humanity, in our limited knowledge, is no where near understanding God’s creation, or God Himself. Even if we did understand it all, we should stand in awe of the complexity of God’s creation while enjoying the simplicity of a sunrise or the simplicity of a summer day. God, just like His creation, is both complex and simple.

The complexity of God calls us to admire Him and to worship Him for the wonderful things that He has done. The simplicity of God calls us to repentance, for one simple fact matters the most.

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))

Understanding God is complex in the eyes of the world, but through the eyes of faith, it is simple.

I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.
(Luke 18:17 (NIV))

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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