Do you think you are something that you are not?


Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©


To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.
(John 8:31 (NIV))


In all honesty, this applies to anyone who professes a faith in Jesus. It is for this reason, that I prefer to use this passage like this.

"If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.
(John 8:31b (NIV))

Now that I have stressed that this applies to everyone, are you holding to His teaching?

Do you even know everything that Jesus taught when He walked on this earth?

Too many people simply believe that an hour a week is good enough, and then they spend the rest of the week living as if they had never heard the name of Jesus.

Sitting in a church pew does not make you a Christian anymore than sitting in a garage does not make you a car.

Are you a car?

Many people know more about the things associated with their car than they know about Jesus.

Now is not the time to say one thing and do the exact opposite. Now is the time to profess His name and hold to His teaching.

Have you stopped to reflect on your walk of faith? Are you following Jesus? Are you holding to His teaching, or are you simply being a hypocrite?

Do you think you are something that you are not?


Copyright 1998 - 2024 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org

Are you kind and compassionate?


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))


What would you say is the mark of a true follower of Jesus?

Is it faith? Is it hope? Is it love? Is it a willingness to forgive?

Perhaps it is actually all of these, for when you have the first three, you inherit the willingness to forgive. Forgiveness comes from these three traits. Can you forgive and not have a faith that the person you are forgiving will not act in a similar manner again? Can you forgive and not have a hope for a different outcome in the future? Can you forgive and hate the person that you have forgiven? Can you love someone and not forgive them? There are certain things that are considered oxymorons. I would argue the case that these are included in that group, for you cannot harbor hatred and still willingly forgive. You cannot love and be unwillingly to forgive.

What is the mark of a true follower of Jesus?

Did Jesus possess love?

Did He possess a willingness to forgive?

He certainly had faith and hope in what God has promised.

It is probably safe to say that the mark of a true follower of Jesus is a willingness to see others through the eyes of Jesus. It is a willingness to realize that Jesus died for them also, and that we are no different than they are. It is a willingness to share our faith and hope of salvation through Jesus Christ, for we too should not desire for any to perish.

What is your mark?

Are you kind and compassionate?


Copyright 1998 - 2024 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org

Do you still thirst for this Living Water?


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.

Do you still thirst for this Living Water?


Copyright 1998 - 2024 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org

Where do you place your trust?


Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©


Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
(Psalms 20:7 (NIV))


With the state of the economy, where do you place your trust?

With the state of the government, where do you place your trust?

With the state of society, where do you place your trust?

With the state of the world, where do you place your trust?

Is it just me, or does it seem like everything is falling apart? It is acceptable to kill unborn children but it is a profoundly intolerable crime to kill an animal. It is acceptable to embrace sin, but to confess that you are a follower of Jesus is socially unacceptable. It is okay to teach our children about Islam in schools, but if we mention Jesus we are told to be tolerant. It is okay to allow someone who very publicly states they want to destroy us to have the very weapons that would allow it to happen, yet we cannot have weapons to defend ourselves. It is okay to be homosexual, transgender or whatever else someone's mind tells them that they should be, yet if we say we disagree with their choices, we are labeled as haters.

In the midst of all that is going wrong in the world, where do you place your trust?

Every man-made organization is falling apart. Sinful man cannot create anything that will last.

Even the church is having issues. Let me clarify this. Society thinks of the man-made aspects of the church and not the true church. Man-made traditions are falling apart. God's truths last forever and no amount of societal pressure can change that. Think about that last statement and then decide where you will place your trust. Would you place your trust in the fallen systems created by a sinful, fallen humanity or would you trust a perfect Creator who has a perfect plan?

Take a long, hard look at all that is going on in the world and tell the Lord our God that you place your trust solely in Him?

Where do you place your trust?


Copyright 1998 - 2024 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org

Do you have the faith of a little child?


Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©


"Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.""
(Mark 10:15 (NIV))


What did you worry about when you were a little child?

If you are like me, the answer is simple.

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

You never doubted anything. You trusted what your parents told you. You believed because you still possessed the power of innocence.

The sinful, fallen world had not corrupted your mind to the point where you only see sin. You had no reason to fear because you had not been exposed to sin and hatred. You had no reason to worry because all of your needs were met. I realize that this is not always true, and if it was not for you, I am sorry that you were exposed to the cruelties of this world far too soon.

Even so, we are to approach our faith with the same innocence, with the same trust, and with the same lack of fear.

What is your faith like?

Do you have the faith of a little child?


Copyright 1998 - 2024 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org