Happy New Year to those who desire to overcome!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 (NIV))

Are you at peace with what is going on in the world?

What does your answer tell you about your relationship with Jesus?

I realize that we are only human and we live in the physical world, but if we have accepted Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, then we do not truly live here. This world is not our home. We are only passing through. Our true home is an eternity spent with Jesus!

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
(John 14:2-3 (NIV))

Let me present a question for your consideration.

If you were on a journey to get home and you saw terrible thing along the way, would you forget that you were going home and focus on the troubles along the way?

Sadly, that is what too many people who profess a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior end up doing. We focus on the troubles in this world and lose our focus on Jesus. It is true that we do have to live in this world, but we must remember that what we see unfolding is all part of God’s plan. As such, we must keep our eyes focused on Jesus, for when we focus on Jesus all the troubles of this world seem to fade away.

As we face the upcoming new year, it is my prayer that each of us can keep our focus where it should be.

Happy New Year to those who desire to overcome!

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you fully embraced the new thing that God has done?

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))

What is your attitude on change?

Do you like things to stay the status quo? Are you comfortable when you know exactly what is happening each day? Are you the kind of person who has everything planned out and you make sure that everything goes according to your plan? What if the status quo is bad? What if we are trapped in a sinful cycle that self perpetuates the more that we try to stay the course, to maintain the status quo?

Ever since the fall from grace, humanity has been trapped in a sinful cycle and everything that God did to show us what to do seemed to fall on deaf ears. He would make a covenant with us and we would break it. He would raise up a remnant and make them the ones who inherited the covenant only to find that they eventually broke it again. This happened more times than we probably care to admit. All of this was done to show us that we are not capable of His righteousness due to our sinful, fallen nature.

God had to do something new!

He sent His Son, Jesus, to walk among us, to teach us, and to die for us so that our sins could be washed away. This would have not been complete without the final step. He had to defeat the power of death! He had to be resurrected from the grave.

I, even I, am he who blots out
      your transgressions, for my own sake,
      and remembers your sins no more.
(Isaiah 43:25 (NIV))

As we face another uncertain new year, remember the new thing that God has done. Remember the love that He has for us. Remember the power that overcame sin and death at the cross. Remember Jesus!

Have you fully embraced the new thing that God has done?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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It is time to come to Jesus!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
(Matthew 11:28 (NIV))

There is never a bad time to turn to the Lord, but now is the best time if you haven’t already accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior!

With all that is going on in the world, turn to Jesus!

Are you weary and burdened because of evil being called good and good being called evil? Are you overwhelmed by the never-ending variants and lock downs? Are you uncertain about your income? Are you concerned about the shortages that just don’t seem to go away?

No one knows what the future will bring, but, as followers of Jesus, we know who holds the future. We have been given insight into what will transpire in the end of days and it looks all to similar to the things that we have been seeing and are seeing unfold right before our eyes. A line from a song by the Atlanta Rhythm Section comes to mind. “The world is in an uproar and I see no end in sight” is very fitting at this time in history. If you look to the world, then you will be in an uproar, but if you look to Jesus, you will have peace and rest no matter what the world may send your way.

Do you long for rest?

The world has false hopes that a new year will bring about better days, but without turning to Jesus, the world will still be in an ever increasing uproar until the time comes when Jesus returns for His Bride, His church! Once that happens, what we are experiencing today will seem like a walk in the park.

The only way to insure that you will have a happy new year is to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior today!

It is time to come to Jesus!

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you simply need to be made new?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
(Matthew 9:16-17 (NIV))

What do you expect out of the upcoming new year?

Do you expect to see anything new in your life if you don’t make plans to change? Do you expect to have closer relationships if you don’t put in the effort from your end?

Think about that concept.

If you want to lose weight, you take steps that will increase your chances of this happening. If you want to get in shape, you take steps that will increase your chances of this happening. If you want to pursue a new relationship, or if you want to strengthen an existing relationship, you take steps that will increase your chances of this happening. You can’t simply decide to do anything and it happen instantly. Using the analogies from Matthew, if you did a complete about face with getting in shape, you would probably hurt yourself. You need outside help to set you on the right path. We always want to change from the outside in. Humanity always wants to simply put a patch on the old and broken and keep right on going.

Too many people think that a spiritual change is not any different?

We think that we can change our lives while ignoring the outside help that makes it possible to change. In this case, the change comes when we invite Jesus into our lives. He then changes us from the inside out and it is a change that we cannot do ourselves. All that we can do is ask for the grace and mercy to be changed, to make us new. Once we acknowledge that we are sinners in need of a Savior, Jesus starts to change us. He doesn’t simply put a patch on the old and broken. He works in our lives to completely make us new and whole!

What do you expect out of the upcoming new year?

Do you need to ask Jesus to save you? Do you need to lay down your burdens at the foot of the cross?

Do you simply need to be made new?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Return to Jesus. Return to the joy.

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
(Psalms 51:12 (NIV))

Do you ever find yourself in need of restoration even though you are assured of your salvation?

It is easy to lose sight of the promises that we have been given, but we must not lose sight of the promise that validates all of the other promises.

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
(2 Corinthians 1:20-22 (NIV))

When we are in need of restoration, we must turn to the Father who gave His Son so that we could have salvation. The need for restoration comes when we let the weight of the world and the circumstances that we find ourselves in overpower us and consume us.

What do we lose when we are in need of restoration?

We lose our joy – our joy that comes from knowing that we have been saved by grace! Without that joy, Satan can gain access to us and steer us further away from the joy that is ours.

Joy brings hope and an assurance that we are saved by grace. It also brings us a firm foundation and an assurance of what is to come.

Are you in need of restoration? Return to Jesus. Return to the joy.

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Christmas is the celebration of the sign!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
(Isaiah 7:14 (NIV))

Immanuel. God with us!

Contrary to what the retailers try to tell us, Christmas isn’t about gifts. Contrary to what movies try to tell us, Christmas isn’t about Santa, the Grinch, or any of those feel good stories. Christmas is about one thing and one thing only.

The birth of the promised Messiah! The birth of God’s Son! The birth of Jesus!

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))

This was and still is the greatest gift that has ever been given. Through Adam, we were lost in sin with no way out. Through Jesus, we can be redeemed. We can be made righteous in God’s eyes.

All of heaven rejoiced at His birth. The angels proclaimed the Good News and glorified God for giving us His Son.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
      and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
(Luke 2:11-14 (NIV))

The angels announced the sign at His birth! They did not announce a sale. They did not announce that Santa is coming to town. They announced the birth of the Messiah, the fulfillment of the sign foretold in Isaiah.

Christmas is the celebration of the sign!

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you joined Simeon in praising God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God,
(Luke 2:25-28 (NIV))

Simeon’s faith was strong. He desired nothing more than to see the Lord’s Messiah. When the time was right, he was obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit and his sole desire was granted to him. He waited a lifetime to see the Messiah. He did not sway from his desires. He did not sway in his faith that he would see the Messiah. He stood firm on the promises of God.

Do you long to see Jesus?

Do you have the patience and the faith that Simeon possessed?

Think about that. Simeon was an old man. He had waited his whole life to see the Messiah, and he probably only spent just a few minutes in His presence. Would that be enough for you? To Simeon, that was enough. He knew that everything else that the Lord had promised would come to pass because of the fulfillment of the promised Messiah whom he had held in his arms. Because of the fulfillment of God’s promise to Simeon in those few minutes, Simeon was faithfully and boldly able to proclaim the following.

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
      you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
      which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
      and the glory of your people Israel.”
(Luke 2:29-32 (NIV))

Have you joined Simeon in praising God?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What do you treasure?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
(Luke 2:19 (NIV))

When you are the mother of Jesus, what else would you treasure?

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:21 (NIV))

For the rest of us who did not experience the angel announcing that she had found favor in the eyes of God and that she was chosen to be the mother of His Son, we have to work to make sure that we treasure Jesus. With that said, have you ever truly given any thought to all that Mary experienced? The next questions can even be answered by the men reading this. Have you ever tried to imagine the wide range of emotions that Mary felt from conception to birth? How would you react if you were told that you had found favor in the eyes of God? How would you react if you were the only one in all of history to be told that?

Did those last questions leave you speechless?

We are only to worship the Lord, but can you even begin to comprehend, to imagine, the faith that Mary possessed? God used such an obedient faith to bring forth His Son into the world. Even though she found favor, Mary was not the Savior. She was only the vessel. The child that she bore was and is the Savior of all mankind.

In today’s world, we must never forget to always look to Jesus and not to the one who brings the Good News. We must remember that Jesus is the message and anyone who spreads the Gospel is only the messenger. We must make sure that we only treasure Jesus!

What do you treasure?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you recognize the spotless lamb?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
(Luke 2:8 (NIV))

We all know the story. Angels appear to the shepherds, but is there more to this than angels appearing to whom we think of as the lowest rungs on the ladder of society?

I have read articles and I have seen video accounts that speculate that these shepherds had a special flock to attend to. There is historical evidence that indicates that the flocks for the temple sacrifices were the animals that these shepherds were watching over. If that is the case, then they were watching over the very animals that would be offered as atoning sacrifices for the sins of Israel. I have not had an opportunity to validate this next statement, but think of the implications if this is true. I recently read that when a spotless lamb was born, it was wrapped in cloth and placed in a manger to separate it out from the rest of the flock. It was set aside to be the sin offering for the people of Israel. If that is true, then these shepherds knew the meaning of what the angel told them. They knew that the child was the perfect, spotless lamb of God!

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
(Luke 2:11-12 (NIV))

Is it any wonder why the shepherds left their flocks? Is it any wonder why they instinctively knew what was transpiring?

We are separated by over two thousand years since these events took place, but it seems that we are also separated by much more than that. The things that we read have so much more behind them than just a set of circumstances, a set of events that unfold as we read the words. If we truly knew and understood the Jewish society, the Hebraic Laws, the traditions and the geography of the area, we would have so much more understanding. Our eyes would be opened and our faith would soar!

The shepherds knew!

They left their jobs where they looked after the sheep that would be used as a method to temporarily atone for sins to go see the perfect lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.

Do you recognize the spotless lamb?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Even the powerful fulfill His Will!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
(Luke 2:1 (NIV))

If I were a betting person, I would say that Caesar Augustus probably thought that the census was his idea.

I love how the Lord makes things happen according to His purpose. I love how He uses people to fulfill His plans. Without the census, Joseph and Mary would not have had to make the trip to be counted. Without the census, Jesus would not have been born where the prophets had said that He would be born. Without this census, God’s timing would not have unfolded as we know it.

To Caesar Augustus, ordering the census was probably all part of an egotistical idea to see how many people fell under his rule, but to God, this was all part of His plan to accurately fulfill the many prophecies of the birth of Jesus. God is the master architect of all creation. He has been working His plan according to His purpose and His timing ever since the fall from grace in the Garden of Eden. This census did not take God by surprise. He knew it would happen exactly when it happened. He knew that it would be the catalyst for Joseph and Mary to be in the right town when Jesus was born.

Do you think that Caesar Augustus understood all of the ramifications of his census? Do you think that he knew what God was using him to bring about?

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
     neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
(Isaiah 55:8 (NIV))

We may not fully understand the details of things that God unfolds as He is unfolding them, but we do know that His plan is the victor in the end. We may not see every single little step or detail, but we know how it ends. We are to keep our eyes on Jesus and firmly place our trust in Him even when things look like they are completely falling apart. Think about that. The last thing that the Jews wanted to do was to be subjugated under Roman authority, yet it was that Roman authority that set in motion the very thing that allowed the birth of Jesus to fulfill prophecy.

Are we seeing anything in the world today that God could be using to fulfill His Will?

Even the powerful fulfill His Will!

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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