Are you able to proclaim the same?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
(Psalms 91:2 (NIV))

Sadly, it is human nature to say things that aren’t exactly true. Every single one of us has stretched the truth at least one time in the last twenty-four hours. Human nature makes us do things that are less than accurate. This easily comes out in the things that we say, after all, words flow far too easily. We say things we don’t mean to say. We sound sarcastic when saying something with sincerity, and we can sound honest when we are telling an outright lie. We may not intend to do these things, but we all do them. We are all guilty.

whose tongue utters no slander,
    who does no wrong to a neighbor,
    and casts no slur on others;
(Psalms 15:3 (NIV))

We must learn to be diligent with our words. We must not allow our mouths to utter things that are not true. We must strive to speak of only what is good.

My tongue will proclaim your righteousness, your praises all day long.
(Psalms 35:28 (NIV))

Even Jesus redirected goodness to the Father! Everything that He did was done to bring glory to the Father.

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.
(Mark 10:18 (NIV))

Do your words bring glory to the Father? The psalmist claimed that he finds refuge in God. He claimed that God is his fortress. He claimed that he trusts in God. Since the Lord God sees the heart, I want these words to be my honest proclamation!

Are you able to proclaim the same?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have we been singing well enough?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day.
(1 Chronicles 16:23 (NIV))

Do you ever feel like you need to praise the Lord more than you do?

Sadly, if you are like me, the weight of the world closes in on us far too often and we quickly lose site of what is truly important in this world. We feel the pressures of our jobs and many other aspects of our daily lives. As a result, we soon forget to lift up praise to the Lord for all that He has done for us. It almost sounds like I am saying to give thanks for the pressures that we face. On the contrary! The pressures do not come from the Lord. They come from the enemy and he does all that he can to heap more and more on us in order to distract us from praising the Lord. When that happens, take heart and slow down. It is said that if you focus on your problems, you fail to recognize the blessings in your life. God designed His creation to remind us of Him. God’s creation praises His majesty through the beauty of what He has created. When we are too weak to praise the Lord, we just need to focus on the backing vocals that we have at our disposal. Shift your attention from your problems and allow God’s creation to remind you of just how great that He is!

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
(Luke 19:37-40 (NIV))

The enemy knows that the Lord is to be praised. He also knows that we are created to lift up the name of the Lord, so he does all that he can to prevent this. Thankfully, God’s creation will sing His praises when we don’t. We just need to make sure that we remember to pick back up in the next stanza of our lives and sing to the Lord for He is worthy of our praise!

Have we been singing well enough?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Join in the chorus proclaiming Jesus!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:1-14 (NIV))

Just in case you have been overcome with the hecticness of the world and you have forgotten just who Jesus is, read the words recorded in John. Let them sink in. Let them permeate your life and let them rekindle the fire in your heart!

With all that the world throws at us, it is so easy to become side tracked. We all have such hectic lives with work related deadlines, family schedules that seem to never end, and many lost opportunities to fulfill Psalms 46:10.

Be still, and know that I am God,
(Psalms 46:10a (NIV))

The enemy knows all too well that if he can simply keep people way too busy that they will lose sight of the real reason for the season. I can almost see the legions of fallen angels gathered around and coming up with the plan to get people to replace Merry Christmas with happy holidays. After reading the words recorded in John, we should have a bold confidence in proclaiming the name of Jesus and in proclaiming Merry Christmas!

Will you join the members of the Body of Christ in boldly proclaiming the mightiest and merriest of Christmases?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Jesus is our strength!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Who will not fear you, O Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.
(Revelation 15:4 (NIV))

I hate to say this, but in our present wordily state, not that many people fear the Lord. Far too many mock and ridicule God and those who follow Him and accept the name of His Son, Jesus, as their personal Lord and Savior.

It is sad that so many have not only turned their back on God, they have openly rebelled against Him. They have claimed all types of lies against God and against His Son. They have been blinded by the false delusions of the enemy.

We can’t let the enemy win!

Each person that believes the lies is a person who is desperately in need of the grace, mercy and love that is freely available from God the Father through the shed blood of His Son, Jesus.

Does it feel like we are facing overwhelming odds?

We do not face them on our own strength!

“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))

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
(1 John 4:4 (NIV))

With the current state of the world, it is so easy to lose hope. I’ve got a little secret to share with you!

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
(Hebrews 12:2 (NIV))

Keep your eyes on Jesus! Jesus is our strength.

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