Stand firm in His promises!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
(John 14:12 (NIV))

Do you believe that you can do what Jesus did?

I know that I have a difficult time believing that a sinner like me could do the same things that the Son of God was capable of doing when He walked upon this earth.

Even though I find it difficult to believe, I must accept it as the truth, for I believe that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. God, by His very nature cannot sin by stating something that is not true.

Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
(John 5:19 (NIV))

If Jesus cannot tell a lie, then by the very words that He spoke, we must believe that they are true. Each of us has the capability of doing what Jesus did if we simply have faith in Him.

Faith.

That is the key.

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, `Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. “
(Matthew 17:20 (NIV))

If we have faith, we will do what Jesus did. It only takes a little faith, because faith, like the little mustard seed, will grow into something majestic in stature if we only allow it to take root.

Picture yourself doing the things that Jesus did.

Do you have the faith to stand firm in that promise?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Is there any doubt as to what will happen?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.
(Joshua 23:14 (NIV))

When somebody looks at how something performs, they look at what they refer to as their “track record”. Nothing or no one ever has a track record that is perfect, except God. With God, all promises He makes will be kept. When choosing sides, isn’t it wise to choose a perfect track record. You know that He will not lose, and therefore, you will not lose. Better yet, you will win. It is the goal of everyone to be on the winning side. We have God. We have God’s track record. We have God’s Word. We know what He has done in the past, and we have a written record of what He will do in the future.

Is there any doubt as to what will happen?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Where would you be if the Lord hadn’t waited for you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
(2 Peter 3:9 (NIV))

It is human nature to not like to wait. With the state of the nation and the world as it is today, many members of the Body of Christ are longing for Jesus to come and take His church out of this world. With the state of the world, there are many who believe that it could happen at any time.

What if it happens tonight?

What if it happens tomorrow?

What if it happens a week from now, or a month from now?

What if we still have to wait even if we long to be with Jesus?

Have you ever stopped to truly reflect on this passage from 2 Peter?

Let me present a scenario to you and perhaps this will help you think about this passage in a different light. Think about the one person in your life that you fervently pray comes to a knowledge of the saving grace that is theirs through Jesus. Wouldn’t you want the Lord to wait for this person to accept His grace and mercy? Think about your own path to salvation. Was there someone who was fervently praying for you?

Where would you be if the Lord hadn’t waited for you?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Jesus has overcome the world!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
(Isaiah 41:10 (NIV))

If you are like me, you have seen countless posts and news articles about how we need to stop allowing refugees at this time. We must remember what we profess and why we profess it.

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
(Romans 8:15-17 (NIV))

What is your reaction to what is happening in the world?

Are you living in fear?

Are you changing plans that you may have had because of recent events?

I have a question for you and I hope that this doesn’t come across as macabre.

Why do you fear death?

If you belong to Jesus, then we have nothing to fear. The enemy may kill the body, but the body is not what we are. It is only a vessel.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
(Matthew 10:28 (NIV))

I know that it is human nature to fear what we do not know, including death, but as the Body of Christ, we should not live in fear. Please don’t take me wrong and think that I am saying that we should welcome death. That is far from the truth. God gave us life. He did not create us death. He created us for life. However, this life is not the life that God intended when He created everything. Sin entered into the picture and now it is raising its ugly head like never before. If you study God’s Word and study the prophecies and promises that have been made, you know that God has already defeated sin when Jesus died on the cross.

Jesus arose from death!

He is with us if we call upon Him as our personal Lord and Savior.

“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))

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you ready for what God will give in its proper time?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.
(1 Timothy 2:5-6 (NIV))

Given in its proper time!

Have you ever stopped to think about God’s timing? He is never late. He is never early. Everything happens according to His timetable. Satan has tried to stop Him. Humanity often works against Him, yet, everything unfolds just as God has ordained.

Do you believe that God sent His son, Jesus into the world at just the right point of time? Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected according to God’s timeline? Do you believe that Jesus will return at just the precise moment that God has ordained?

I find it sad that far too many people mock and ridicule God’s timing. They ask such things as where is He and why hasn’t He come back yet?

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
(2 Peter 3:9 (NIV))

Think of the two passages together. Does a mediator rush things and force his hand to make those he has come to help simply give up? A good mediator takes his or her time to make sure that the proper solution is achieved. It is a solution that benefits everyone. Jesus came to offer grace and mercy to everyone. Why would He rush to draw things to a close when too many have not accepted the offer that He came to bring?

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV))

God’s timing is perfect!

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What if Jesus decided that He was not fully committed?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
(Hebrews 13:4 (NIV))

Today’s society seems to have forgotten this. Everywhere you look, you see the results of marriages that have seen the effects of unfaithfulness. According to the politically correct way of thinking, many people are saying that it just isn’t working, or they no longer want to be with their spouse, regardless of the consequences on anyone but themselves. Is this just another result of the “me first” mentality that has permeated our society lately? What has happened to the concept of for better or for worse?

What if Jesus decided that He did not want to stay around and fulfill the promise of salvation for you because He needed “space”? He made a committment to be our atoning sacrifice that would give us grace and mercy. He had the most to lose of anyone who has ever lived, yet, Jesus did not stop while He was on the cross and say that he didn’t want to be in this relationship anymore. He stuck with it and did what was best for everyone. It eventually was even best for Him. Perhaps we should focus more on Jesus and each other as a society and not on “me.”

Who do you focus on?

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you have evidence to support your 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))

Do you have evidence to support your faith?

Faith is a strange thing. Many people believe in something and they call it faith, yet, at the least little hint of something not going as planned, they abandon everything.

Faith is not faith of it is easily abandoned!

I would actually consider this a wish and not faith.

People wish for something and then become disconcerted when their wish doesn’t come true.

Faith is a conviction! Faith is a choice. Faith requires a commitment above and beyond what makes sense. Faith requires a hope, a very strong hope, that all is not lost.

Do you have faith that when you take a breath, your lungs will be filled with air? We cannot see the air, yet, we rely upon it to survive. Do you have faith that all promises are yes through Christ Jesus? Can you see Jesus? Can you see His promises? It is the same as the air. We cannot see it, yet we know without a doubt that it is there, that it is as real as what we can see. Perhaps it is even more real, for it is not clouded by the fallen nature in which we live.

Faith is an amazing thing. Just a little can grow into something so big that it can provide shelter for those around it just as the mustard seed grows into a large tree that provides shelter.

Can you see faith?

Can you touch faith?

Can you see faith manifested in your life and in the lives of those around you?

Faith is a powerful force. When we have faith, we have an insight into God’s kingdom.

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Will you be ready when Jesus returns?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

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 14:3 (NIV))

Jesus gave us many promises when He walked upon this earth. Perhaps the one that most people hold closest to their hearts is this one from John. Jesus tells us that He is preparing a place for us and will return for us. This promise gives us hope for a future away from the sin and heartache of this world. A future that knows no trouble. A future spent in the presence of God the Father through the grace of what His Son, Jesus, did for each of us.

We can stay focused on the troubles of this world, or we can focus on Jesus and our troubles will seem insignificant. All that we have to realize is that we have a promise of an eternity in heaven if we have truly accepted Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior.

Do you look for Jesus to return to take you with Him, or do you not believe every word that God has given us in His Word?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Can you realize your full potential on your own?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
(Matthew 5:17-20 (NIV))

Have you ever stopped to reflect on the meaning of the word “fulfill.” There are several meanings and all of them shed a slightly different, yet profound meaning on these words that Jesus spoke.

According to Merriam-Webster.com, one meaning is to make full. If you consider the promises that God has given to us through the Law, those promises have been made full in what Jesus has done. Before Jesus, no one could live up to the ideals set forth through God’s Laws. The fulness of God’s Laws were salvation. We could not bring fulness on our own.

Another meaning is “to put into effect.” Still another is “to meet the requirements of.” There are more, but I think that my favorite definition is “to convert into reality; to develop the full potentialities of.” Before Jesus, the reality was that no one could fulfill the Law. Since Jesus, the reality is that no one else has fulfilled the Law. What are the full potentialities of fulfilling God’s Law? Think about that. We know what the outcome is when we fall short of God’s Law. Falling short of God’s Law is sin. The consequences of sin is death.

Through Jesus, we have realized the full potential of God’s Law. We have seen what it is to be perfect in God’s eyes. We have seen God set that example through Jesus. Jesus fulfilled the Law perfectly. We don’t need to fulfill it. This does not mean that we can do whatever we want. It means that we will not be condemned when we try in all sincerity and fall short. We will be condemned if we reject grace.

We can accept His fulfillment and His Lordship and, by grace, we can be granted our salvation – our fulfillment of God’s Laws through Jesus. We have a choice to make. We can accept this grace or we can live and be judged according to the Law – the very Law that ONLY Jesus was able to fulfill.

Can you realize your full potential on your own?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Easter is the fulfillment of the promise!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.

He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

“What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
(Luke 24:13-35 (NIV))

How quickly do we put the glory of the resurrection behind us? How quickly do we forget what Jesus went through and what it brought us?

It was pointed out to me Sunday morning that even though Easter is a single day, the grace and mercy that it bought us is something to keep in our hearts and minds every day. We should be filled with the excitement and exuberance every day just like the two men who were on the road to Emmaus.

We tend to think that it would be nice if every day were like Christmas. To be honest with you, this is a very nice idea when you consider that people pray for peace on earth and good will towards men. However, this is the birth of the promise.

Easter is the fulfillment of the promise!

We, as the Body of Christ, need to embrace the birth of the promise, because without the birth, it is impossible to have the fulfillment. However, it is the fulfillment of the promise that brings us salvation, grace and mercy.

Think about that.

I am not saying that this is an example of how God works, but consider if someone promises to do something for you, does it carry any strength and merit until it is fulfilled?

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.
(2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV))

God fulfills His promises!

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
(Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV))

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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