Have you allowed God to make you pure?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

“Come now, let us reason together,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
(Isaiah 1:18 (NIV))

There is something about snow that reminds us of purity. Looking out over the surrounding area after a snowfall, you become amazed at the freshness and the newness of everything. The virgin snow is pure and without blemish, just as humanity was in the beginning. Then, we start to see footprints and the effects of the sun and we see little patches of brown starting to show through.

It only takes a little blemish to start the process of degeneration. Soon, everything is muddy and brown and how we long for the purity of the way it used to be. This is the same in our lives. We cannot do anything about the snow, but we can do something about our lives.

After many years of living in this sinful world, our countenance is very muddy, but God has promised us that we will be made white as snow. He has sent us a Savior in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. Through God’s grace and mercy, He is willing to exchange our muddy, sinful nature for a pure, snowy countenance in which all things have been forgiven. All it takes is a simple, heartfelt longing and an acceptance of this God given grace and mercy.

The purity of the snow is only temporary. God gives a purity that lasts an eternity.

Have you allowed God to make you pure?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Is it time for a Jesus resolution?

“Come now, let us reason together,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
(Isaiah 1:18 (NIV))

We are rapidly coming up on the beginning of a new year. It is tradition that we make resolutions to address things in our lives that we want to change. Sadly, these resolutions don’t always last and even when they do, they only have the strength of the person who made the resolution behind it.

You don’t have to wait until a new year to turn over a new leaf. You can turn to Jesus any day, any hour and make a change that will have eternal impact.

Think about your resolutions.

Do you have something that you need to turn over to Jesus? Do you want to turn your life over to Jesus? I can’t think of any better way to end a New Year’s Resolution than with the words “Jesus, I surrender to you!”

And, just a reminder, you don’t need to wait for New Year’s day to surrender to Jesus!

Happy New Year!

What is your it?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Man’s days are determined;
you have decreed the number of his months
and have set limits he cannot exceed.
(Job 14:5 (NIV))

Why do so many of us live as if we have all of the time in the world?

We have a tendancy to think that we will get to “it” tomorrow. But, exactly what is “it?”

For some, it is spending time with family. For others, it is losing weight. Still, for others, it is giving up their own personal favorite sin.

What is your “it?”

I pray that it is not something that will have eternal repurcusions if it is not done now. Those repurcusions could be yours or someone elses. I pray that if you are reading this, then any personal repurcusions that may arise from putting off salvation are dealt with.

What about the eternal repurcusions as they effect others?

Are you putting off inviting your neighbor to church? Are you hesitant to talk to your co-workers about Jesus? Are you afraid to take a public stand for God? Our days are numbered, as well as those around us. What if you are supposed to talk to a loved family member about Jesus and salvation and you can’t bring yourself to do it? What if you are the very person through whom God desires to use to bring that person to savlation and you think that you can do it another day? What happens if there is no other day?

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))

As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
(Psalm 103:15-16 (NIV))

Don’t think that you have all the time in the world. What is it that you are supposed to do?

What is your “it?”

Copyright 1998 – 2011 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Which way do you want to reason?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
(Isaiah 1:18 (NIV))

According to human reasoning, this does not make sense. It is physically impossible for something to be red and then to be made perfectly white. The very nature of the material will not allow it. At best, the red would simply become faded, but it would never become perfectly white. In fact, the red, just like the sin that it represents, would stain anything cleaner and lighter than itself.

Fortunately, God works beyond the physical realm and is capable of far greater things than we can imagine.

As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
(Isaiah 55:9 (NIV))

Our ability to reason is limited in understanding and scope. God’s ability to reason is infinite. His is the ultimate reasoning, for with a single thought, anything can be done.

When faced with the red stains of our sins, isn’t it nice to know that we have a fresh perspective on their impact upon our lives. We have the atoning blood of Jesus that will wash them away. In the natural world, the red of sin plus the red of blood does not make white. Thankfully, the atoning blood of Jesus is so much more than natural blood. By God’s way of reasoning, the red of Jesus’ blood washes away the red stain of sin.

Which way do you want to reason – man’s or God’s?

Copyright 1998 – 2011 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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