What is the backbone of your hope and your salvation?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.
(Romans 6:8-9 (NIV))

This is the backbone of our hope and our salvation. Death is the ultimate winner in our lives if we do not accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior.

Spiritual death is the eternal separation of creation from Creator. There is nothing that we can do on our own that will keep us from experiencing both a physical death and a spiritual death. Yet, there is someone who has overcome the physical death, and by doing this, has also overcome the spiritual death.

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, came to die for us. But death did not hold Him. On the third day, He arose to defeat the power of death and ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father. All who call upon the name of Jesus have the assured hope that they too will overcome death.

This does not mean that we will not face the physical death, for even Jesus faced this. It does mean that we who place our faith in Jesus Christ will have a mediator who will intercede for us and keep us from the spiritual death that comes with the physical death.

These bodies that we now know as ours are only a shell for our true selves. They will pass away, but we shall live eternally with God and Jesus because we have placed our faith in Him!

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Celebrate His Resurrection and our salvation!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
(Matthew 20:18-19 (NIV))

In the next few days leading up to Easter, we need to remember what happened in Jesus’ life during these days. He knew what was coming and He went into it willingly. He laid down His life for us. Even though He was, and is, the Son of God, He paid the ultimate price for us willingly. He could have avoided the cross, yet He went through the torture and agony because He loves us.

As Easter Sunday draws closer, remember the agonizing death that Jesus went through so that we could celebrate His Resurrection and our salvation.

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you still waiting for your time?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

“Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”
(John 2:1-4 (NIV))

Even though your time may not have come, don’t think that it is ok to do nothing!

Do you have an idea as to what type of ministry that God is calling you for? Do you feel that you are a long way from being able to fulfill that calling? Perhaps what God is calling you to is to start where you are. No one, not even Jesus, started his ministry reaching the masses. Jesus started His miracles and His ministry at a time when it did not seem appropriate. His “time” had not come. This beginning was not preaching in front of the multitudes. It was not healing the sick or raising the dead. It was simply an act of obedience.

He was given an opportunity to provide drink at a wedding ceremony. This situation was not in front of large crowds. In fact, it was probably only in front of a select few such as His mother, the chief steward and a few workers. It did not draw large crowds to hear Him teach. It simply was an opportunity that He did not pass up because it did not fit into His “time.”

God gives us opportunities to be witnesses and servants for Him every day. Too many of them are simply missed because in our attempt to see our “time,” we fail to see God’s timing. When we follow God’s timing, we often usher in the time that He has planned for us. We simply need to be open to His calling and obedient at all times, not just when we think it is appropriate.

What is your calling? Are you missing opportunities while you await the bigger “time?”

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Evidence!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
and Josiah the father of Jeconiahn and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
Abiud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.
(Matthew 1:1-17 (NIV))

God is extremely good at telling us what He is going to do before He does it. He is also extremely good at providing proof for after the fact.

Abraham was told that through him, the nations would be blessed.

David was told that a descendant from his lineage would rule forever.

There are many more, but when Matthew wrote of the lineage of Jesus, the Jewish people knew of the promises that God had made. They knew what to expect. Matthew simply pointed out what God had done.

I often wonder if we would recognize the things that God has done if we were presented the evidence in a similar manner. Would we recognize Jesus through the fulfillment of the prophecies? Would we recognize Jesus through what God still has promised?

Let’s take this one step further.

Do we recognize what God is putting right in front of us?

Many Jewish people did not recognize the signs, even when they were presented in detail. What signs are we missing today that God longs for us to pay attention to? Are we so intent on focusing on the baby in the manger and the signs that pointed to His coming that we miss the signs that may be telling us to be on the lookout for something that God is still planning? Think about that for a moment. We already know that God tells us what He is going to do in advance of doing it.

God told us that a baby would be born of a virgin.

God told us that He would suffer and die for our sins.

God told us that He would be raised again on the third day.

God told us that He would come again.

We are at the time of year when we celebrate the birth of the baby. I can only imagine the awesome experiences that the shepherds had. I can only imagine the humbleness of the magi. I can only imagine what was going on in the minds of Joseph and Mary. They had been told by God what was to transpire. Still, the evidence before them was probably mind blowing.

There is much evidence to point to Jesus as the Messiah. There is more evidence to come!

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