February 26, 2020
Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
(Psalms 100:1 (NIV))
If we base our joy on things of this earth, it is fleeting.
Think about the things of this world that bring you joy. Do you realize how quickly these things could change? Not only is it possible for your joy to be quickly changed, it is also possible for it to turn to grief. As humans, we place far too much emphasis on the things of this world. Even family and friends can change and turn our joy upside down. How do we focus on a joy that will never fade when all around us is temporary?
Nehemiah understood.
…for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
(Nehemiah 8:10b (NIV))
We are to find our true joy in the Lord!
The psalmist took that concept even further. He instructed the whole earth to shout for joy to the Lord. Can you imagine the majesty and the glory when the whole world, with one voice, lifts up their joyous praise to the Lord? If you look at the current situations in the world, it is easy to think that this is never going to happen, but God has other plans. It will happen at some point in the future. It will happen when everything is made new.
It will happen…
Do you desire to see and hear this shout to the Lord?
What a glorious day this will be!
Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Posted by dailylivingministries
December 31, 2019
Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
(Hebrews 13:8 (NIV))
Nothing is ever the same in this life. It is impossible to ground yourself in anything in this world. Just when you think things are as they should be, something terrible happens and things are a complete mess.
If you base your perspective of life on things worldly, then you are going to be let down at every turn. If you base your life on things that are of God, with the center of your focus on Jesus Christ, then you will never be let down. With the end of the year rapidly approaching, keep your perspective clearly focused on Jesus, for He never changes.
Stay focused on Jesus!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Leave a Comment » | eyes focused on Jesus, focus, focus on Jesus, focused on Jesus, Godly priorities, it is a matter of priorities, keep focused on Jesus, keep your faith focused, priorities, Uncategorized, what are your priorities | Tagged: base, Be still, center, Christ, clearly, down, eternal life, focus, focused, forever, friends, God, ground, happens, Happy New Year, impossible, Jesus, let, life, mess, nothing, perspective, same, something, stay, today, world, worldly, year, yesterday | Permalink
Posted by dailylivingministries
February 5, 2019
Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living
Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.
(Deuteronomy 11:1 (NIV))
If you love the Lord with all your heart, His requirements will be placed there as a result. It is easier to first love God and then do His will for the simple fact that we will desire to know and do His will because of our love for Him. God does not expect us to first make ourselves perfect and keep His requirements. That is from the Law of Moses. God knew that man could not keep this law, but He had to give it to us in order to have something to base righteousness on.
Instead of being perfect and approaching God, God has given us the opportunity to come to Him in spite of our imperfections by coming through Jesus Christ. Once we come to Him, He fills us and perfects us in His time.
Are you trying to be perfect on your own, or are you letting God perfect you in His time? God loving us as we are comes first. Loving God comes next! Drawing closer to God and His requirements, decrees, laws and commands come next.
Don’t get things out of sequence!
Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Posted by dailylivingministries
January 22, 2019
Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
(Matthew 7:24 (NIV))
If you have ever built something, no matter how big or how small, what was the first thing that you did? What was the first step you undertook to make sure that your endeavor would be successfully completed?
If you are in school studying to achieve a career goal, the first thing that you do is build a solid foundation of the basics in the subject that you are interested in. If you are the athletic type, you study and get the best equipment and learn how to properly use it so that you have a solid physical foundation upon which to build? If you are an architect or a structural engineer, you work diligently to make sure that the building has a solid base upon which to rest.
I hope that you are starting to pick up on the concept that Jesus presented, for it applies to all aspects of life. Why, then, do we tend to forget that we need to build a solid foundation of faith? You can say that you believe, but unless you dive headfirst into God’s word and into the teachings of Jesus, do you truly even know what you believe? Sadly, far too many people in this day and time spend a few minutes cherry-picking a few passages and make false assumptions on what it means to profess that Jesus is their personal Lord and Savior. They are eager to say that they believe, but when presented passages that actually present the truth, they walk away. They did not build a firm foundation.
Jesus also presented this concept in another way through the following passages.
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
(Matthew 13:1-9 (NIV))
No matter how you understand the concept, either good soil, firm foundation or building your house upon the rock, it all is the same. If you do not build your life and your faith upon the truth of Jesus, then it is built on shaky ground and will not last.
What is your house built upon?
Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Posted by dailylivingministries
Daily Living Ministries 