This a a fantastic reason to be thankful!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
     his love endures forever.
(Psalms 118:1 (NIV))

With all that is going on in the world. give thanks to the Lord!

To those who do not profess a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, that may sound completely counter to what you would expect. If you find yourself asking why you should give thanks when prices are high; if you find yourself asking why you should give thanks when people are still reeling from the global pandemic; if you find yourself asking why you should give thanks when there are wars and rumors of wars, and when evil is called good and good is called evil, and when there are more extremes in the world than you can count, then it is time to give thanks to the Lord!

He is good!

His love does endure forever!

For those who profess a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, we know that all of this has been foretold. We have a loving God who has told us from the beginning the things that would happen at the end. He does not want us to be alarmed. He does not want us to be caught off guard. He wants us to be vigilant and prepared for the things that He has told us would happen so that when they happen we will know that He is in control.

If you have been led to this devotional and do not know Jesus, I want to ask you a few questions.

Do you have a feeling that something is just not right in the world?

Do you see moral depravity on the increase and wonder what is going on?

Do you have a feeling that what we used to know as normal will never return?

You are not alone. The members of the Body of Christ are feeling it too. We know that the Lord is unfolding His plans and that the time is rapidly approaching when He will judge the world. I don’t have the time to explain in detail just how this happens. Just know that it will happen. There has never been a more urgent time to repent and accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior than now. Do you know where you will spend eternity? Do you think that you are a good person. No one is good except God.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(Romans 3:23 (NIV))

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 6:23 (NIV))

Give thanks to God for sending us His Son to bring us salvation.

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))

God loves us enough to offer us eternal life through His love that endures forever.

This a a fantastic reason to be thankful!

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you placed your faith in what endures forever?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”
(Isaiah 40:8 (NIV))

If you have spent many years in this world, you understand that seasons change and with the changing seasons, what we took for granted in the spring and summer slowly starts to fade in the fall. and is completely gone by winter. The green grass that we used as a carpet for our springtime and summer activities soon turns brown. The beauty of the flowers fades as the last petal falls leaving only a stem that will also soon wither and die. Each day that we look in the mirror finds us growing older and soon, the face that we see starring back at us is so much different from the face that we remember from our youth.

It is often said that time is a cruel mistress. It takes the things that are beautiful and turns them to something we don’t recognize. It takes the things that we love and makes them old and run down.

Nothing in this physical world endures! Even the biggest structures in the world deteriorate and fall apart.

Thankfully, we have a hope that is not of this world! We have a hope that is firmly rooted in someone who is greater than the world.

But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—
(Psalms 103:17 (NIV))

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.
(Psalms 145:13 (NIV))

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
(Isaiah 9:6 (NIV))

Our hope is forever and everlasting. It is limitless in time and continues indefinitely. Is that something that our human minds can truly comprehend? We are finite. He is infinite. We are mortal. He is immortal. We are the creation. He is the Creator. We are destined to die. He has overcome death! We often follow lies. He is the only truth. We are sinful by nature. He is righteousness!

If there is something that endures forever, I am so thankful that it is His word, for our thoughts and actions without Him are destined to wither and die.

Have you placed your faith in what endures forever?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you able to pray to love like this?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
(1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV))

Have you ever been at a loss for words?

I, like many of you, have read this passage countless times, but tonight, the simple yet magnificent beauty of this type of love left me without words. I had to read it many times and pray for insight. As humans, we like to think that we are capable of love, but when compared to this standard, we fall very short of the ideal that God has defined for us. Sadly, I didn’t even make it past the third word. How far did you make it before you started feeling something tugging at your spirit?

This passage defines for us the ideal love that God desires for us to possess, but it also acts as a measuring rod that we should use as a basis for our desires and our prayers to possess a love like the love of the Lord!

Have you heard of the concept of praying the scriptures? Basically you take a passage and you pray for that passage to be made manifest in your life. You stand firm in the truth and the power of scripture.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV))

I can’t think of a better passage to pray in order to be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Lord, I long to love as You love. Make me patient. Make me kind. I don’t want to be envious or boastful. Correct me when I am arrogant or rude. Lord, help me to put others first and myself last. Give me Your joy and Your peace so that I am not irritable or resentful. Lord, give me a heart that breaks when I see wrongdoing. Let me delight in Your truth and in those who know Your truth. Lord, give me the ability to bear all things for the truth of Your love. Instill in me a belief that all things work for Your good. Lord, give me the ability to hope when it appears that all hope is gone, and grant me the endurance to see Your love made manifest in all the earth!

For the second time tonight, I am at a loss for words because of the sheer power of such a prayer.

Are you able to love like this?

Are you able to pray to love like this?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you forever thankful to the Lord?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
(Psalms 136:1 (NIV))

Just how long is forever?

To be honest with you, I actually don’t think that the human mind can truly understand that concept, especially when you consider our limited vantage point. Our minds think back to our days in school when we were watching the clock and impatiently waiting for the end of the day. It seemed like it took forever! Perhaps you remember Christmas Eve as a child. It seemed like the night would never end. With these and other examples that you may have in mind, we have a tendency to look at the concept of forever as a period of time that we must endure. We don’t usually think of forever as a joyous time.

Is that how God sees forever? Is that how God sees us in relationship to forever?

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
(2 Peter 3:8 (NIV))

If this is the way that God sees time, then His concept of forever is so very different from how we see forever. If God’s love endures forever, then He has loved us from the beginning of time, if there is such a thing, and He will continue to love us to what our frail human minds call the end of time. In all honesty, the concept of the end of time is a human construct because we can’t truly grasp eternity. All that we can truly understand is that the Lord never changes.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
(Hebrews 13:8 (NIV))

If His love endures forever, then His love for us never changes and that is the best thing that anyone can ever experience.

If God loves us this much, how do we express our gratitude?

Are you forever thankful to the Lord?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you thankful today?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
(1 Chronicles 16:34 (NIV))

Now that our national holiday to be thankful is over, we must remember the real reason that we have to be thankful. All that we have is from a single source. Nothing that we have has been of our own doing. All good things come from God. He freely gives them to those who call upon His name in honesty and sincerity.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
(Psalms 84:11 (NIV))

Think back just a few days and remember what you said that you were thankful for. Are those things still in your life? Chances are that they have not been removed. What are you most thankful for? Is it your family? Is it your friends?

Is it your salvation?

We should all be extremely thankful for our salvation, otherwise

“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
(1 Corinthians 15:32b (NIV))

First and foremost, we should always be thankful for our salvation, for without our salvation, we would have nothing to be thankful for. Our salvation should bring out in each of us an attitude of gratitude for we have been given something that we could not earn! Carry this thankfulness into each day that you greet.

Are you thankful today?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Is the glory of the Lord your shield?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
(Psalms 3:3 (NIV))

At this time of year, we have a tendency to think of things that we are thankful for.

Do any of these traits of the Lord make it into your list?

I don’t know about you, but reading through this passage of scripture has reminded me that I am so very thankful for everything that the Lord has done for me.

The world is a very dreadful place where people who profess a faith in Jesus are ridiculed and persecuted. The sinful, fallen world tries so much to make you fall for the lies of the enemy to get you to believe that he is winning. If you don’t maintain your focus, it is so easy to take your eyes off of the Lord and miss His glory. If these happen, then it is so easy to fall into the habit of hanging your head because you feel that all is lost!

I for one am thankful that we have the unfailing promises of God to turn to even when we feel that all is lost. Things in this world are never as they appear! I am so thankful that the Lord keeps His promises.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.
(Psalms 145:13 (NIV))

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))

He will not forsake those who call upon His name! Do you call upon the name of the Lord?

Is the glory of the Lord your shield?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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His love does endure forever!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
(Psalms 107:1 (NIV))

How many people reading this found yourself singing this passage?

Be honest!

I know that I did!

What is it about human nature that makes us want to sing when we are happy? We also have a similar desire to sing when we are sad. There is something about song that seems to lift the human spirit. It elevates us from where we are to a place where we long to be. Song has the ability to not only elevate us to a better place spiritually, it also has an amazing ability to communicate with our God. We can sing with expression that could never be communicated in any other way.

We all have our favorite ways to praise God with song. Not many of us have the ability to make a joyful noise that is pleasing to the human ear, but have you ever noticed that even the worst of us sound so much better when we are surrounded by a large number of other believers. This is just one more example of God’s plan. God did not create us all the same. He created each of us to be unique and when we come together to glorify Him, our uniquenesses blend so well. We are all members of the same body. We are designed to work together in concert with one another.

God knew exactly what He was doing.

A single heartfelt thank you can bring any person to appreciate the gesture. A multitude of heartfelt thank yous are enough to bring heaven to earth. When we lift song and praise to God, He draws us closer to Him.

Lift up a song of praise to our Lord!

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Happy Thanksgiving!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
(1 Chronicles 16:34 (NIV))

I am going to keep this nice and simple and short.

On this national day of Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for? Where is that thanks directed?

Always keep your perspective and your priorities focused on Jesus!

Happy Thanksgiving.

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

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
(1 Chronicles 16:34 (NIV))

I pray that you remember who should be the recipient of all of your thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Give thanks every minute of every day of your life!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
(Psalms 100:1-5 (NIV))

If we can’t be thankful for the things that this passage tells us about, then what can we be thankful for?

Do you believe that God is good?

Give thanks!

Do you believe that God’s love endures forever?

Give thanks?

Do you believe that God is faithful?

Give thanks!

Do you believe that God sent His only begotten Son to this earth so that we could have redeeming grace?

Give thanks!

Have you accepted that redeeming grace as your own?

Give thanks!

I find only one thing that I believe that we, as the Body of Christ, can do. We are to give thanks! We are to give praise! We are to give God the glory for the great things that He has done. Don’t just give thanks on the one day a year that our country has set aside as Thanksgiving. Give thanks every minute of every day of your life!

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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