Our Lord is always with us even in the darkest valley!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Even though I walk
     through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
     for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
     they comfort me.
(Psalms 23:4 (NIV))

I actually had two completely different passages over halfway completed, when something made me completely shift gears. I was led to this passage and I feel that many people need to work through this passage themselves.

Things in this world are dark and getting darker. Evil is being called good and good is being called evil. Each of us who professes a faith in Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior will come under attack, for it is said that the enemy only targets those who are doing what the Lord desires. If you are not doing anything, or if you are desiring evil, the enemy will leave you alone. With that in mind, if you profess a faith in Jesus, if you are serious about sharing the Gospel and proclaiming the truth that is found only in Jesus, then you will come under attack. The enemy looks for things and when he can’t find anything, he will use the hidden desires of others to lay blame and bring the attack.

Sadly, these attacks will come from directions that you never expected!

When they come, and they will come, do not give in to the sinful human nature and lash out at those who are the physical manifestation of the attack.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
(Ephesians 6:12 (NIV))

We must remember that we have a champion as our Lord and Savior. We must surrender it all to Him!

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
(Exodus 14:14 (NIV))

When you find yourself walking through the darkest valley, never lose sight of the fact that you have the God of all creation walking with you. He is your Lord. He is your Savior. There is no power in heaven greater than He. There is no power on earth greater than He. There is no power in hell greater than He.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
(Romans 8:31 (NIV))

Our Lord is always with us even in the darkest valley!

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Keep living according to His purpose!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
(Romans 8:28 (NIV))

Have you ever truly stopped to take a serious look at your life?

For most people, this is not something that they ever consider doing. They develop a plan for what they want and never stop to think about whether their life is being lived based on their desires or if it is being lived according to God’s calling. To be honest with you, they never even stop to consider if they truly love the Lord or if they are only giving lip service as an afterthought.

With that in mind, I have some very serious questions for you.

Do you love God?

Have you been called according to his purpose?

Are you living your life according to that calling?

If those questions make you feel uneasy, then I have done what I have set out to do. I have made you take an inward look at your faith and the answers that you have arrived upon are being used to tug at your heart. Unless you are completely comfortable with your salvation, you will have doubts and concerns. Unless your walk of faith leads you hand in hand with Jesus, then you will have doubts and concerns.

Are all things working out for your good or is your life a complete shambles?

I am not saying that following Jesus will allow you to live a perfect, stress free life. I am saying that God will walk with you through the troubles and lead you out by His grace if you will only keep your eyes focused on Jesus. He has done this many times through the Old and New Testaments. How many times did Joseph face hardship before God placed him second in command over all of Egypt? I could recount several examples, but suffice it to say, God will lead you through the tough times to something that is good in His eyes. So, when you are feeling helpless, hopeless and lost, remember that you are not alone.

Keep living according to His purpose!

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Which relationship do you desire?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
(Romans 12:21 (NIV))

Each of us has things in our life that seem to take priority no matter what the circumstances we may find ourselves in.

For the most part, no one who professes a faith in Jesus intends to do evil, but Satan is deceitful. He gets us to fall for a little lie and then when we get comfortable with that small departure from the truth, he sends another lie! The key to standing firm in your faith is to know the truth so well that you instantly recognize the lies that the enemy uses to try and trip us up. If we fall for the lies of the enemy, we have missed the mark that God has established for His creation.

In essence, we have sinned!

We have been overcome by evil!

Thankfully, we have been given a way to overcome evil with good. It is not of our own doing, for we we are as filthy rags. All of us are unclean. All of us are sinners in need of a Savior, and that is the key to how we who are sinful can overcome evil with good. We can place our faith in the one whom God has sent to redeem us from our sins.

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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
(John 3:16-18 (NIV))

That is how you overcome evil with God’s goodness. Believe in the name of Jesus!

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
(Acts 4:12 (NIV))

Currently, I am seeing many things going on in the world that are evil and seem to be pointing to God’s plans unfolding right before our eyes. I am also seeing a huge increase in things that point to the Lord, and they are having massive impacts on the lives of those who are involved in or are witnessing these events. I will probably have some people claim that we have to wait and see what the long term outcome of these events will be, but college campuses all across the nation are seeing revival. Many nations are seeing large numbers of people professing a faith in Jesus. We have movies out about the life of Jesus, and we have movies out about previous revivals that are changing the lives of the actors involved as well as the lives of those who see the movies.

We have a choice to make even after we profess a faith in Jesus. Each day we either choose to follow Jesus and draw closer to Him or we choose to follow this sinful, fallen world. We must choose which commitment, which relationship that we desire to base our life upon. We can walk in relationship with the Lord or we can walk in sin.

Which relationship do you desire?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you prepared for this rapidly approaching day?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
(Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV))

What did the Disciples do when Jesus was crucified?

They gathered together. They prayed. They fellow shipped with each other.

What did the Disciples do when Jesus was resurrected?

They gathered together. They prayed. They fellow shipped with each other.

What happened when the Holy Spirit came upon the church at Pentecost?

They gathered together. They prayed. They fellow shipped with each other.

What happened when the early church was persecuted?

They gathered together. They prayed. They fellow shipped with each other.

Are you seeing a trend in what the Body of Christ is called to do? We cannot face this sinful world on our own, even if we profess a faith in Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. We are called to meet with other believers. We are called to encourage one another. We are to spur each other on toward love and good deeds. The early church took this seriously. Today, we don’t gather together because we would rather sleep in, or the weather is too bad, or we just don’t feel like it. What will the church look like, not if, but when we face persecution? What will the Body of Christ be like? Will we see a great falling away, or will we see a faith like that shown when our ancestors in the faith were fed to the lions?

We read Daniel, Ezekiel and Revelation and think that these events are long in the future. Are they? Many are saying that things are unfolding in this world very similarly to what these prophetic passages have recorded. If you have professed a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, then you have a responsibility to put on the full armor of God. You have a responsibility to prepare yourself so that you can recognize the attacks of the enemy. You have a responsibility to spur one another on and to encourage one another to stand firm in the faith. Salvation was not just offered to you. It was offered to all who will receive. All who accept have become adopted sons and daughters of God. We are a family, and contrary to the terminology used today, this family is not dysfunctional. The day is coming when we will meet Jesus in the air!

Are you prepared for this rapidly approaching day?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do your deeds glorify God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
(Matthew 5:16 (NIV))

How good are you at letting your light shine?

Let me rephrase that question and ask it like this.

Do others see Jesus in everything that you do?

Several years ago there was a big movement with WWJD – What Would Jesus Do? You would see wristbands and stickers and many other things with this prominently displayed. This did quite a lot in regard to reminding people how to act if they wanted to truly follow Jesus. I also think that this was also used by the enemy to trick believers into being submissive out of “love” when they saw something that was not right in the eyes of God. My favorite thing that I saw that someone created to clarify this statement reminded people that at one point Jesus fashioned a whip and turned over the tables of the money changers.

Does this sound like the type of “love” that the enemy has tricked us into believing about Jesus?

Jesus was compassionate toward the people lost in their sin as He encountered them, but He was also extremely passionate about the Father. He would never do anything that was contrary to what the Father instructed. He would never do anything contrary to God’s Word. His compassion for people, for us, was never to affirm them in their sin. It was to call them home to a loving Father. He was calling sinners to repent and return to the Father through Him!

With that in mind, I venture to say that there will be times when we are called to let our light shine and it will actually mean that we will be filled with the righteous passion for the Father and for His Word that made Jesus turn over tables.

Are you willing to take a stand for what is right in the eyes of the Father? Are you willing to make a public profession that you do not agree with the sinful practices that are being done? Sometimes shining your light means that you are to go into battle against the darkness and not simply try to make friends with it.

If Jesus said that only the Father is good, then in order to do good deeds, we must point people to the only one who is good. Our deeds must point to Jesus as the only way to the Father! That is how we glorify God.

Do your deeds glorify God?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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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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Turn to the Lord!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

God is our refuge and strength,
     an ever-present help in trouble.
(Psalms 46:1 (NIV))

How true this is!

We have a refuge from the storms of this life. God is always there to turn to no matter what our life is bringing to us or what the sinful, fallen world is sending our way. Whether we need to turn to God for safety and refuge or whether we turn to God in celebration, He is always there to turn to. He will never abandon those who earnestly seek Him and call upon His Son, Jesus Christ for salvation.

God is good all the time!

Do you earnestly seek Him? Do you truly desire the things that He promises over the things of this world?

If you simply look at the things of this world and have no other point of reference, there are some things that look appealing. I know that you have looked. What person hasn’t looked? What are the things that initially caught your attention in this world? There are things that we all like such as nice homes, nice cars, enough money to do what you want when you want, and the respect of those around you, but are these things the source of your strength or have they caused you more trouble than you care to admit? Even those who have these things still have troubles. In fact, I remember talking to someone about these things when I was in my mid-twenties. His reply to me was that having these things didn’t make your troubles go away. They just got bigger. A nice house and nice cars just lead to the same thing – headache! The only difference is the size of the headache, the size of the trouble.

With that in mind, no matter the size of your trouble, simply remember that God is our refuge. He is our strength. He alone is our help in trouble, and at this moment in time, the whole world is facing trouble. Pandemics, weather issues, extreme temperatures, supply chaine problems, food shortages, wars and rumors of wars are all signs of the troubles that the whole world is facing. We have had times of great wars and times of pandemics. We have had times of localized food shortages and weather, but we have never had things worldwide with the prospect of things of Biblical proportion. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I rest assured that I have placed my faith and trust solely in the Lord.

When things in life are tough, take refuge in the Lord.

When things in life are tough, find strength in the Lord.

When things in life are tough, seek help from the Lord.

It is often said that life is tough, so that only leaves one possible conclusion.

Turn to the Lord!

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Have you truly taken refuge in the Lord?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
(Psalms 18:30 (NIV))

Have you truly taken refuge in the Lord?

Think about that question, for your eternity lies in your answer.

Do the ever-increasing number of events unfolding in this world have you worried, or are you at complete peace that defies all worldly logic? Do you see the extremes that people will go to when things don’t go as they desire, even when their desires are far from godly? Do you find yourself heartbroken because these people have believed the lie from the enemy? Are you saddened when someone curses God? I recently saw a video that had a segment where a man about fifty years old got right in the lens of the camera and in a very demonic voice proudly proclaimed that he liked killing babies!

We are told that the wheat and the tares will grow up evenly. We are told that good will be called evil and evil will be called good. We are told that a great delusion will fall over those who do not fear the Lord. We are told that there will be wars and rumors of wars. We are told that people will be lovers of themselves!

I personally believe that my last sentence is the root cause of everything since the fall from grace in the Garden of Eden. We want to do what we want to do and we want everyone to accept what we want to do. We have come to the point where we love ourselves so much that we fail to even have any glimmer of love for anyone else. I don’t know about you, but this sounds just like the enemy when he was cast out of heaven. Satan wanted to be in control and he wanted to do things his way. Does this sound familiar to you?

There are two very distinct ways that we can be in respect to a relationship with the Lord. We can deny, despise, reject, and curse Him, or we can run to His open arms and find love, redemption, grace, mercy, and refuge. Now is the time to run to His open arms with a repentant heart. Do it before it is too late!

Once again I need to ask one very important question.

Have you truly taken refuge in the Lord?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you keep in step with the Spirit?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.
(3 John 1:11 (NIV))

What do you desire to do?

Do your thoughts turn toward sinful things such as greed and lust, or do you reflect upon the Word of God? Do your actions follow your thoughts?

It is human nature that we tend to do what is in our hearts. What is in our hearts is what we think on day and night. Our actions reflect what is truly inside. We may be able to put up a facade on many occasions. Still, when we are put to the test, our true desires and thoughts come out in our actions.

Preach always. When necessary, use words.
(St. Francis of Assisi)

St. Francis of Assisi knew that people watch us and judge our faith in Jesus on how we act. Like it or not, each one of us who profess a faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior are under a microscope. Nonbelievers are watching us to see how we will react. They want to see if what we profess is real. If we have truly allowed Jesus in to our hearts, then our actions should reflect the Gospel and the fruit of the Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
(Galatians 5:22-25 (NIV))

Do you keep in step with the Spirit?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Will this be changing soon?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
(Matthew 5:45b (NIV))

I truly love the fact that God shows His mercies to everyone whether we deserve them or not. Based on this passage, He uses everything in His creation to draw people to Himself. Sadly, too many people simply ignore Him, or even worse, they curse Him. He even sent His Son, Jesus, to live in this world as a teacher and to die on the cross as an atoning sacrifice. He even resurrected Jesus from the dead to overcome the power of sin and death, and still, people ignore Him or curse Him.

We are told that a time will come at the end when His wrath will be poured out on the world!

What do you believe will happen with the righteous at this time?

I am sure that someone has drawn this conclusion before, but I want to present a passage that I believe tells us of God’s heart toward the righteous. It comes from the parable of the ten virgins.

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
(Matthew 25:1-5 (NIV))

We know all too well God’s definition of a fool.

The fool says in his heart,
     “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
     there is no one who does good.
(Psalm 14:1 (NIV))

I believe that we can interchange righteous with wise and unrighteous with foolish. Based on that, I believe that we see the next obvious step in the process with those who are ready and waiting for Jesus will be taken to be with the bridegroom!

But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
(Matthew 25:10 (NIV))

I have never heard anything about Jewish wedding traditions that say those waiting for the bridegroom would undergo suffering. I have never heard anything about these traditions that indicate they would miss the joyous celebration. If Jesus is coming for His bride, His bride would be spotless!

We see the sun rising on both the evil and the good. We see rains falling on both the righteous and the unrighteous. I believe that this is in the process of changing.

Will this be changing soon?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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