Who do you say that Jesus is?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
(Matthew 16:15-16 (NIV))

What about you?

Have you truly given thought to the question that Jesus asked Peter? Have you proclaimed your answer? Where you confident in your proclamation?

If the time comes that proclaiming an answer like Peter’s answer means that you will be killed, will you still boldly proclaim that Jesus is the Son of the living God?

My heart is heavy. I pray for those who have not, nor will not, proclaim that Jesus is their Lord and Savior. I suppose that having a heart after God’s heart means that your heart breaks when you see people who simply refuse to repent. All they have to do is accept the grace and mercy that is theirs through Jesus. Even without the current state of the world, we are not promised tomorrow. Our worldly existence could end with the very next heartbeat. If that were to be the case, are you confident of your eternal destination?

It is simple. It is a gift from God. All that we have to do is accept that gift by believing that Jesus is that gift!

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))

What about you?

Who do you say that Jesus is?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Come to Jesus and find rest!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV))

All of us need rest in the physical world!

How many have thought about spiritual rest and the impact that it has on our physical existence? If we are truly at rest in the Lord, our physical world, no matter what we may face, will also be at rest. We will be at peace. If we focus on finding rest in the physical world first, we will never find true rest and our spiritual rest will also be nonexistent.

Think about your priorities.

God does not want us to be burdened and heavy laden. He wants us to have the peace that only He can provide. He has even given us a way to get that peace, because there is nothing that we can do to achieve it ourselves. Jesus is the peace that God has given us. He is our rest and our hope. He is our spiritual big brother who is looking out for us. We can have rest. It is a rest better than any we have ever known.

Come to Jesus and find rest!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Where have you been lead?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
(Psalms 23:3 (NKJV))

I want you to reflect on these sixteen words and how much truth and promise is contained within them.

Do you feel battered and broken by the world? Do you feel that the weight of the world is too much to bear? Do you long for restoration?

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
(Matthew 11:28 (NKJV))

Do you long to be surrounded and lifted up out of the wickedness and evil of this world? Do you long for the power to continue your daily struggles against the enemy? Do you long to be embraced in Godly righteousness and have it completely surround you? Do you long to walk in righteousness all the days of your life?

but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.
(Isaiah 40:31 (NIV))

Do you trust in the promises of God? Do you trust in His name?

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))

I could go on and on about how sixteen words say so much. They give peace. They give restoration. They give comfort. They give direction. They give assurance. They give righteousness. They give each of us a guarantee that we can rely on the name of the Lord to fulfill what He has promised! We simply need to lead to be still in His presence, for in His presence we can find all of these things and so much more.

Where have you been lead?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you accepted the call to obedience?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.
(Romans 1:5 (NIV))

A heavy price has been paid for you to receive the call!

Ever since the call first went out, the world and all the powers that control it have tirelessly fought anyone who chooses to bring the call, to accept the call, or to forward it on. The enemy declared that it had won when it was able to place Jesus in the grave, but they did not count on the third day! The world did all that it could to persecute those who accepted the call, but then Jesus called Saul to reach the Gentiles and Saul, through a rebirth, became Paul. The world did all that it could to condemn Paul and throw him in prison in order to stop the call. The prison guards received salvation! The world did all that it could to eradicate the call by sending Christians into the colosseum. The church flourished and more people answered the call!

All around the world today, people who have accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior are facing persecution and death because they have answered the call. They have declared that Jesus is the only way to heaven. They have declared that Jesus is part of the Trinity. They have declared that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. To put it simply, they have replied “I believe” to the one question that can change your eternity. They have declared that they believe in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, and just like the price that has been paid throughout the church age, many are paying the ultimate, heavy price today.

Do you feel comfortable in your faith in Jesus?

Do you avoid letting people know that you are a Christian?

Do you fear reprisals for your confession of Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?

I was recently reminded that the Body of Christ, the church, is a family that we choose to belong to. If you have made that choice and answered the call, are you one hundred percent certain that you will be obedient in your faith no matter what the world may try to do? Keep in mind that the world’s outlook on Jesus is rapidly changing and your obedience may have drastic worldly consequences. I pray that I am able to be obedient, for I would rather be judged by a sinful world and found guilty of being righteous in the eyes of God, then be judged by a righteous God and found guilty of being sinful.

Are you prepared?

Have you accepted the call to obedience?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you found the rest that you are looking for?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
(Matthew 11:28 (NIV))

Does this sound like a new year’s verse?

I honestly don’t know how many times that I have read this passage, but every time I do read it, I can easily identify with being weary and burdened. I think that it is safe to say that this can apply to every person who is alive today for we all feel weary and burdened at some point in our lives.

But, . . .

I want you to step back and read this as a New Year’s resolution that you will keep!

Lord, Jesus, I resolve to turn to you in all of my needs.

Does this sound like a New Year’s resolution that you want to keep? Is it one that you will strive to keep?

It can also be a daily prayer. It can be a reminder of what you need to do when you start to feel the weight of the world come crashing in on you.

Lord, Jesus, it’s me once again. I come to you because you say that your burden is light. My burden is extremely heavy. I cannot carry my burden on my own. I am in need of your peace and rest, so I turn my burden over to You. I don’t want to carry my burdens any longer. Please give me the strength to leave them with you. Give me the strength to trust that you will carry them for me. Amen!

I love God’s Word!

There is so much meaning in the passages. It is time that we, as the Body of Christ, firmly claim the truths that are promised to us. Matthew 11:28 is a short verse, but it contains so much promise. Are you weary and burdened? Do you want to rest in the presence of the Lord? All that we have to do is turn to Jesus!

Have you found the rest that you are looking for?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Stand firm and pray!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
(2 Peter 3:3 (NIV))

Are you getting tired of all of the people who are scoffing and mocking Jesus and the Body of Christ? It has become so rampant, that there are very distinct battle lines being drawn between those who profess a faith in Jesus and those who think that they are too educated to believe in such things. It has even come to the point in our country where the two major political parties appear to have taken sides. One party refuses to mention Jesus or God and the other party acts like they expect everyone to be perfect like Jesus. I am not trying to be political, but there are now reports of one of the presidential candidates saying extremely bad things about people who profess a faith in Jesus.

I am so ashamed of what we have become. I am so tired of seeing these things increasing in what seems like a very rapid and very public change.

With what we are seeing, are you convinced that 2 Peter 3:3 is coming to pass if it is not already here?

My heart is heavy. My spirit is burdened, for I see what is going on and I fear for those who do not know Jesus. Are their hearts so hardened that they cannot be softened by the truth of the Gospel? Are they blinded by the false delusion and beyond hope?

We may see that the times are rapidly changing into the times that the Bible calls the last days, but we are not called to sit back and wait when we see this happening. If there was ever a time to be bold in our faith, it is now. We may be the one that Jesus uses to reach someone who is currently scoffing. We may be used by the Holy Spirit to soften a hardened heart and turn that heart to Jesus.

I earnestly pray for God’s will to unfold, but I am still human. My heart still breaks for those who need Jesus even if they are currently scoffers.

Stand firm and pray!

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you experiencing the groaning?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
(Romans 8:22 (NIV))

Am I the only one who groans in anguish over the things I see in the world?

I know that I can turn off the sarcasm of a rhetorical question. I know many people are feeling the very same things that I am feeling. It is so hard to not have your spirit groan in compassion for the groanings of what God has created. Even though I know how things turn out as God will unfold His plan, I still can’t help but groan out of sadness for those who are so blinded by the lies of the enemy that they refuse to see what is happening.

The whole world is upside down.

Good is called evil and evil is called good. I honestly can’t remember a day where something evil and demented has not happened somewhere in the world.

Jesus, we need you. The world is falling apart and You are the only way to stop the insanity. My heart is heavy for I know that things will get much worse before you do return. I take no pleasure in knowing that there will be those who reject you. I take no pleasure in knowing that many will vehemently deny you. It is my prayer that somehow their hearts will be softened and they will turn to you. I am at a loss for what to pray for. I long to see you return, yet I don’t want to see any perish. Is this how You feel when you see Your creation?

Lord, give me a heart that loves like Yours!

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What can man do to me?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?”
(Hebrews 13:6 (NIV))

Do you share this attitude with the author of this passage?

With what is rapidly unfolding in this nation and in this world, we may be looking at some things where the Body of Christ must fervently believe this.

I know that no one can know the hour or the day, but there appears to be an urgency among those who earnestly seek to know God. Can you feel this urgency? Can you feel the need to call upon Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?

My heart is heavy with the things that I see, yet, I know that my Savior will see me through the tribulations that will come. I see wars and rumors of wars. I see countries holding military exercises where they are stopping inches away from an actual war. I see threats being made. I see hatred. I see killing. I see things that are despicable to any person with any sense of morality.

In this midst of all this that I see, there is one that I long to see!

I long to see Jesus!

He is my helper. He is my redeemer. He is my salvation. Nothing that any man can do will take this from me. I just pray that I have the faith to realize this when I face the enemy. I pray that I keep site of the fact that the Lord is my helper.

What can man do to me?

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