God’s plan is for the fullness of eternity!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
(John 10:10 (NIV))

What do you think it means to have life to the full?

That is a question that has caused so much confusion among believers. Too many think that it simply means that we are to have a blessed life while on this earth, but I have my doubts about this interpretation.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 (NIV))

Am I missing something, but to me a life to the full does not mean that we will have troubles. Even if we keep our eyes focused on Jesus, Jesus tells us that we will have troubles? I am not saying that the fullness of our lives while on earth will be limited, for we will be focused on Jesus, but I honestly feel that we are missing something when we talk about having life to the full, and it is all a matter of perspective.

Human nature looks upon our existence as a physical being with a potential eternal soul. The spiritual nature looks upon our existence as an eternal being with a temporary body.

Let’s take a look at the Garden of Eden. Nowhere before we are told of the fall from grace does it mention that we, as God’s creation, were not to be eternal beings walking with God in all things that we do. It was our sin, our fall from grace, that changed our perspective. After the fall, Adam and Eve and all of humanity since then have seen themselves as physical beings. We no longer grasped the concept that we were supposed to walk with God for all eternity.

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))

Before the fall, we were destined to have eternal life. That, I do believe, is the life to the full that we were all supposed to have until sin entered the picture. This life to the full was cut short, it was destroyed by the thief. He destroyed our relationship with our Father and he killed our eternal souls through his lies. Jesus came to restore what had been stolen. He came to bring new life to what had been killed. He came to repair what had been destroyed. All of this was done so that we could once again have eternal life. He came to return us to the Father’s original plan where we would have life to the full in His presence!

Does this change your perspective?

God’s plan is for the fullness of eternity!

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Choose only one thing, and His name is Jesus!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
(Luke 10:41-42 (NIV))

With all that is going on in the world, have you chosen what is better?

It is human nature to worry. Each of us does it whether we like to admit it, and each of us has a nervous habit that we do when we worry. It appears that Martha was worried about what people, about what Jesus, would think of her if she didn’t fulfill her role as host. She was worried about how society would perceive her. It appears that her nervous habit was an extension of what she worried about. It was a frantically paced attempt to make sure that everything was in order. I honestly believe that she possessed the personality trait where she would be the one to clean the house before the maid arrived. I am sure that you know someone like that. They worry about the least little detail because they think that others will pay attention to these little details. They are afraid of being judged, and as a result, they place anything and everything as a priority and completely ignore what is really important.

They simply cannot let go!

Are you able to let go?

Is there anything in your life that you worry about? Is there anything in your life that you need to let go of? Are you worried about the state of the world? Is that what you need to let go of?

As believers in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, there is one thing that we must remember. There is one thing that we need to cling to instead of worrying about the things that we cannot do anything about. We need to remember that Jesus has overcome the world!

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 (NIV))

If we have placed our faith in Jesus, and we have learned to fully rely on the fact that Jesus has overcome the world, why would we worry about anything? Why do we allow the things of this world to upset us if we know that we are being held in the loving arms of the Lord? Why do we attempt to clean up before the proverbial maid arrives?

We have made a choice when we choose to follow Jesus. We also have a choice just like Martha and Mary each day of our lives after we choose to follow Jesus. We know that both women loved Jesus, but Martha still chose to worry. She chose the busyness of the world when the giver of ultimate peace was right in front of her. We must choose to not be like Martha! We must choose wisely.

Choose only one thing, and His name is Jesus!

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you ready to overcome?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
(Revelation 12:11 (NKJV))

I don’t often quote this translation, but I had something pointed out to me recently that is clear in this translation but not in others. Forgive me if this translation is your favorite! I read many different translations and each translation has certain subtleties that make it unique and worth diving into in great detail. I honestly believe that some translations have used what is often drilled in to us in middle school English classes, and that is to not use the same word over and over again. We are encouraged, probably in hopes of expanding our vocabulary, to find synonyms to replace repetitive words. I firmly believe that it is the repetition that drives home the point that God desires to make!

All throughout the book of Revelation, the churches are told that they will be rewarded if they overcome.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”
(Revelation 2:7 (NKJV))

Other passages go on to tell about not being hurt by the second death; about being given hidden manna and a new name; about being given power over the nations; about not having your name blotted out of the Book of Life, and many more.

Exactly what does it mean to overcome?

When we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, we are accepting the grace and mercy that allows us to overcome the power of sin and death. But how do we truly and completely overcome the enemy, for it is possible to profess Jesus with our mouth, yet not fully surrender with our heart?

We must live for the Lord!

We must love the Lord just as Jesus told us.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
(Matthew 22:36-37 (NIV))

This means that we do something that goes against human nature. It means that we willingly elevate the Lord to a position higher than we like to elevate ourselves. This is extremely difficult because we like to think that we are the masters of our own destiny. We are prideful. We love our lives, yet we can’t control a single thing in our lives. We simply cannot overcome anything on our own. When we truly come to the realization that we are nothing without Him, then we can make the decision that will truly allow us to overcome.

He must increase, but I must decrease.
(John 3:30 (NKJV))

Are you ready to overcome?

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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Lord, give me faith to walk on water!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
(Matthew 14:31 (NIV))

If you profess a faith in Jesus, then you know the story of Peter and his attempt to go to Jesus by walking on the water. We like to point out that Peter’s faith failed him and that he began to sink, however, I think that we are focusing on the wrong thing. Recently, I had someone point out to me that his faith was stronger than that of the other eleven, for they never even thought of going to Jesus. They never thought of stepping out of the boat to put their faith to the test. Only Peter took the step of faith and only Peter was willing to risk everything for his faith.

What type of faith do you have?

What type of faith do you want?

Are you willing to step out and trust the Lord when He calls you to something, or will you be like the eleven and simply sit by and watch as others take that step?

There is one thing that I do want to clarify. Jesus did not call the eleven to walk on water. He only called the one who desired to go to Him. He only called Peter, and Peter responded. The other eleven were comfortable where they were. They did not want to put themselves in danger. They did not ask Jesus to call them to do something different from what they already knew. To put this in perspective, they were perfectly happy in what we like to call their comfort zones.

Are you happy in your comfort zone? Are you content to simply live you life not knowing what the Lord has called you to do?

I wrote the following several years ago as a much longer piece. The following shorter segment has often become my prayer. I am only human. Sometimes I falter and miss what I am being called to and other times I take that step of faith. Still, I keep these words front and center. I keep praying to be able to fulfill them all of the time.

Give me faith to walk on water
To overcome my fears
To rest in the truth
That You are always near
Give me faith to trust Your greatness
To truly know Your heart
Give me faith to walk on water
If that’s where You are
© 2016 Dennis J. Smock

Looking around at the world today, I know one thing. I want more of Jesus! I want to be like Peter and take that step of faith.

Lord, give me faith to walk on water!

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Keep your eyes focused on Jesus!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 (NIV))

For years I have not only studied God’s Word, but I have also watched the news and have found pastors who have studied prophecy. I watch multiple different sources and weigh each source’s material against God’s Word. I recently became aware of a video that I feel that I need to share. This video was put together by the underground church in Iran. We know that the church in Iran is facing severe persecution, yet they felt that they needed to warn the church in America and in other parts of the western world! They see the signs even when we fail to recognize what is happening in our own back yard!

In America, we think that we are the ones going into all the world, but when believers in persecuted parts of the world reach out to warn us because they have been given insight by the Lord, we MUST listen. We must prepare. We must stop thinking that nothing like this could ever happen where we live. We must realize that the enemy is angry at those who profess a faith in Jesus no matter where we may live. We must be ready and willing to stand firm in our faith in Jesus even if it means persecution or death.

Are you prepared?

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
(Ephesians 6:13 (NIV))

We have been told that troubles will come.

Are you prepared?

Do you follow Jesus?

Are you prepared?

Are you at peace even in the midst of chaos?

Are you prepared?

Keep your eyes focused on Jesus!

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you appropriately dressed?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
(Ephesians 6:13 (NIV))

If you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you have an assignment. You have been given marching orders. We are to go into all the world and share the Gospel. We are also told that we will face tribulation in this world, but to rely on Jesus because He has overcome the world.

We are also told to dress for battle!

If you believe that God is love and accepts everyone no matter what their lifestyle and the sin that they practice, then this doesn’t make sense. But, if you hold fast to the truth that Jesus came to set the captives free, to deliver the sinner from bondage, and to offer hope to a sinful, dying world by calling sinners to repentance, then you fully understand why we are to dress for battle. We will be facing the enemy. We will be facing the father of all lies. We will be facing an entity who utterly hates those who profess a faith in Jesus and in God the Father. In all of this, Jesus is our protector. He is our champion. He is our armor. He is THE full armor of God!

We are to fully clothe ourselves in Jesus, who is the Word made flesh!

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
(Ephesians 6:14-17 (NIV))

In light of the events that are transpiring in this world, we need to fully clothe ourselves with Jesus. We are to recognize and clothe ourselves with the armor that only He can provide. When we do this, we no longer fight the battles. The battle then belongs to the Lord!

With this truth, are you still fighting the battles based on your abilities or have you allowed the Lord to fight for you and to protect you? Are you trying to stand in your strength or are you standing in His strength?

It is time that you answered one very important question.

Are you appropriately dressed?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Take heart! For Jesus has overcome the world!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
(2 Corinthians 4:16 (NIV))

This evening, I came very close to losing heart!

I came into my office and went to turn on the computer that I use to write, store and update the devotionals, the images, my notes, my reference materials, and the main website and the backup blog site, AND . . .

It would not turn on!

NOTHING!

With all of the storms that have been moving through my area, apparently they took out the computer since Friday evening. My first reaction was exactly what you would expect from a typical human reaction when anyone encounters this type of situation. It made it through my surge protection and my battery backups. After taking a step back and asking the Lord the typical why me question, He reminded me that no one is exempt from the attacks of the enemy and that the attacks increase if you are trying to do what you are called to do for the kingdom. I then remembered my small external hard drive that I use for file access when I use a less powerful laptop with far less storage. I found myself praying that this portable hard drive wasn’t hit. Thankfully, it was spared and I am able to get this devotional written and sent today even though my database of devotionals and images are not up to date. God made me realize that I was relying on my skills with computers and not relying on Him. At present, I do not have access to the almost 2 TB of notes, images, and reference materials that God has shown to me over the years. I have an automatic backup in place, but I do not currently have a computer with enough capacity to get to these backup files, and that is IF the backup system was not taken out as well!

I pray that it wasn’t, BUT . . .

Even if it was, it is not the end of the world, or the end of this ministry. I do not rely on things made of man. I use them to do what I am called to do. The technology is the means of distribution. It is not the means of inspiration. Tonight I had a personal reminder of exactly what Jesus spoke of.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 (NIV))

Since I started this path almost twenty-five years ago, many things have changed. What I was once able to do for free, the ministry now has to pay monthly fees, and these fees are not cheap. I want to take this opportunity to stop and thank those who have contributed over the years and to say that it is with your help that this ministry has been able to reach 128 countries on six continents. Today, I had someone ask me why I missed a day last week. I had to explain that I had power problems that only effected my office and my internet. I had to stop this evening and think back on that question with the realization that the power event had also been an attack of the enemy.

I realize that things happen in this world. I also realize that when these things do happen, we do not need to lose heart.

Take heart! For Jesus has overcome the world!

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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His plans are out of this world!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
(Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV))

Do you feel like you have hope and a future?

Your answer to that question is all a matter of perspective.

Do you look at your life in relation to how things are in the world around you or do you look at your life in relation to whose you are?

You can feel helpless, hopeless and lost if you focus on the things of this world, especially when the things of this world are progressing as they have been for the last few years. If your hope is based on worldly things, then you truly are helpless, hopeless and lost for the things of this world are rapidly turning evil and depraved. We can focus on the troubles that we are walking through, or we can focus on the promises that are at the end of those troubles and we can focus on the one who is with us even in the midst of those troubles. Even the disciples of Jesus knew that they would face troubles. They also knew that they had placed their faith in the one who has overcome the troubles of this world.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 (NIV))

The words from Jeremiah were recorded when many had been carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. In essence, they were taken captive and taken to another country. Babylon was not a country you went to for a vacation. They took captives from all of the lands that they had defeated in war. They attacked the other countries in order to extend their kingdom! The words recorded within Jeremiah were a promise to those who were in the midst of very difficult times. They were a promise from the Lord that He still had plans for them. He still knew what the future held even though the people in captivity could see no possible reason to have any hope.

The Lord is still saying this today to those who call upon His name!

He has plans for us. He has given us a hope far greater than the promise of the hope that He gave to the exiles. They were looking for freedom in the physical world. We have been given freedom from the consequences of our sins. He has such amazing plans for those who call upon His name. We should know a peace that passes all understanding even in the midst of the chaos of this world. Our peace comes from the One who has overcome the world by defeating sin and death. Our true prosperity is coming as we are given an eternity in His presence.

His plans are out of this world!

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you long for His light?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
(John 1:5 (NIV))

The world is a dark place. Sin and evil are the new normal, but only for a little while. We know the end of the story. We are just living in the times before the end comes. These are the times when evil increases just as we are told in the parable of the wheat and the tares. While we wait, we have a light that we can shine in our small corners of the world. If you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, then you have a light that will penetrate the darkness. Even the smallest flame from a candle chases the darkness away.

How is your flame?

I know that it is nothing in comparison to what the Lord will bring when He returns, but we are called to share His light for others to see. We are to use the light that is inside of us to allow others to see their way to Him. The more that we share that light, the more people we will have searching the skies for His return.

Do you search the skies for His return?

We have been given a promise just as the disciples were given a promise. He will return!

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
(Acts 1:11 (NIV))

Do you long for His return?

Do you long to see His light?

Do you long to live in His light for all eternity?

His light will defeat the darkness. His light has already overcome sin and death. His light will return to finish everything just as was promised. When He returns, there will be no darkness.

Do you long for His light?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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