Hold fast to Jesus no matter what may come!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
(Hebrews 10:23 (NIV))

Whether you are following the events of the world in relationship to Bible prophecy, or you are simply uncertain about the coming year, there has never been a better time to keep your eyes on Jesus!

Answer honestly.

Do you have a feeling from within your spirit that tells you that something is not as it should be in the world?

It seems as if things have been increasing in frequency and in magnitude over the last several years. Some people have even implied that they are also converging and the date of the convergence is rapidly approaching.

Needless to say that if you have professed a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you recognize that human nature is sinful. You have also recognized that you, by the fact that you are human, are sinful and in need of a Savior.

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))

No matter whether prophecy is unfolding rapidly or slowly, Jesus is our only hope. No matter if we have abundance or are in need, Jesus is our only hope. No matter if the world sends us joy or pain, Jesus is our only hope. When we place our faith in Jesus, it doesn’t matter what may come in this world, for our hope is not of this world. Our hope is in the Lord God who created this world and in His Son Jesus who came into this world to give us this amazing hope that we now have!

Do you have this hope?

If not – Repent!

Run as fast as you can into the open arms of Jesus!

Hold fast to Jesus no matter what may come!

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Don’t overlook what is right in front of you!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
(Luke 2:28-32 (NIV))

What do you do now that you have seen your salvation?

We just celebrated the birth of Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Unlike Simeon, we don’t have to wait our entire lives to see God’s promise fulfilled. We can see it every single day of our lives. We should see it in everything that we do. We have grace and mercy given to us in all circumstances of our lives. All that we have to do is repent and seek forgiveness for our sinful actions.

Have you ever thought that this is why we have things in our lives that we shouldn’t have? Let me ask this in a slightly different approach. Have you ever had something so readily available to you that you took it for granted? Have you ever gone to the extreme and waited until it was too late to realize just what you had available to you?

It is human nature to miss what is right before us. We do it with missed relationships, missed job opportunities, missed witnessing opportunities, and so many more. I have seen people, and I have also been one to miss opportunities. We all do it. Why do we miss things right in front of us while we long for the very things that we miss? Do we think things have to be complicated and because of this, miss the simple things that will have the most meaning and impact?

Simeon knew what he and the whole world were missing. He had prayed for salvation all of his life. He knew what it was that he was expecting and he knew it when he saw it. Why don’t we know God’s grace and mercy when we see it? Why do so many people look right at Jesus and see something else than what He truly is?

Do you recognize your salvation?

Don’t overlook what is right in front of you!

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you want to be credited as righteous?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
(Genesis 15:6 (NIV))

Based on this passage, would we be considered righteous in God’s eyes?

Think about that for a moment. Abram was promised to be the father of multitudes too numerous to count. He was promised to be taken to a place where his descendants would possess all of the land that he could see. Abram believed that the Lord would keep these and other promises and the Lord credited this to Abram as righteousness.

How do we stack up in comparison to Abram?

We have been promised that the Lord would return for His church. We have been told what to look for as the beginnings of the worldly events that will happen just before He returns. We have seen signs in the heavens. We have seen nation rise against nation. We have seen kingdom rise against kingdom. We have seen wars and rumors of wars. We have seen good being called evil and evil being called good, yet, too many people who profess a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior are going about their lives hoping that the situation in the world gets better. They are hoping that things will return to normal. They aren’t looking to the promises of the Lord!

Does this sound like we are believing the Lord?

We should respond to these events with the assurance that our Lord and Savior is coming soon. We should respond by looking up. We should respond by telling everyone that now is the time to repent and accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. We act as if we only believe the Lord when it has anything to do with what we read about in His Word that has already happened. We choose to ignore or not believe the one quarter of the Bible that is prophecy. Abram believed the Lord’s prophecy of his descendants. Why do too many people today have trouble believing the Lord when He says He will do something?

Now is not the time to play church. Now is not the time to ignore what the Lord has foretold. If believing the Lord is credited as righteousness, those who are called righteous will be with Jesus. Do you want to be credited as righteous?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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We must confidently cling to Jesus!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
(Hebrews 10:35-36 (NIV))

Do you think of yourself as a confident person? Does this confidence extend to your hope and trust in Jesus?

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))

In other words, do you think that your faith is solid? Are you still standing firm on the solid rock that is Jesus Christ?

With everything that the world has gone through, are you still able to proclaim your confidence and your faith in Jesus? I don’t profess to know everyone’s situation, but as for me, this year has been strange. Everyone in my family has faced something way beyond the ordinary from college classes from home, to quarantining, and even to a confirmed case. I see families that have been devastated. Unfortunately, I have seen lives lost. I have seen social unrest and violence that just doesn’t make sense. I have seen calls for the police to be defunded and then the very same people are complaining when no one responds to a 911 call. I have seen wars and rumors of wars, and perhaps the single most interesting thing that I have seen is a peace treaty between Israel and several Arab nations. On the surface, the peace treaty sounds wonderful, but, have you read anything about a peace treaty just like this in the Bible?

There is so much going on in the world. If you are not firmly rooted in God’s Word and understand God’s ultimate plan, then your confidence and faith can be seriously impacted. Your outlook is based on the events of the world from a human perspective and not from God’s perspective as laid out in His Word. If you are firmly rooted in God’s Word, then you understand that when you see these things unfolding, you will know exactly what to do.

There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
(Luke 21:25-28 (NIV))

I realize that there is some disagreement on these events, but lets take them at face value. There have been signs with eclipses, blood moons and what many are calling the Revelation 12 sign. In addition, we are seeing earth “near-misses” being reported and predicted. Nations are in anguish. People groups are in anguish. This year has seen more hurricanes than I can remember in one season, and it has just started. The only thing that I see that hasn’t come at us full force is the shaking of the heavenly bodies. Is it time to look up?

We have two basic reactions. We can look at the world and panic, or we can look at the world from a Biblical perspective no matter what we may face and faithfully and confidently proclaim that Jesus is Lord!

We must confidently cling to Jesus!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Lord, help me to overcome my unbelief!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
    “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
    ” `If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
    Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
(Mark 9:21-24 (NIV))

“Help me overcome my unbelief!”

We are promised eternal life, yet we do not believe.

We read about the miracles that He performed when He walked this earth, yet we do not believe.

We face situations in our lives where we don’t know where we got the strength to make it through, yet we do not believe.

What is it that makes us cross that line from lip service to true belief?

This man found it when he had lost all hope for saving his son from the demon possession. He had no place to turn but to Jesus. He turned to Jesus out of despair, but found a desire to overcome his unbelief.

Each of us come to Jesus in a slightly different manner, yet we all must come to this point in our relationship with Him. It is at this point where we look inward and realize that what we are is not what we want to be. We look at Jesus and realize that true belief in Him is our only way to salvation.

Jesus took this father’s request to help him overcome his unbelief and then granted him the single thing that brought him to Jesus. He cast out the demon from his son. Jesus made whole what the enemy had tried to steal. He took the faith that the father found and did just as is promised Matthew 17:20 – “He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, `Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Nothing will be impossible with faith.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))

Faith requires belief.

Lord, help me to overcome my unbelief!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you love this world?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.
(1 John 2:15 (NIV))

The way that things are at this moment in time, I am pretty sure that most people will easily be able to say that they do not love the world.

What was your outlook last year? Did you love the world then? If everything suddenly became exactly as you long for, what would your outlook be? Would you love the world then?

Even in the very best of times, we still live in a sinful, fallen world. No matter what you may like in this world, it will fade, rust or die. Even the very best of friends will betray you. Thankfully, we are promised an eternal home that is so much better. It is so far beyond our ability to understand how good it will be. What we have in this world is as we are, filthy rags. We can trade our filthy rags for God’s perfection. We should desire to cast off the rags and leave them behind, for what we will receive is eternal grace, beauty, and peace in God’s presence.

Think about that for a moment.

We will no longer be confronted with wars, hatred, sin, riots, hunger, sickness and death. I realize that in the midst of all of this, we do have fleeting glimpses of beauty, love and peace, but they soon vanish. Why do we claim to love a place that seems to cause so much pain, when we can claim an eternal home free from all pain and suffering? All that we have to do is look beyond this world and acknowledge Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. He alone can change our eternity. He alone can fulfill the promises. The things of this world are fleeting. Don’t cling to what will fade!

Do you love this world?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you place your trust in the Lord?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,
(Nahum 1:7 (NIV))

You can probably figure out exactly what I am going to ask based on this passage. With what is going on right now in the world, trusting in the Lord is more important than ever. With that in mind, do you trust in the Lord?

Do you trust that the Lord is good?

Do you trust that the Lord is our refuge in times of trouble?

Do you trust that no matter how bad things have gotten or how bad they may get, that His plans are perfect?

I love that so many people who profess a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior are at peace through all that is happening. We may be saddened by the events. We may be shocked by the events. We are probably even disgusted by the events, but we, as the Body of Christ, seem to have a peace through all of this.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:7 (NIV))

If we truly trust in the Lord, we are promised that He will guard our hearts and our minds. We are promised that He will care for us. With what the world has gone through and with what is probably coming, we can rest assured that placing our faith and trust in the Lord means that we will have peace in the midst of the storms. We will have refuge when the enemy attacks. We will be guarded from the one who longs to keep us eternally separated from the Lord. Placing our trust in the Lord means that He is our salvation. He is our champion. He is our defender. He is our Lord!

Do you place your trust in the Lord?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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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.
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Have you been placing your trust in the Lord?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
(Psalms 20:7 (NIV))

It is so easy to say that we trust in the name of the Lord when everything is going as we want it to go.

How is your trust in God now?

Do you still trust in the Lord like you have in the past?

It is human nature to get discouraged when things look bad, but we must remember that we aren’t supposed to look at this sinful, fallen world through eyes that have a human perspective. If we look at the world in this manner, all we will ever see is gloom, despair and agony. This is not what Jesus died on the cross to allow us to see! He gave us the ability to see grace and mercy as it is unfolding according to God’s plan. What began on the cross is not the complete picture. It is true that through the Blood of Jesus we can proclaim Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, but there is more. That victory is on the personal level, and I am truly eternally thankful for that victory, but there is more than just what Jesus did for us on the personal level. All too often we fail to recognize the big picture as it applies to the whole world.

Do you long for the day when the enemy will be bound and all who call evil good will no longer be able to do so? God’s ultimate plan that bought us salvation is the same plan that will bring this about. That plan is not completed, yet! We have been told that certain things will need to happen, and many believe that what we are seeing is part of that plan unfolding. We may not know all the details. We may not know when everything will unfold, but there is one thing that we should know.

If we have proclaimed Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, then we should know without a doubt one important fact.

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))

If you have read God’s Word, you know that He wins. That is promised. It is also promised that those who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. When faced with this truth and all that is going on in the world, where do you place your faith?

Have you been placing your trust in the Lord?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Will you take up your cross if it means your life?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
(Luke 9:23 (NIV))

Do you think of yourself as a disciple of Jesus?

Everyone who professes a faith in Jesus likes to think that they are a disciple, but are we, are you, ready to truly take up our cross?

Each one of us will face a different path as we walk out our lives in faith. It is possible that no two individuals will carry the exact same burden when they carry their cross, but we do know that all of us carry something through life. We either choose to carry our cross or we carry the weight of the sin that we refuse to let go of. It is a choice that each of us must make.

Do you want to be a disciple of Jesus?

If the answer is yes, then that requires repenting of your sins and picking up the weight of your cross as you follow Jesus. Following Jesus is not an easy thing to do. You have changed, but the world around you has not. You have changed, but your friends will still try to get you to fall back into the very same sins that you want to leave behind. Following Jesus may mean that you lose friends. It may mean that you become alienated from family. It may mean a job loss, but it will mean so much more!

Believing in and following Jesus is the only way to the Father and all of the blessings that are promised.

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))

Each of us have a decision to make. What are we willing to lose when we take up our cross and follow Jesus?

Will you take up your cross if it means your life?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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