Have you truly accepted the peace that Jesus gives?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
(John 14:27 (NIV))

Are you at peace with what is happening in the world?

Perhaps I should ask if you are at peace in spite of what is happening in the world. I honestly believe that every believer is watching and wondering what is going to happen next. We know that the world is a sinful, fallen place and that the things of this world will just continue to get worse. With that in mind, even those who profess a faith in Jesus are probably experiencing some concerns as things unfold. Thankfully, our concerns are not the end of our story, for our story is eternally tied to the story that God is unfolding through Jesus. Our concerns should be for the lost who are caught in the middle of the present circumstances for they see no hope in sight. Our worries should be for those individuals who have not accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. If you have accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and savior, you have a peace that passes all understanding. You have a peace that is evident in spite of what is going on in the world.

Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.
(Daniel 12:10 (NIV))

We must pray for a harvest! We must pray for an increase. We must pray for the atoning Blood of Jesus to cleanse, to purify, to make spotless, and to refine those who will answer His call. We must pray for an outpouring so that people will understand that they need to repent and turn to Jesus.

It breaks my heart to see people who have apparently lost all semblance of common sense. They just don’t seem to understand the basic principles of life. They just don’t seem to understand that there is an absolute truth and an absolute righteousness. They have abandoned the truth and believed the lie. The peace that I have in spite of the world is what I long to be able to share with these people, but they simply do not understand. I hate to draw this conclusion, for they are someone’s brother or sister, father or mother, son or daughter, but based on what Daniel has written, what does that make them in the eyes of God?

I am not at peace when I see what is happening in this world simply because I know far too many people who need Jesus, and they need Him now!

If it is possible to grasp, at the very same time, I am at peace in spite of the circumstances in the world. This comes only through knowing that I have personally placed my hope and trust in Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. That does not mean that my heart doesn’t break when I see the things that break the very heart of God. I just realized that my peace comes from Jesus changing me to the point where I now know what breaks the very heart of God. If you then expand that knowledge to a desire to not break His heart, but to fill your heart with Him, then you truly possess a peace that passes all understanding.

Have you truly accepted the peace that Jesus gives?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you truly understand?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.
(Daniel 12:10 (NIV))

Are you being purified?

Do you understand?

The world is in a very unusual state at this time. I could probably stop with that sentence and everyone would agree. This nation and the whole world seem to be more divided than ever before. You may find yourself asking about the two world wars. I will admit that the whole world was in an unusual state at those times, but it was nation against nation. Today, we are seeing internal strife within nations as well as tensions between nations. If you accept the concept that each nation will have people who seek righteousness as well as people who seek wickedness, then it makes sense that we are seeing the internal strife. It could easily be the beginning of the fulfillment of the parable of the wheat and the tares.

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
(Matthew 13:24-26 (NIV))

The good and the bad are both growing!

God has a plan that is being fulfilled!

Let both grow together until the harvest.
(Matthew 13:30a (NIV))

We may not know the exact date and time of the harvest, but we can recognize the signs of the season if we are firmly rooted in God’s Word. Those who seek righteousness will be purified by the power of God’s word. Those who seek evil will mock and reject God’s Word. There used to be a time not too long ago when most people could agree upon the basic concepts of morality and right and wrong. There is an ever increasing rift that is tearing the very fabric of society apart. It is separating and emboldening those who seek wickedness from those who seek righteousness. It is empowering those who seek wickedness to go even further into wickedness. It is hopefully waking up those who seek righteousness to stand firm and seek the Lord with all of their heart.

Those who seek the Lord have an understanding of what is going on, but those who seek wickedness do not recognize, they do not understand what is unfolding. They do not understand what is at stake.

Do you truly understand?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you pray for wisdom and understanding?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.
(Daniel 12:10 (NIV))

These words recorded in Daniel speak of the people who will see the three and a half years that will be the worst period of time in human history. All of history is coming to a pivotal point and each person has to make a decision. Each of us must choose to accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior or reject Him as the Son of the Most High God. Failure to make a choice is the same thing as rejecting Jesus. We must be able to answer the question that Jesus asked the disciples.

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
(Matthew 16:5 (NIV))

Our answer will determine our eternity. Our answer is not about us. It is only about Jesus! We may consider ourselves to be a good person, but we are nothing without Jesus.

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

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
(Isaiah 64:6 (NIV))

It should be the prayer of everyone who professes a faith in Jesus that wisdom and understanding be made manifest to all and that none should continue in their sin and wickedness.

Do you pray for wisdom and understanding?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Will you receive your reward?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

“He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”
(Matthew 10:40-42 (NIV))

Have you ever thought about this passage and how it can impact your life and the lives of those around you?

Carefully consider that Jesus is telling us that if we go out in His name, it is as if He were the one who was going out spreading the Word. If we are received and the message that we bring is received, then Jesus is received. If we are rejected because of the message, then Jesus will be rejected. I know that all of us have heard this in different forms during our lives, but, no matter how you word it, we are to be Jesus to the world!

What an awesome responsibility! We are representatives of the Son of God! We have the authority to preach and to teach in the name of Jesus Christ. We also have the responsibility to our fellow man to tell them of the grace and mercy that God freely gives to any who would simply call upon the name of Jesus. If we are faithful in our task, then God, through the grace and mercy given through Jesus, will call us prophets, for a prophet speaks the will of God. It is God’s will that no one should perish. He will call us righteous, for through the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus, we are made spotless and righteous in His eyes.

The next time that you get an opportunity to share Jesus with someone, remember that we have a responsibility that should not be taken lightly. What if the person who shared Jesus with you had shirked their responsibility? Do not shirk yours.

Will you receive your reward?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you truly free from sin and death?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin– because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
(Romans 6:4-7 (NIV))

What a glorious statement! We, as believers, are free from sin!

This does not mean that we do not sin. We are still human. What this means is that we are free from the punishment of sin. We have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. He has paid the price for our sin. It has been washed away from us by His crucifixion. Through His resurrection, we have been granted the right to be born again, to be looked upon by God as righteous and spotless in His sight.

We will still sin. We are in the world. The world is controlled by Satan, the father of all lies and sin. But, we will not be condemned to suffer the consequences of sin, for we have a risen Savior in Jesus Christ! This does not mean that we can choose to sin all that we want. It means that when we do slip up, we can ask for forgiveness.

We can ask for and be shown grace and mercy in spite of our sins. This is the ultimate freedom!

Are you truly free from sin and death?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Who do you want to be friends with?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
(James 4:4 (NIV))

I just had a moment that I am still trying to comprehend and I am still waiting for the chills to go away! Every time that I think of the meaning of what i just realized, the chills come back and my eyes tear up out of sadness.

If you believe in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you are a part of the church. The church is called the bride of Christ. We are set aside for Jesus. We are to be a spotless bride. James writes words proclaiming an adulterous people. Adultery is defined as sex between a married person and someone who is not that person’s wife or husband. It is the ultimate betrayal of the relationship between a husband and a wife and James uses this word, this concept, to tell people that they have committed the ultimate betrayal to Jesus. They have accepted the world and it’s sin over the love and grace found in Jesus. The sad thing about this is that, like many people caught in adultery, they didn’t think that they would be caught or that it would matter. They were reluctant to leave behind what they claim to have left. They looked back and were seduced by the memories of the things of this world.

Do you long for the things of this world, or do you long for what Jesus has come to offer to those who will simply accept?

Grace is free, but it came with a heavy price that we do not have to pay. I honestly believe that because we did not pay that price, many don’t truly understand exactly what grace means. Humanity looks at the world and says that it can’t be bad, while God looks at the world and say that it is all evil. If we turn back to the world, what does that make us?

Stop for a moment and think about a true friend. Would you turn your back on them? Would you completely abandon them? If we don’t turn our backs to the things of this world, we are proclaiming that we are friends of the world. If we are friends of the world, we automatically become an enemy of God, for God calls the fallen world evil and our association with it makes us evil.

Is this a friendship that you wish to keep?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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