I love it that God chose to do a new thing!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
(Isaiah 43:19 (NIV))

Have you ever stopped to think about this passage? We have a tendency to think that we are the ones who always want something different. We think that we are the ones who want to do a new thing, but if you actually think about it, God is the only One who has ever done good and new things! All we ever do is ruin what He has done!

God created everything. He created it all as a location for us, His creation. What did we do? We ruined it!

All throughout the Old Testament, God would do something for us as a part of His nature, and we would ruin it. He gave us promises and we disobeyed. He sent prophets and we ignored them. Finally, His ultimate plan came into fruition. He sent His Son, Jesus. He came as Emmanuel, God with us. Do you realize that the last time that God walked with His creation was before the fall from grace in the Garden of Eden? He came back into His creation so that He could walk with us and talk with us. He came to teach us exactly what He longs for us to do so that we can have fellowship with Him once again. He came to offer us a way out of our sin and back into His grace.

All throughout history, man has tried to elevate himself up to be able to reach God. God’s new thing saw Him coming to earth to meet us! His new thing brought grace and salvation to all who would simply accept the ultimate gift. God restored us to Himself at no cost to us. He paid it all!

I find it interesting that God’s new thing brought restoration to a lost world. I find it interesting that His new thing is something that He paid and we receive the benefits. I love it that God chose to do a new thing!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you planted and prosperous?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
(Psalms 1:3 (NIV))

Prosperity does not always mean money!

If a tree is planted by streams of water and yields its fruit in season, that tree is fruitful. It can be considered prosperous. It does exceedingly well exactly what it was created to do!

Do you judge others by financial prosperity? Do you judge yourself by financial prosperity?

Sadly, we have a tendency to judge prosperity by worldly benchmarks where financial gain is the easiest one to measure. We do this regardless of what calling God has placed on the individuals being measured. Please don’t misunderstand me and think that financial prosperity is not from God. It is very possible to be called by God to something where financial prosperity is needed. It is not exactly easy to have the gift of generosity and not have the means to fulfill that gift.

We must realize that not everyone is gifted the same.

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
(Ephesians 11-13 (NIV))

Each person has been gifted differently in order to equip us for His service. If we are obedient and serve as we are called, we will prosper. We will have an impact utilizing the gifts that we have been given. Just as the tree planted by streams of water yields it fruit, if we are obedient and stay planted in our calling, we will produce a yield. We will prosper in what we have been called to do.

Are you planted and prosperous?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you ready for the Lord to do a new thing?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

This is what the LORD says–
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
(Isaiah 43:16-19 (NIV))

January 1st !!!

A new year. A new beginning. If you are like me, you probably have plans to do things a little different in the new year. You have new hobbies. New family members. Perhaps you may even have a new job.

What makes the new year so different from the old year? Just because the calendar tells us it is the beginning of a new year is no reason to do anything different. Those changes can come at any time of your life, any day of the year. If you have wandered away from God, make a u-turn and come back to the embraces of a loving Father. He is still there. He is still the same.

Isaiah wrote of God doing a new thing. God has made a way in the desert. He has made streams in the wastelands. He sent Jesus into this world to give each of us a way to receive salvation. God became a man. That definitely was a new thing from our perspective. Now, we can come to God through Jesus.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
(Hebrews 13:8 (NIV))

If God came to this earth as Jesus, and Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, what does that mean to you? Will God continue to do new things? Personally, I don’t think that God is in the traditions business. All throughout the Bible, the people of tradition were the very people who tried to stifle what God was doing. God is in the business of drawing people to Him. Expect something new and wonderful. Open yourself up to that possibility and I believe that God will pour out countless blessings to those who earnestly seek Him and the new things that He does. It is important to not be fooled by the enemy. God will never contradict His Word. Study God. Study His Word so that you will know and be able to discern God’s still, small voice.

Happy New Year !

May it bring you abundant blessings from God so that you may be a blessing to others.

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What do you thirst for?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
(Psalms 42:1-2 (NIV))

We all know what it is like to be physically thirsty!

You long for a cool, refreshing drink that will quench an unbearable thirst. You go out of your way to get something to quench your thirst. Many times you long to not only drink of the refreshing water, you long to immerse yourself in it as well. You want to fully quench the longing and desire for a refreshing and a renewing of both body and spirit.

It is amazing how something so simple as water can be such a driving force for refreshing and renewal.

Just as God created water to refresh us physically, He created us to be refreshed by Him spiritually. This concept has been expressed as the Lord being or providing living water.

Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.
(Jeremiah 17:13 (NIV))

We can freely drink of this living water. It is offered to all who will drink.

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
(John 4:13-14 (NIV))

Have you accepted the offer of living water?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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How strong is your faith? How deep are your roots?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.
(Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV))

How deep are your roots? Do they go deep enough to sustain you when the world turns upon you?

Of course, I am speaking of your faith and how firmly rooted you have become within God’s Word. These are the roots that matter. These are the roots that will give you water, for these are the roots that keep you firmly grasping Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. These are the roots that keep your faith strong no matter what may happen to you.

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.
(John 7:38 (NIV))

God did not put any limitation upon this. He did not say that if we believe in Him and are having a good day, then the streams will flow. He stated that “Whoever believes in me” would have streams of living water. These streams are there to give us strength. They are there to give witness and strength to others. Our roots of faith tap into this strength. These are the very same roots that will allow you to overflow and to spread the Word of God to all who are around you.

We are the tree. Our faith is the roots. We have an abundant supply of water to keep us refreshed and vibrant no matter what the world may send our way. We have Jesus. He is the living water.

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
(John 4:13-14 (NIV))

How strong is your faith? How deep are your roots?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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