Celebrate Jesus!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
(Luke 2:8-14 (NIV))

What an honor it must have been to be the first to hear the good news! The shepherds must have been terrified by the presence of the angels, after all, angels were not, and are still not an every day occurrence.

Luckily for us, God’s plan does not discriminate against us for not being there. In fact, it is probably with mixed blessings that we are embraced as part of God’s Kingdom. We do not have the first hand experience of having seen the angels, the star, or Jesus’ life. Sometimes, I wonder if I would have believed if I lived at the time of Jesus!

On the other hand, we have the faith of millions of people who have gone before us. We have the New Testament, the hundreds of years of prophesy study that proves Jesus is King of kings, the Messiah. It may be easier for someone today to come to faith than it was in Jesus’ day. Yet, through all of this “historical proof”, I sometimes feel empty. I think it is the desire of every believer to be able to go back in time and be a witness to the miracles and hear the teachings of Jesus firsthand.

We celebrate the birth of Jesus and look back in awe to the miracles. At the same time, we should look around us in awe of what God is doing today and look to the not-to-distant future and know what God is going to do. We celebrate the First Coming. Some tomorrow we will celebrate the Second Coming.

Merry Christmas!

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you amazed by the power in His name?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!””
(Matthew 8:27 (NIV))

Everyone should recognize this passage from when Jesus calmed the winds and the waves with His words. It is one thing to read it. It is a completely different thing to place yourself into the situation that lead up to this.

Have you ever been in a small boat without an engine and probably without any shelter from the elements? You are out in the middle of a large body of water. It is one big enough that you cannot see either shore when you are in the middle of the water. You are far from land and a very violent storm suddenly appears. The winds are blowing the boat and the waves are rocking it. It is completely out of control. You see no end in sight!

You are in a panic.

You feel that you are going to be cast overboard, or the boat will capsize, and you will drown.

You have probably never felt more terrified in all of your life!

In the midst of this scene, Jesus is asleep. Someone in the boat wakes Him up and with just a few words spoken to the wind and the waves, they completely stop!

You have been rescued out of the middle of what looked to be certain death and it had been done with just the spoken word!

How would you react?

Would you be able to speak?

Would you be in awe at the power that Jesus was able to bring into the situation?

Would you feel a little fearful of the one who calmed the sea with His words?

If you stop to think about this situation, Jesus did for all of us through the cross what He did for His disciples on that boat. With His spoken word, life was restored from the certain brink of death. When He cried out that it was finished, He completed the way to safety for all who would believe.

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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“Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
(Mark 4:35-41 (NIV))

Can you imagine the thoughts that were going through the minds of the disciples? We know that they asked “Who is this,” but what else were they thinking?

Were they afraid? Did they realize who was with them and then realized that their lives were not worthy of His company?

Were they arrogant? Did they start to think that they were special because the Creator of all the universe had chosen them to spend His time with?

Were they dumbfounded? Did they have so many emotions and thoughts that they didn’t know what to do?

Personally, I believe that I would have been all of the above and then some. Fear would have gripped me once I realized that He was God. Arrogance and pride would have come next for the very reasons that were mentioned. I probably would have then sank into a deep and reflective mood where I would question everything I had ever known and everything I had ever thought, said or did. In other words, I would have done exactly what I would assume each of us would have done.

Think about that for a moment.

One day, we will all stand before Jesus and come to the full realization of who He is. For some, it will be a moment of great despair. For others, it will be a moment of great joy. The difference will be decided by timing. When did each of us come to the realization that Jesus is the Son of God? If you already profess that, then great joy will fill your heart. If you have not, your realization will come too late and you will be filled with great despair.

How will you greet Jesus on that day?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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“Surely he was the Son of God!”

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
(Matthew 27:50-54 (NIV))

We are all familiar with the crucifixion account. We know that there were earthquakes. We know that the curtain of the temple was torn in two. We know that the centurion came to believe that Jesus was and is the Son of God. There is one thing in the account of the crucifixion that many overlook.

The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
(Matthew 27:52-53 (NIV))

Why do we overlook this? Why do we ignore one of the greatest resurrection accounts of what God has done? I know that our focus is on the death and resurrection of Jesus, but I find it extremely interesting that at the moment of His death, people arose out of their tombs.

Who were these people? Even before Jesus came into the world, people where longing for His coming. They believed even before Jesus physically walked the earth. They were looking at salvation through eyes that longed to see it. We look at salvation through eyes that have read it as it actually happened.

Why did they arise at Jesus’ death? That is an interesting question and I am probably going to open up some debate, but I believe that it is simply a matter of timing. Humanity has been given grace and mercy through the atoning blood of Jesus. Jesus had to die in order for our salvation to be redeemed. Those people who believed in Jesus before He walked the earth had to wait until He had fulfilled the plan of salvation. Once He breathed His last, the debt had been paid.

If we truly perceived the events that happened during the crucifixion, we would undoubtedly come to the same conclusion that the centurion came to. The sky grew dark, the earth shook, the rocks split, the holy people were raised from the dead and the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

I honestly don’t think that any script writer could come up with something as awe inspiring as what actually happened.

There is a saying that truth is stranger than fiction. There is also a famous line from a movie that states, “You can’t handle the truth!” I also find it interesting that people base their perception of the truth upon their limited understanding. They refuse to believe until they see. I have never seen a millions dollars, but I know that it exists. Perhaps that is the limit to the faith of some people. They can believe things that they have never seen only if they are of a physical nature.

I know that people believe when they see miracles. I also know that we are told that we need to have faith without seeing miracles. Still, it is my desire to see people who are not believers come to the same saving knowledge as the centurion.

“Surely he was the Son of God!”

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Is God with you wherever you go?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
(Joshua 1:9 (NIV))

In these days when it seems that society is attacking anything that is of God and His people, isn’t it good to know that God has not forsaken us. He is there always. All we have to do is call upon His Name.

In certain parts of this country, and the world, it is not “cool” or acceptable to admit that you believe in Jesus and God and that you follow God’s Word. In some places, it is even downright dangerous to proclaim your faith, yet God has stated that He would be with us wherever we go. Even if where we go requires us to lay down our physical life. We, as believers in this country have not had to test our faith in this manner as believers in other parts of the world have. The time may be coming when this is the case. If it does, we need to rely on God always being there.

Is God with you wherever you go?

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