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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Are you called by His name?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
(2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV))

It’s happened again! Or perhaps I should say that it is still happening. We can’t go a day without seeing something horrendous in the news. We can’t go a day without seeing the work of the enemy as he tries to divide us. We can’t go a day without seeing good being called evil and evil being called good.

I’m at a loss for words. All that I can do is feel the groanings of my spirit as it cries out to God. I honestly don’t know what the prayers from my spirit are saying. I just know that they are asking God to send His Spirit and bring peace to this troubled world. Still, in the midst of all that is happening, I know that everything is unfolding according to God’s perfect plan, even though all we see is chaos. I know that the enemy is not going to go quietly. His time is short and he knows it. We will see more evil arise. It is time that the Body of Christ unite and stand firm in our humility and in our prayers.

We must pray according to God’s Will. We must stand firm in our faith. We must also realize that this world is not our home. This world is sinful and will never be the world that we long for. The events that will lead to the fulfillment of the promises of an eternal home in paradise are unfolding. I realize that no one knows the day nor the hour, but I do believe that it will be sooner than the world thinks. All I know is that we, as the Body of Christ, should be praying for God’s perfect will. We should be praying for those who don’t know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.

In essence, if we are called by His name, we should be praying!

Are you called by His name?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Have you accepted your room reservation?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
(John 14:1-3 (NIV))

This passage came up today and my first reaction was that it wasn’t appropriate as a New Year’s scripture. Then I read it a few more times and the realization of the hope for a better future for those who are in Christ became evident. It also became evident that what society truly desires as they celebrate the beginning of a new year is the ability to wipe away all of the past mistakes and move forward with hope for a better life in the new year. Let’s face the truth. When we make resolutions, we are simply professing a desire to change something about ourselves that we don’t like!

How is that working out for you?

Human nature is a difficult thing to deal with. We say that we want to change, yet most of us after just a few short days are right back at our old habits, our old sins. We cannot do it on our own! Our Father realized this and sent His one and only Son to be offered as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. All that we have to do is earnestly and truthfully accept this and grace is ours! We are forgiven of our sins. We accept the willing sacrifice of the one perfect man who was God with us. We recognize that we must turn to Him and repent of our sins. We must be willing to repent on a daily basis for we will not be free from the temptation of sin. We must accept the truth that temptation will not go away. We must also rejoice in the fact that when the world tries to tempt us, we have Jesus.

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
(Proverbs 18:24 (NIV))

One day, we will see the Father’s house. What a promise for a better future that is. For the Body of Christ, that is not the beginning of a better future. The beginning is when someone decides to make a personal resolution that consists of three things.

1. Admit that you are a sinner.
2. Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord.
3. Confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord.

The good news is that we don’t have to wait for a new year to be born again, to start anew, to give our life to Christ! That resolution can be made at any time. Now is that perfect time.

This is one resolution that has eternal rewards with a room!

Have you accepted your room reservation?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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How can we serve Him while we wait?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
(John 14:1-3 (NIV))

What imagery do you see when you read this passage? Do you focus on the splendor of the dwelling that you have the hope and the promise of attaining? Perhaps you focus on the shear number of dwellings that must exist. Perhaps you read that Jesus is preparing a place for you and then you realize that the Lord of all is personally taking care of your needs. These are all fantastic visions of what awaits, but I find solace in the last statement.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
(John 14:3 (NIV))

Isn’t that amazing? Jesus, in all of His glory, is not only personally preparing our future dwellings, He will also come back personally and take us to be with Him. He is NOT sending an angel to come and pick us up. He is not using a GPS system or Mapquest to send us directions so that we can find our own way. He is coming personally to take us to be with Him.

Think about that. Jesus – King of kings and Lord of lords – loves us so much that He is coming for us. In fact, all of history is unfolding because He loves us and died on the cross so that we can receive salvation, grace and mercy. God’s Word tells of God’s love through His creation and how we, through Adam and Eve, fell from grace. The Old Testament shows us how we should live, but how we fail because of sin. It also points to a savior who will change all. Then, Jesus comes and shows us how to return to God. We are given a choice. We are given a free gift. Finally, those who trust in Jesus will be welcome home.

Jesus is that gift. Even now, He is still fulfilling these words.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
(Mark 10:45 (NIV))

Jesus is preparing a place for us. Even in His Lordship, He is still serving us. How can we serve Him while we wait?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you let your heart be troubled?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
(John 14:1-14 (NIV))

Even after spending several years with the disciples, they did not fully understand who Jesus is. Perhaps they were still blinded by the human condition in which we all live. Yet, these words that Jesus spoke hold great promise for those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Through these words, we have built a foundation of hope that there is room in heaven for all who believe. We have also relied upon these words to strengthen our faith and step out into the world with a boldness that the world does not understand. We have promises that have been made, and will never be broken, for we have Jesus standing at the right hand of God the Father interceding for us on our behalf.

Reread these words that have meant so much to our faith. Could you have built your faith and hope without these promises? These promises, alone, are enough to have a blessed hope of salvation.

Do you let your heart be troubled?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Where does your help come from?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
(Psalms 121:1-2 (NIV))

During these troubled times that we live in, it is good to realize that we have someone to turn to for help. We have someone who will be with us no matter what we may go through. We have someone who will never abandon us. All we have to do is call upon His name in righteousness.

How can this be when all of our righteousness is as filthy rags in the eyes of God?

We don’t have to despair over this. God sent us help so that we could call upon His name for help! He sent us His only Son, Jesus Christ, as an atoning sacrifice so that we could inherit righteousness in spite of our sin. We are given the righteousness of Jesus if we will only acknowledge and accept that He is Lord and Savior. Once we take that step of faith towards God through Jesus, then God will be our help in times of trouble.

He does not keep us from the trouble, but helps us through it. Perhaps it is this simple fact that keeps more people away from accepting Jesus than anything else, for they want someone to keep them from trouble. It is our troubles that God uses to build our character and to bring us closer to Him. If we were kept from all of our troubles, I seriously doubt that we would fully understand the grace and mercy that is given to us when we are saved through our troubles. If we do not know the trouble, then how can we know the grace?

Where does your help come from?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you ready for the return of Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
(John 14:1-4 (NIV))

This passage presents several questions for those who profess a faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Your answers may surprise you!

First, I need to lay a little ground work. If you are familiar with traditional Jewish weddings, once the bride was betrothed, or engaged, the bridegroom would then go back to his father’s house and start to build or prepare a room for he and his bride. When the room was finished, he would come for his bride. This is reflected in the parable of the lamps and the oil. No one knew the day or the hour the bridegroom would come for his bride. She simply knew that at some point in time, he would return for her.

Does this sound familiar? It sounds identical to the promises that Jesus made to His bride, the body of believers.

Do you trust in God?

Do you trust in Jesus?

Do you firmly believe that Jesus is preparing a place for you?

Do you know beyond doubt that Jesus will return for you?

I want you to think about the following passage and what it has to say in regard to those who are not ready.

“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
“Later the others also came. `Sir! Sir!’ they said. `Open the door for us!’
“But he replied, `I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’
(Matthew 25:10-12 (NIV))

One last and very important question for you!

If you believe and answered “Yes” to the previous questions, and you are not ready, what does that tell you will happen?

Are you ready for the return of Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you tormented for your faith?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
(Acts 16:16-18 (NIV))

Are you troubled by a nagging “spirit” that will not leave you alone? One that torments you day and night?

Paul was tormented by a slave girl who was possessed. The demon would not leave her alone, and, consequently, would not leave Paul alone. He recognized the work that God was using Paul to complete and he tried everything that he could to divert and distract Paul so that God’s purpose would not be completed.

We all face similar circumstances in our lives. There is something that will simply not leave us alone. Something that, if we let it, will distract us from God. Do not let anything distract you from earnestly seeking God! Do not let greed, ego, ambition, lust, power, envy, or anything else that the world has to offer stand between you and God. Paul continually walked away from this girl, but she followed him. Is sin following you like this slave girl followed Paul, tormenting you every step of the way?

Take a lesson from what Paul did. He called upon the name of Jesus to rebuke the tormentor. Paul’s faith was strong enough to rely on the name of Jesus to do what was promised!

Is yours?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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