Jesus is our solid rock and our firm foundation!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

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

Unchanging.

Constant.

Steadfast.

Faithful.

Are there any other words that you use to describe something that is always the same?

Do any of these words apply to any person that you know?

To be honest with you, most people, myself included, usually don’t think of people being this way. By nature, we are a sinful, fallen creation and we are prone to change from one moment to the next. We are affected by physical limitations. We get tired. We get hungry. We become sick. Then there are the worldly things that happen to us such as we lose a job or we lose our home. All of these things can make us someone that we would never have imagined we would be. We say and do things that we don’t recognize and we wish that we could rewind time so that they never happened or they never were spoken.

Are you the same person that you were ten years ago? What about twenty, or thirty, or even fifty? Being human means that we should in a constant state of change. We can refuse to admit that we need to change when all around us is demanding that we grow and mature, or we can embrace the path of growth and maturity. As followers of Jesus, we should strive to grow and mature into His image. We should strive to imitate Jesus in all that we do. We should strive to love as He loved. We should strive to live as He lived. We should strive to obey the Father as He obeyed.

Jesus was and is unchanging.

Jesus was and is constant.

Jesus was and is steadfast, and Jesus was and is faithful!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
(John 1:1-2 (NIV))

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:14 (NIV))

If you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, then you have accepted these passages as truth. You have accepted that He is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Jesus is our solid rock and our firm foundation!

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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The Gospel has not changed and never will!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

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

Do you grow tired of the world always trying to find a new way to achieve perfection, to achieve a sense that humanity is the master of our own destiny? Just when one thing has been tried and ends up failing to produce the results that people want, someone else comes up with something else to try. We see it in diets. We see it in self-help. We see it in education. We even see it in the progressive churches when they try to reinvent and reinterpret God’s Word and Jesus to fit what they want instead of fitting their lives to His truth.

If you seek to mature in your faith in Jesus, then your understanding of Jesus has changed since you first accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. My question for you is has your understanding of Jesus followed the world’s attempts to reinvent and reinterpret, or has your understanding solidified in accordance to God’s Word?

Jesus came into this world to call sinners to repentance. He did not come into this world to tell us that our sinful natures are acceptable as they are.

Jesus came into this world to arm those who accept Him as their person Lord and Savior with the truth needed to combat the lies of the enemy. He did not come into this world to tell us that we can do whatever we want.

Jesus came into this world to offer God’s grace and salvation to those who would accept. He did not come into this world to be a social justice warrior.

What is your image of Jesus?

What is that image of Jesus based on?

Is your understanding of Jesus the same as that of the authors of the Gospels, and not just a few misquoted passages?

If you truly desire to know the real Jesus, then find a church that preaches the Word. Develop the discipline required to spend time daily in His Word. Mature in your faith and in your commitment. Search the scriptures and test everything that you hear to see if it is true.

Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
(Acts 17:11 (NIV))

I pray that you mature in your faith to be like the Berean Jews. Eagerly receive and eagerly study. You may surprise yourself when you start to truly understand Jesus and the simple fact that He never changes. What He taught when He walked this earth is the same thing that we are called to do today!

The Gospel has not changed and never will!

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Happy New Year!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
(Revelation 1:8 (NIV))

God is good all the time! Yesterday, today and tomorrow, He is the same. He is the Alpha and the Omega. Now that we are ending a year that has had the whole world afraid to be in public and as we are entering a new year that has many people worried and wondering, we must remember that God is God and He never changes. No matter what happens when January 1st comes, God is still God.

If you have accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, your joy is not tied to the events of this world. No matter what may happen in this world, we should have a true sense of joy. We should have a true sense of peace.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV))

There are a few words in this passage from Philippians that stand out to me.

Rejoice.

Always.

Peace.

Guard.

Hearts.

Minds.

If we profess that God is the Almighty, and we also profess that Jesus is Lord, why do we look at this world with such a pessimistic outlook? Are we truly allowing our hearts and minds to be guarded by the peace of God?

Think about that as we step into what I am certain will be a very uncertain year. No matter what we may face, we must remember who is in charge and in whom we have placed our faith. With the promises that we have been given by God, we should be able to face anything in this world with a joy and a peace that is beyond the ability of the world to understand. We just need to make sure that we don’t fail to understand.

Happy New Year!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you forever thankful to the Lord?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
(Psalms 136:1 (NIV))

Just how long is forever?

To be honest with you, I actually don’t think that the human mind can truly understand that concept, especially when you consider our limited vantage point. Our minds think back to our days in school when we were watching the clock and impatiently waiting for the end of the day. It seemed like it took forever! Perhaps you remember Christmas Eve as a child. It seemed like the night would never end. With these and other examples that you may have in mind, we have a tendency to look at the concept of forever as a period of time that we must endure. We don’t usually think of forever as a joyous time.

Is that how God sees forever? Is that how God sees us in relationship to forever?

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
(2 Peter 3:8 (NIV))

If this is the way that God sees time, then His concept of forever is so very different from how we see forever. If God’s love endures forever, then He has loved us from the beginning of time, if there is such a thing, and He will continue to love us to what our frail human minds call the end of time. In all honesty, the concept of the end of time is a human construct because we can’t truly grasp eternity. All that we can truly understand is that the Lord never changes.

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

If His love endures forever, then His love for us never changes and that is the best thing that anyone can ever experience.

If God loves us this much, how do we express our gratitude?

Are you forever thankful to the Lord?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you found rest?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Be at rest once more, O my soul,
    for the LORD has been good to you.
For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the LORD
    in the land of the living.
(Psalms 116:7-9 (NIV))

The Lord gives us rest. In a world where uncertainty is the way, one thing is certain. God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. If we rest in His presence, then we can truly be at rest.

God is in control!

With everything that is going on in this world this year, this is very comforting. It is very reassuring to know that the Creator of all things is still in complete control. Even when it seems like the world is in total chaos, He is in complete control. It is all part of His plan. It is unfolding just as He told us that it would so that we would be aware of what is going on.

I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.
(John 14:29 (NIV))

Do you believe?

With everything that is happening in the world, do you believe?

With good being called evil and evil being called good, do you believe?

Belief and faith go hand in hand. By placing our faith in Him, all the worldly matters no longer are important. We rest in the knowledge that God will guide us in His will and if we keep focused on Him, He will guide our paths so that no matter what the world sends our way, we can have peace and rest in Him.

Have you found rest?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you still seek the truth?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
(Romans 1:25 (NIV))

Do you believe that you know the truth?

If you have accepted society’s claim that truth is relative, then you absolutely do not know the truth! Truth is absolute. Truth is eternal. Truth is found in no other place than in God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
(John 14:6 (NIV))

Truth is not found in man’s feeble attempts to create their own truth. Truth is not found in Satan’s attempts to trick humanity into following him. Truth is not born of a lie that is repeated so many times that people begin to believe it. Truth is not worshiping the creation.

Truth is only from the Lord!

He never changes! He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Truth is found in only one place.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
(John 1:1-5 (NIV))

There is a line from a movie that gets repeated quite often. “You want the truth! You can’t handle the truth!” Don’t fall for the idea presented in this line. Never stop seeking the truth. The truth is out there. Truth has a name, and that name is Jesus Christ!

Do you still seek the truth?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Stay focused on Jesus!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

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

Nothing is ever the same in this life. It is impossible to ground yourself in anything in this world. Just when you think things are as they should be, something terrible happens and things are a complete mess.

If you base your perspective of life on things worldly, then you are going to be let down at every turn. If you base your life on things that are of God, with the center of your focus on Jesus Christ, then you will never be let down. With the end of the year rapidly approaching, keep your perspective clearly focused on Jesus, for He never changes.

Stay focused on Jesus!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Where have you placed the Lord in your life?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

I have set the LORD always before me.
    Because he is at my right hand,
    I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the grave,
    nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
You have made known to me the path of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,
    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
(Psalms 16:8-11 (NIV))

God has no secrets. He has given EVERYONE the truth. It is up to each person, individually, to accept that truth and place it as their guide. God is that Truth. Do not abandon Him and He will not abandon you.

How can someone abandon God? By placing someone or something else at the center of your life. It becomes your focus, your guide. Do not place your trust in a “guide” that cannot guide you to the ultimate truth. Place your faith in God and let Him guide you in all things.

God is the same yesterday, today and forever. The strength and consistency of God are what you need to place your faith in. Do not look to anything else, and He will give you rest.

Where have you placed the Lord in your life?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Whom do you have?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
(Psalms 73:25 (NIV))

What is more important to you, the people in your life or the things in your life?

Be careful how you answer!

One more question for you. Who is more important to you, the people in your life or the Lord?

I realize that these questions may seem ridiculous, but answered honestly, they will tell you more about yourself than you probably care to admit. If you value things over people, then where is your heart? Where is your love? Some may say that valuing the people in your life is important and should take precedence over the Lord, but let me ask you another question. Who are you going to turn to when everyone in your life has let you down? Who will you turn to when even your spouse, your children or your closest friend disappoints you or are taken from you? When this happens, many people turn to the Lord, but I want to propose that the time to turn to the Lord is long before anything like this happens. When you can truthfully claim that you love the Lord, then your complete perspective on life changes. When you look at things or people as a priority, this is, in most cases, a self-centered outlook on life even if you think that you place yourself low on your priorities list. You are looking at the things or the people to make you happy, to bring meaning to your life, and to make you whole.

Think about these simple facts. Things rust and decay. All people, no matter how good they are, will disappoint you eventually. We are all sinful by nature.

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

Only the Lord is unchanging.

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

With this simple truth, we should anchor our lives on a firm foundation that never changes. We should not look to things. We should not look to people. We should only look to the Lord! We only need to accept the grace and mercy freely given at the cross and claim the gift of grace for ourselves. When we honestly and truthfully make this claim, we have the Lord of all creation in our lives and nothing can surpass His majesty and glory!

Whom do you have?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you embraced your inheritance?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
(1 Peter 1:3-5 (NIV))

This says a lot in a few words.

Notice that it starts off by praising God! We are the benefactors of God’s grace and mercy, yet it does not focus on us. It focuses on the Father and what He has done. It focuses on His ultimate plan for those who believe, not only when this was written, but for all generations of believers.

In other words, God IS the same yesterday, today and forever. What He did once through His Son Jesus Christ was for all people, yesterday, today and forever. All you have to do is have faith.

Have you embraced your inheritance?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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