Do you look to the Son?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
(John 6:35-40 (NIV))

These were powerful words for the Jews to hear some 2000 years ago. They are still powerful words for the world to hear today. Salvation is such a simple gift from God, yet today, as then, many people have studied themselves into a box in which they have applied their own meaning or someone else’s meaning to God’s plan.

The Jews had the Torah and the Pentateuch to point them to Jesus as the Messiah, yet, they had studied and applied their misguided logic to God’s Word to the point that they did not understand what was happening right in front of them. Today, we have the benefit of 2000 years of history to prove that Jesus was and is who He said. There is more historical evidence to validate the Resurrection than there is to validate that any of us live, yet people fail to see the Truth when it is right in front of them.

The Jews who heard these words did not believe them then.

They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, `I came down from heaven’?”
(John 6:42 (NIV))

Do you believe them now?

People have been blinded to the Truth ever since Jesus came to earth. We must pray that they have their eyes open before He comes the second time!

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you accepted God’s compassion for you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
(Psalms 103:13 (NIV))

How many times, as a child, did you do something terribly wrong? You knew that you were going to be in BIG trouble! You knew that there was going to be punishment for your actions. Many times you did receive punishment for what you had done. Think back and take a look at what you did and what you received in return.

Chances are that the punishment was far less serious than the action really deserved. Your earthly father had compassion on you and tempered the punishment with love. Our heavenly Father is far more compassionate than any person can ever be. No matter what you have done in your life, it can all be forgiven through one simple act of faith.

Profess the name of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and the severe punishment for your sins is wiped away. You may still suffer the immediate consequences of your actions, but the long term consequences of sin are no longer to be applied to you. The wages of sin is death. God, through His compassion, has given us a way to escape what is rightfully ours to face.

Have you accepted God’s compassion for you?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Is the Lord truly your strength?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

I love you, O LORD, my strength.
(Psalms 18:1 (NIV))

As believers, that should be our first priority!

Unfortunately, all too often, things get in the way. We allow the world to grab a little corner of our lives and before we know it, we have lost sight of our first love. We allow these things to become our “gods” and they slowly take their unmerited place as our personal priority.

What have you allowed to become your first “love” and priority? Is it work? Is it prestige? Is it money. or fame? Perhaps it is even something that you don’t even wish to admit.

Whatever it has become, now is the time to recommit to the faith and trust that you have placed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn from the things that have become your priority and turn toward Jesus. Rebuild your relationship with Him. Relationships require time and attention. Take the time.

Be still, and know that I am God
(Psalms 46:10a)

Spend time daily within God’s Word. Spend time daily in prayer. Spend time daily with God and His Son and you, too, will be able to proclaim that you love the Lord and that He is your strength.

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Jesus is Lord and God raised Him from the dead!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
(Romans 10:9-13 (NIV))

What does your heart say about Jesus?

What has your mouth declared about Jesus?

Have you ever wondered why this passage talks about both declaring with your mouth and believing in your heart? It is human nature to give the proverbial lip service to something and not mean it in your heart. It is also possible to think that you believe something in your heart, but not profess it with you mouth. In both instances, this duality of words and heart appear to be caused by fear. We fear to stand out as different from those around us. We fear to truly look inward. We fear to make a commitment. To put it simply, we fear.

When, in the course of human nature, we can make both words and heart coincide, then we are in alignment and in agreement with ourselves. We say and do the very same things with respect to our beliefs. Paul realized that. Paul, with the help of the Holy Spirit, came to the conclusion that when this happens, we are committed and our faith is true.

Do you believe that God raised Jesus from the dead? Have you ever professed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord? These two questions are crucial for each of us to answer with a resounding yes, for without those answers, we know that salvation is not possible. How have you answered these two questions? Time is ticking away. Don’t wait to answer these questions. Eternity depends on your answer.

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What have you been shown?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
(Micah 6:8 (NIV))

In our lives, we are shown many things. Not all of them are things that we should even see. We are foolish if we think that we can be a good judge of what is good.

There is only one place where we should turn to seek what is good!

Turn to the Lord!

Anywhere else that we turn will only find us being shown evil and corruption. Jesus spoke of there only being One who is good. All else is corrupt.

“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
(Matthew 19:17 (NIV))

Our lives are inundated with things that we see. The old saying, “Garbage in, garbage out,” plays a big, fundamental truth in how human nature works. If we see things that are not good, we will be heavily influenced in that direction. In essence, we would be filling ourselves with things that are not good, and we will not be righteous in the eyes of God. If we see things that are good, then we will be influenced in that direction. Remember what Jesus said about who is good.

What have you been shown?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you place your hope and your faith in Jesus!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
(Isaiah 40:31 (NIV))

Is it possible for hope to be a driving force in someone’s life? Can hope become more than hope? Can it become belief and faith? Can hope become joy?

As humans, we all have things that we hope for. We all have things that make us smile and bring us joy. We all have things that we feel can make us rise above the burdens of the world and give us a new lease on life. What are those things in your life?

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
(Psalm 20:7 (NIV))

Hopefully, you don’t actually trust in horses and chariots. This example is probably the ultimate example of what can give someone a feeling of power, a feeling that they can rise above anything. Sadly, those who place their hope and trust in these types of things soon learn that someone will come along with faster horses and better chariots.

Don’t place your hope in the things of this world. Don’t even place your hope in the people in your life. There is only one place where your hope needs to be placed.

Place your hope in Jesus!

No matter what the world may send your way, He will not forsake you. He will lift you up. He will give you peace. He will deliver you. Can you honestly say that of anything in this world? There is only one who can save. There is only one who can give you strength. There is only one who will lift you up. There is only one who can make you soar!

Place your hope and your faith in Jesus!

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you have the faith to be justified by Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

We who are Jews by birth and not `Gentile sinners’ know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
(Galatians 2:15-16 (NIV))

. . . by observing the law no one will be justified.

If God calls for us to observe His laws, many people don’t understand why we cannot be justified if we observe His laws. Sadly, humanity is a fallen creation and we are not capable of perfection. God’s laws require perfection. No matter how hard we may try, we will fail miserably. We will miss the mark. We will sin!

It takes a confident person to admit that they are less than perfect. It takes a confident person to admit that they need help. Too many of us are stuck in the mindset that reminds me of my daughter when she was two years old. I am sure you know what I am talking about. I can still hear her saying, “I do it!”

“I do it!”

Except for the grammatical errors, every one of us has been guilty of saying something similar to this. We think that we are capable of much more than we truly are. We don’t like to admit that we lack the ability to do anything.

I know that it is human nature to learn from our mistakes, but do we really learn if we fail to acknowledge that we make mistakes? I often wonder what the scene is in heaven and if God is shaking His head in disbelief as He watches us. I picture the same scene as Jesus points out someone who has accepted Him as their personal Lord and Savior. I can almost hear Jesus saying, “See that one who is acting like a stubborn child. He has placed his faith in me. He is mine! He may fail, but since he has accepted me, he will eventually learn to do the right things.”

Do you have the faith to be justified by Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Have you believed and have you confessed?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
(Romans 10:9-10 (NIV))

Have you ever known someone who confessed that Jesus is Lord, yet acted like they didn’t believe what they claimed?

Have you ever known someone who never publicly confessed that Jesus is Lord, yet lived what you would consider to be a good life?

Then there are those who have not confessed and live a life that is anything but good.

Finally, there is the group who are not ashamed to publicly confess that Jesus is Lord and they believe it in their heart! Their lives reflect the belief and the proclamation.

It is funny how that we, as a fallen creation, can see people and can seem to be able to put labels on them. Is this judging? Some might say that it is, yet I believe that if you truly have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, it will reflect in all aspects of your life. Lip service by itself will not redeem you, for lips can lie. Believing in your heart can save you, but what about the simple fact that people like to share with others when something good happens to them? Does that mean that they are not saved? I believe that only God knows the heart. I also know that God created each of us to be unique and some people are not wired to express things publicly. I also know that this passage doesn’t put a number to the amount of people who must hear your profession of faith. Just because you haven’t heard it doesn’t mean that it hasn’t been made!

I suppose the thing that I am trying to convey is that only God knows the heart. We must stop worrying about did this person really mean it, or is this person lost for all eternity? Don’t get me wrong. We are to continue to spread the Gospel, but we cannot force someone to accept Jesus. That is the work of the Holy Spirit within each person. All that we can do is answer the call for ourselves. We cannot answer for anyone else!

Have you answered the call? Have you believed in your heart? Have you confessed with your mouth?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you willing to be despised and hated?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
(Mark 13:13 (NIV))

We see this very thing coming true in today’s society. People who call upon the name of Jesus as their Lord and Savior are despised, ridiculed and hated simply because they have the faith to believe the truth. They choose to look beyond what the world says is true and seek the truth for themselves.

Christians are considered to be uneducated, ignorant, and intolerable people who are a blight to the world. That is not true. Consider that many of the same scientists who, in the 1960s and 1970s were saying that God does not exist, are now believers themselves. They have proven, many times against their own desires, that the universe is too ordered to not have been part of a grand, master design. Christians are in every walk of life, and in just about every profession, except the illegal and immoral ones, I pray!

What is it about the name of Jesus that makes people hate someone so much? Jesus, Himself, stated that brother would turn against brother and children against their parents all over His name. However, the times that Mark is writing about have yet to come. As bad as the hatred is today, consider that during the Tribulation, hatred will be world-wide, and those who confess Jesus will probably be put to death. The battle lines are being drawn. What we face today is only the beginning of what is yet to come. The events in the news each day are troubling. Many of the things that we see are directed towards Christians or nations that have a Judeo-Christian heritage. Could this be part of what is spoken of in this scripture?

Choose sides prayerfully, and pray for strength in your decision. Pray that you may not waiver when you face adversity. Use the trials of today to test your faith and sharpen it for the coming days so that you may be saved.

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are people willing to die for something they know is a lie?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up.
(Galatians 1:11 (NIV))

Contrary to what certain books and movies would have us to believe, what we know to be the truth was not created by man in some plot to trick the whole world. Isn’t it interesting that Paul faced the very same type of obstacles when he was spreading the Gospel. Some people simply don’t want to believe it, so they will make up anything to try to convince themselves that it is not real.

Paul wrote these words several hundred years before the church held the conference that solidified and clarified what it believed in. Jesus as the only begotten Son of God was preached hundreds of years before this conference. It was preached long before Dan Brown attempted to change history when he claimed that this conference deified a mortal man.

Satan does not want anyone to come to the realization that Jesus truly is who He claims.

When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
(John 8:44c (NIV))

The face of the liar may change, but the lies are always the same. They always attempt to discredit Jesus as the Son of God.

I would like for you to reflect upon a simple statement.

No other person in all of the history of the world has caused so many people to take so wide a stance as to who He is.

Even after two thousand years, the lies are still spreading. If the claim that Jesus is the Son of God were a lie, I strongly believe that those who saw the crucifixion would not have been willing to lay down their lives. It is human nature to seek self preservation. To live a lie is insane. To die for a lie is insane.

Keep the faith and remember Paul’s words.

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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