Everyone must answer this question for themselves!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”
(Luke 9:20 (NIV))

We should all be familiar with the events that transpired right before this particular passage. Jesus was asking the disciples who the crowds of people say that He is. He received numerous answers and then He did the unthinkable. He turned the question to them. He made it personal. He made them profess. He made them take a stand!

Isn’t that what we are supposed to do with Jesus? We are to either profess that He is Lord or we deny Him. To this day, and until He returns, the same question is asked of each of us. We may hear the things that the world is saying of Jesus. We may hear the things that our family and friends are saying of Jesus. We may give some type of acknowledgment to what they are saying, but that is different from saying something yourself. What you speak becomes your reality.

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.
(Romans 10:9 (NIV))

But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
(Matthew 10:33 (NIV))

According to Romans 14:11, we know that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, but when you speak it determines your eternity. Take a serious look at Jesus and ask yourself one question. Who do you say that He is? If you acknowledge Jesus as Messiah during this lifetime, you will bow out of thankfulness and humility. If you ignore this question or simply reject Jesus, then you will bow out of submission and shame.

Jesus is asking, “Who do you say I am?”

Can you answer with the same proclamation that Peter gave? Can you honestly claim that Jesus is God’s Messiah? It doesn’t matter what others say of Him. They don’t answer for you! Everyone must answer this question for themselves!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

What do you hold to?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
(Hebrews 10:23-25 (NIV))

The church (people, and not buildings) must not forsake meeting together. The people of God need each other to lift each other up, encourage each other, and to pray for each other.

Members of all sorts of organizations hold weekly or monthly meetings. If a bridge club can meet weekly to play cards, can we, as believers, not meet to share what God has done in our lives? These other clubs are trivial when compared to the “group” leader that we have.

Can a deck of cards grant eternal salvation?

Can a tennis club membership redeem you?

Can a country club free you from the consequences of the laws of sin and death?

Do you give more time to your social “clubs” and hobbies than you do to God?

What are your priorities? What do you hold to?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

What do your heart and mouth have to say?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

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.
(Romans 10:10 (NIV))

There is so much truth within God’s Word!

Do you treasure the gift of salvation? Do you treasure Jesus? If this is true of you, does your heart overflow with joy? Do you trust in the Lord so much that your heart is eternally joyous? Think about this and I know that you will agree with the words written in Matthew.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:21 (NIV))

With this in mind, I want to ask a personal question. If something fills your heart, what happens to the overflow? How does it present itself to the world? Does it come out in actions? Does it come out in words? It is human nature to overflow in actions and in words what is contained within your heart. If you are filled with joy and belief in Jesus, then this is what will come forth from you in actions and in words. If this is the case, then nothing that the world can send your way, nothing that will be put into your life, will change what is on the inside. Nothing external will defile you. Your treasure is within and what you treasure is more powerful than anything the world has to send your way. Jesus recognized this and Matthew recorded the following words as evidence.

What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.
(Matthew 15:11 (NIV))

If you truly think about it, you have a choice of what you put into your body and into your life. If your treasure is Jesus, then you will choose to only allow things of the Lord in. As previously stated, nothing external will defile you. It is the human heart that defiles. When we allow our own hearts to shift what we treasure, then what our actions and words reflect will no longer be things of the Lord.

We must stay alert and never lose sight of the Lord as our heart’s treasure!

What do your heart and mouth have to say?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Do your heart and your mouth profess the same thing?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

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.
(Romans 10:10 (NIV))

Have you ever known someone who says one thing with their words and a completely different thing with their actions?

Sadly, the old saying that talk is cheap is true. We can say just about anything with our mouths while we do the exact opposite with our hearts and our actions. It is very true that what we keep in our hearts is who we really are. It is also true that the heart will give us away when our words will not.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:21 (NIV))

If you profess with your mouth a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, does your heart profess the same thing? Do your actions prove that you are a follower of Jesus? Do your actions shine the light of Jesus to others? Do your actions preach the Gospel by living the example that Jesus called us to live?

Preach always. When necessary, use words.
(attributed to St. Francis of Assisi)

Our heart for Jesus should control our actions especially since actions do speak louder than words. Our actions are a direct result of what is in our heart. If what we say with our words is not the same as what we say with our actions, then Paul was correct.

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
(1 Corinthians 1:13 (NIV))

Do your heart and your mouth profess the same thing?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Just what is denial?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
(Matthew 10:32-33 (RSV))

Have you ever been in a situation in which you were with people that did not believe in Jesus? Perhaps you even found yourself in a situation that had you among people who ridiculed and mocked those who profess a faith in Jesus.

What did you do?

Did you give in to peer pressure and go along with the crowd of people you were with or did you stand firm in your faith?

Perhaps I am asking far too many questions, but I think that we have all found ourselves in situations similar to what I describe. It isn’t easy to always do the right thing. Sometimes it makes you feel awkward. Not doing the right thing makes you feel ashamed. Denial makes you feel ashamed.

Just what is denial?

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, one definition of denial is the refusal to admit the truth or reality.

Perhaps the best way to look at this is by realizing that even though we profess a faith in Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, we are not perfect. We will still sin. We can repent. We can turn away from our moments of denial and ask for forgiveness. We need to strive to avoid these moments of denial, but we can rest assured that if we earnestly repent, then we will not be denied.

Jesus was once asked by someone how many times that they should forgive someone when they are sinned against.

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
(Matthew 18:22 (NIV))

If Jesus instructs us to do this, do you think that He would do any less if we are sincere in our request?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery

Most!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
(Matthew 24:10-13 (NIV))

I have read this passage many times, and like all of God’s Word, it speaks differently each time. God’s Word is living. You can read something many times and each time, something new comes into view.

This time, what came to light is something that I honestly hope is just a translation issue. However, I honestly do not think that it is.

Did you see the word “most” in this passage?

“the love of MOST will grow cold”

This brings to mind that we, as the Body of Christ, have allowed false teachings in. We have started following human desires within the church instead of following God’s Word and Jesus. It also means that as we get closer to God’s ultimate plan for humanity, more and more will fall away. They will cling to human desires and understanding instead of relying on what we have been told in the Bible. We already see divisions and teachings that are based on social issues instead of Biblical truth.

Most!

That implies more than half of the people who profess a faith in Jesus will fall into wickedness!

As important as social issues appear to be, they are not what Jesus came into this world to address. He told us that we would always have the poor. He told us to stop sinning. He told us to love one another. Jesus did not preach social justice. He even told us that He would be the divisive factor even among families. Social justice does not bring salvation. Only a true profession of faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior will bring salvation.

Don’t misunderstand my thought process.

The church is to be the light of Jesus in the world, but we are not to let the social issues divide us. Satan uses anything and everything that he can to make a believer turn away from the truth, even something that has a good purpose.

I also want you to think about this passage with respect to another point.

There are those who believe that once you are saved you are always saved. The words of Jesus in Matthew contradict that idea.

We must stand firmly upon God’s Word and not be swayed by the lies of the enemy, no matter how good they may sound.

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery