How do you look at acceptance and rejection?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
(Romans 11:15 (NIV))

What do you think of when you think of rejection?

Is it a cause for tears and sadness? Is it a cause for depression and anxiety? Or is it a cause for rejoicing?

That last option sounds extremely strange!

Who in their right mind would rejoice over rejection?

When Paul wrote these words to the believers in Rome, he was speaking of the rejection of Jesus by the nation of Israel. Jesus, who was sent first to the Jew and then to the Gentiles.

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
(Romans 1:16 (NIV))

Sometimes rejection is not as bad as it may seem on the surface. Often, it is simply a delay of what is to come until you are better prepared to deal with it. Other times, it is a simple redirection into something that is much better. The rejection of Jesus by the Jews is a good example. Through this rejection, which many throughout history have used to condemn the Jews, we, as Gentiles, have been given an opportunity to receive salvation.

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
(Romans 11:25 (NIV))

Rejection often brings about unforeseen opportunities. It is a matter of perspective. If you take rejection and let it control you, you will miss out on what God has in store for you. If you stop to think about it, rejection is merely a redirection of acceptance. If you look at your own salvation, this becomes evident, especially if you consider what would have happened if the Jews accepted Jesus two thousand years ago.

How do you look at acceptance and rejection?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Is it your goal to be accepted by men or accepted by God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
(Luke 6:22 (NIV))

Do you want to be blessed by man or by God?

If you are blessed by man, they will love you. They will embrace you and what you do because you lift them up, The things that you do bring glory to man. The things that you do are the things that they seek to be able to do. They idolize you.

God will still love you, but it is hard to be righteous when you are exalted and God is not. Just try to exalt God in the proper way and watch what the world does to you. Unfortunately, the world rejects God and elevates many members of society to a godlike status.

Think about that last statement.

Think about what the world did to Jesus!

Jesus was part of the Holy Trinity. He was God made flesh. All of the power and authority and the people rejected Him because He would not submit to the ways of the world. The world turned on Him. The world hated Him. The world crucified Him!

How can we expect the world of men to love us if we love Jesus after what they did to Jesus?

Remember the words I spoke to you: `No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.
(John 15:20-21 (NIV))

Is it your goal to be accepted by men or accepted by God?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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How bold are you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is

” `the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the capstone. ‘

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
(Acts 4:8-12 (NIV))

This is the very same Peter who denied Jesus three times in just a few short hours. What made the bold change in his outlook? Only a few days earlier, he was afraid for his life and denied Jesus because he did not want to be put to death. Now he is boldly proclaiming the divinity of Jesus before the very same people that he was afraid of before.

Peter had experienced a life changing event. He had seen Jesus crucufied and buried. He had seen Him resurrected and fully alive. He had seen Him ascend into heaven. I don’t know about you, but seeing these events unfold before my eyes would have made me bold as well.

Perhaps that is the problem. We did not see the actual events happen and because of this, we are not filled with the boldness that Peter relied on when he spoke these words.

Why is it that we are not filled with that same boldness, after all, we have historical evidence that these things happened? Have we become too timid because we are too comfortable? Peter had to face the ultimate denial before he could face the ultimate faith. Perhaps this is true. Have you ever known someone who had sunk to the lowest point that a oerson could sink and then come to salvation through Jesus? They are bold!!!

Perhaps boldness comes from a realization of just how much we have been saved from!

How bold are you?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Blessed?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
(Jeremiah 17:7 (NIV))

Blessed?

Have you ever had a time, even though you trust in the Lord, where you feel that you are far from blessed?

Be honest with yourself. If you are human, then you have had many of those times. I know that I have.

It is human nature to feel rejected. It is human nature to dwell on the negative, and the negative times do happen to everyone. Jesus warned us about this.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 (NIV))

I want you to think back on the times when you did not feel blessed. What happened that made you feel that way? In all circumstances, it was probably an attack from someone or something in this fallen, sinful world.

Did you lose your trust in the Lord or did you lose your confidence in Him? After the initial heartbreak, and, yes, that is a normal reaction, chances are that you came to the realization that God is still with you, that Jesus is still with you.

But take heart! I have overcome the world.
(John 16:33b (NIV))

These simple words should make us feel blessed even when we don’t feel blessed.

We are blessed because we have placed our faith and trust in the Lord. The enemy attacks us through things of this world. We begin to feel rejected. We begin to feel that we are not blessed. It is at these very moments in life when we must remember that Jesus came into this world, lived, died and was resurrected for moments like this. We can take heart, for He has overcome the world.

When we feel that we are not blessed is the time that we should remember the words from John 16:33. It is at these times that we have the biggest blessing. We have the reassurance that these moments will not defeat us. We have the promise that Jesus is still with us and that He is our salvation even when the world tries its best to destroy us.

Blessed?

You bet!

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Would you be of the world, or would you be of God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
(1 John 3:1 (NIV))

The world will not recognize us, for it did not recognize Jesus when He came.

In much the same way a mother recognizes her young, the world recognizes those who belong to it. Does a mother cow accept a puppy? Does a kitten find a home with a dog? The same is true of those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. They will not be accepted by the world! They may face rejection and tribulation for they have, in essence, turned their backs on the ways of the world and have focused on the ways of God.

Take a serious look at where you would be accepted. Do you find yourself still partaking of the world in such a way that it is impossible for anyone to know that you are a child of God? The old saying “You are what you eat” is true in the spiritual world as well. If you “eat” of the world, then the world is a part of you and you cannot leave it behind. If you “eat” of the things of God, then righteousness is a part of you, and the world is only something that you are passing through.

It has been said that it takes a thief to know a thief. If that implies that only those with similar thoughts can be recognized and accepted, then where would you be recognized and accepted? Would you be of the world, or would you be of God?

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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A man planted a vineyard

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

A man planted a vineyard, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country for a long while. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, that they should give him some of the fruit of the vineyard; but the tenants beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant; him also they beat and treated shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third; this one they wounded and cast out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; it may be they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’ And they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants, and give the vineyard to others.
(Luke 20:9-16 (RSV))

God created a beautiful place when He created the earth. Unfortuantely, the tenants that inhabited the land did not listen to Him and soon had turned over control to someone else.

These tenants would not listen to God. They would not listen to Noah. THey would not listen to Moses. They wanted complete control.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, `Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”
(Matthew 23:37-39 (NIV))

These tenants would not listen to God’s prophets. So, God sent His only Son, Jesus, to redeem the world to Him.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:16 (NIV))

The tenants killed God’s Son thinking that they would then inherit the world and all that is in it.

What will God do?

He will come and destroy those tenants, but those who call upon the name of Jesus will not be destroyed. They will be the ones to whom He gives the vineyard.

We must realize that we are the tenants that this parable speaks of and that we must reject the ways of the “vineyard” and turn toward God.

Do we desire to take what is not ours or do we wish to inherit what God desires to give us?

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Whoever rejects the Son

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.
(John 3:36 (NIV))

With Christmas rapidly approaching, this passage puts a whole new spin and sad perspective on things for those who refuse to say “Merry Christmas.”

This celebration has been in effect for almost two thousand years as a way for humanity to give thanks and to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is true that the early church picked a day that had been a day of celebration for the “barbarian” tribes of Europe, but, even so, the celebration and the season has been Christmas for many more years than can actually be traced historically.

It is the time that we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Is it possible that the simple act of refusing to say “Merry Christmas” is an actual rejection of Jesus as told of in John 3:36?

Think about that.

These people who refuse to say “Merry Christmas” are still very willing to celebrate and some are even willing to be nice to those around them, yet, they reject the very reason that we celebrate.

I find it ironic that the very day that we, as the Body of Christ, celebrate the gift of grace, mercy and life, many people are taking a stand that may result in their loss of eternal life. I often wonder just how Satan managed to plant the seed within people to get them to refuse life.

Believing in the Son is rapidly becoming a dividing line. It appears as if the weeds are rapidly growing.

“The owner’s servants came to him and said, `Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
” `An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, `Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
” `No,’ he answered, `because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”
(Matthew 13:27-30 (NIV))

Be sure to wish someone a Merry Christmas each and every day. If it isn’t Christmas time, tell them of the grace and mercy that Jesus brought to the world. Offer Jesus to everyone.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:16 (NIV))

Copyright 1998 – 2011 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Firm foundation or burdensome weight?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

As you come to him, the living Stone–rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him– you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone, ”

and,

“A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message–which is also what they were destined for.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
(1 Peter 2:4-10 (NIV))

How do you look upon the Stone that our faith is built upon? Do you fully rest upon its strength or do you wrestle with the weight of the message? It is a matter of outlook.

Do you fully rely on Jesus for all that you do, or do you only turn to Him when things are not going your way? The message of Jesus can be both a firm foundation and a burden, depending on your outlook towards Jesus. It is a matter of will. Do you turn everything over to Jesus and truly make Him Lord and Savior, or do you want somebody to rescue you when you are in trouble?

Think about the Stone that is Jesus Christ. Is He your firm foundation?

Copyright 1998 – 2010 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What is man?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
(Psalms 8:3-4 (NIV))

What is man?

All throughout history, we have been asking this. How we have come to our own personal conclusion and what that conclusion is will determine how we see ourselves, our relationships to others, what is right and what is wrong, and whether we believe that God exists. It will also determine how we see the divine being that we place at the position of our god. You will notice that in our human efforts to create our own gods, we often ignore the one, true God.

What is man?

Is he nothing more than a mathematical improbability that evolved from a primordial ooze?

Is he the subservient slave to a creator who cares nothing about him?

Is he a “soul” living through countless lives in a journey of spiritual growth and enlightenment?

Is man a god?

Do any of these philosophical descriptions match your idea of self and humanity in general, or is man much more than any of these?

Is man the ultimate creation of a loving Creator. A Creator who so loved His creation that when it fell into disobedience, He devised a plan to bring His creation back to Himself?

I can understand the thought process behind those who profess a belief that man evolved. I also understand the thought process behind those who see themselves as worthless servants. It is also possible to understand the thought process behind those who believe that we are on a journey through countless lives. I can also understand how people might think that man is a god. However, none of these philosophies reflect the truth.

For the sake of argument, let’s say that man did evolve against mathematical odds from the primordial ooze. For the sake of argument, let’s say that man is a servant to an uncaring god. For the sake of argument, let’s say that man is on a journey of reincarnation. And, definitely, for the sake of argument, let’s say that man is a god.

What next? We have crawled out of the ooze for what? We are a slave for what? We are going through multiple lives for what? And, if we are a god, then why do we have no control over anything, and then what?

Man is not a product of evolution. Man is not a slave. Man is not on a perpetual journey of enlightenment. And, man is definitely not a god.

We are simply the creation of a loving Creator. We are the creation that was given free will to choose. We are the creation that was given dominion over the plants and animals of this earth. And, we are the creation that, in the eyes of the Creator, are worthy of the ultimate sacrifice in order to be brought back into the Kingdom of God.

All other philosophies and religions are man’s attempt to bridge the gap into perfection. A belief in Jesus Christ is the only belief that turns that upside down. It shows that God reached out to us.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
(John 3:16-21 (NIV))

What is man?

Copyright 1998 – 2010 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Happy New Year!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
(Matthew 9:16-17 (NIV))

With the approaching new year, we must be prepared for whatever God sends to us that is new to our way of thinking. Just like the old wineskins that will burst if they attempt to hold new wine, our hearts will not contain what God has in store for us if we do not soften our hearts.

Look forward to the new year with much anticipation of what God can and will do.

Happy New Year!

Copyright 1998 – 2010 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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