What is your house built on?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
(Matthew 7:24 (NIV))

It is important to have a firm foundation!

If you don’t believe this, try standing on a slippery floor in your socks, or try standing on an icy hill.

Stability is important in all aspects of life, both physical and spiritual. Everything that we do must have a firm foundation or it crumbles and falls out from underneath us. Too many of us look at the physical world and focus on our financial stability, yet we fail to even consider out faith as something that requires a firm foundation. We profess a faith in Jesus, yet we don’t act like it. When the least bit of trouble occurs, we start looking at our resources to figure out what to do. We look at our finances. We look at our jobs. We look at our health, but we never look to Jesus when He should be the foundation of all the things that we do.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))

What we turn to shows where we have placed our confidence. It shows where we have placed our hope. It shows where we have placed our assurance.

Think about that in relationship to the foundation of your house. Unless you were involved in the actual construction of your home, you have never seen its foundation. Yet, you trust that it will hold up your house. You have placed your confidence, your hope and your assurance on something that you have never seen. We trust the physical even when we cannot see what is there, so why do we not trust the spiritual when we also cannot see what is there? We have faith in the people who built our homes, yet we fail to have even that much faith in the One who gave us life, who gave us grace, who gave us mercy. When you don’t look to Jesus’ words and when you don’t put them into practice, you are standing on the slippery floor. You are standing on an icy hill. You are unstable in the very foundations of your life.

If you are reading this, you have probably professed a faith in Jesus, but do you truly live your life firmly rooted in His firm foundation?

What is your house built on?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Does this describe the confidence of your faith?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))

How is your faith?

Do you truly possess a hope and assurance that is only available through no other name but Jesus?

Depending on your answer, and I hope that it was a resounding “Yes,” just what does that mean to you?

We know that we are all sinners in need of a Savior. We know that the wages of sin is death. We know that there is absolutely nothing that we can do of our own strength that will change any of this. I started to write that there is one thing that we can do of our own strength, but I would be lying. It is not of our own strength, but rather out of our humility that we realize our situation. When we come to this realization, we have but one response!

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
(James 4:10 (NKJV))

It takes a confident person to humble yourself in the sight of the Lord. Please don’t confuse this confidence with human arrogance and pride. Human nature tells us that we can do it all on our own. Godly confidence tells us that we have no other option but to put our trust in the Lord. The world, and human nature, tells us that there are many different ways to God. When we cast aside all other ways and fully place our hope and assurance in Jesus as the only way, it shows the world that we are confident in our faith. More importantly, it shows the Lord that we are confident in our faith.

Are you confident in what you hope for in Jesus?

Are you confident in the assurance that you have in Jesus?

Are you able to proclaim His name in confidence no matter what the world may say in response? I sincerely hope that you remember the words of Jesus in response to this.

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

With that last passage now presented for your consideration, I have but one more question about the confidence that your faith displays with respect to hope and assurance.

Does this describe the confidence of your faith?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you accepted the love that He has shown for you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
(1 John 4:10 (NIV))

I have been battling diabetes for far too many years to even count. Every once in a while my blood sugar drops dangerously low. Most of these instances seem to happen at night. So far, I have always woken up and been able to take measures to raise my blood sugar. It happened again and I am writing this at 2:30 in the morning as I wait for the side effects of a very low blood sugar to go away. As I often do when this happens, I start to pray. Tonight, I remember saying something to the effect that Lord, I wish that you would find another way to wake me up, but I do enjoy our time together, so it is okay!

I reached over and grabbed my iPad and opened up one of my Bible apps. I instinctively went to the verse of the day and clicked to read the full chapter.

This passage stood out!

It gave me peace and assurance that even if I didn’t wake up, everything would be okay.

I am His and He is mine!

My sins are forgiven and I am at peace! I rest confidently in the knowledge that the one who created the universe knows my name. I rest confidently knowing that I am loved, that my sins are forgiven, and that one day I will see Him face to face!

All of this because I chose to accept His love, mercy and grace that is freely given through His atoning sacrifice that was done once for all. All that you have to do is accept before it is too late!

Have you accepted the love that He has shown for you?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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How does God see your faith?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))

What are you the most confident of in this world?

What is it that makes you feel this confidence?

There are many things that are in this world that I am confident of, but everything that I am confident of are things that I can see, hear, feel and touch. Still, even these things can and do fail me. If you look at things in this manner, you could almost say that you are confident to a point, but what happens when that point is reached or you go beyond that point? For example, you are confident that the brakes on your car will help you stop, but what happens when someone pulls out in front of you and you physically can’t come to a stop?

In essence, everything in this world that we place our confidence in will at some point fail us!

Our health will deteriorate. Our strength and youth will leave us. Our homes will need repairs. Our cars will break down. Our relationships will be stressed and sometimes they will break. Even the things that we love the most in this world will eventually lose their luster.

But, . . .

If we place our faith in Jesus, we truly have the confidence in what we hope for. We have the assurance that even though we don’t see Him, He will return for us. We have the witnesses who recorded His life when He walked this earth. We have God’s promises that we can hold fast to.

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
(2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV))

Yes and Amen!

Positive affirmation and a resounding proclamation of “So let it be!” Human language can’t express the fullness, the completeness of our confidence in what we hope for in Jesus. We have assigned a very simple word to try to convey what we feel. That word is faith. I love how faith is defined for us in Hebrews 11:1, but do you have a personal definition of faith that you cling to in times of trouble? Perhaps it is beyond words.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
(Romans 8:26-27 (NIV))

There is something wonderful and powerful when you have the confidence and the assurance that the God of all creation can and does intercede for us through our wordless groans. Even when you can’t define it, God sees our faith!

How does God see your faith?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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How is your hearing?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
(Romans 10:17 (NKJV))

How did you come to faith in Jesus?

I realize that this is a rhetorical question, since someone had to tell you about the saving grace that could be yours through the atoning blood of Jesus. I do not know anyone who simply woke up one morning with a newfound faith in Jesus. I do realize that Jesus has made appearances to people in countries where the Gospel is banned, but even these newfound believers heard the Gospel before coming to faith.

In essence, someone had to share the Gospel in order for someone else to receive it! They had to explain that we are all born sinners and that the wages of sin is death. They had to explain that God loved the world and sent His Son, Jesus, to pay the price for our sins. Someone had to explain that because that price was paid by a sinless man, we have the ability to have our sins forgiven so that we can stand in God’s presence with our sin debt fully paid! That is how someone comes to faith in Jesus!

But, what is faith?

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV))

When you think of something of substance, you think of truth. You think of solidness. You think of something that is satisfying. When you think of evidence, you think of undeniable facts.

Another translation states it like this.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))

When you think of confidence, you think of undeniable truth and strength. You might even say that it borders on assuredness. I love how this translation ties that together in the next part of the passage. We have assurance, a firm foundation built upon a promise, that what we believe is true.

Faith is built upon the hope that we have in Jesus. There is evidence to support what we profess. It is documented in the Gospels. It is documented by other historians. We are confident in what we profess. We have placed ourselves squarely and solely on the promises that God has given to us. We have a firm foundation with Jesus as our cornerstone!

How is your hearing?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you believe that Jesus is Lord?

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.
(Romans 10:9 (NIV))

I can’t think of a better passage of scripture to follow up with after the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus!

The resurrection sets the stage for this passage, for without the resurrection, the claims made are nothing more than wishful thinking. But, because Jesus is alive, we can make this profession of faith knowing that it is absolutely true. We can say that “Jesus is Lord” without any doubt in our minds. We can believe, actually, we can know with absolute certainty that God raised Jesus from the dead. We can have the faith to not only say that “Jesus is Lord,” we can also have the faith to know that our salvation is assured because of His death, burial and triumphant resurrection.

What is faith?

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))

Even though we live some two thousand years after the resurrection, are you truly confident that Jesus arose from the dead? Are you truly confident that Jesus is God’s perfect sacrificial lamb to atone for your sins? Are you truly confident in your eternal future because of this proclamation?

If Jesus is your personal Lord and Savior, then each of us are called to do one thing as we walk out our life of faith. Just as Jesus told the woman caught in adultery, He is telling us the very same thing.

“Go now and leave your life of sin.”
(John 8:11b (NIV))

If you profess that Jesus is Lord, then by definition a lord is one who has power and authority over you. If you profess that Jesus is Lord and He has told you to leave your life of sin, are you being obedient? I realize that we are only human and that we will fail, but we must possess a desire to strive for this sinless life. When we fail, we must repent. We must keep our eyes focused on Jesus for salvation is found in no other name?

Do you believe that Jesus is Lord?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you allowed Jesus to truly live in you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
(Galatians 2:20a (NIV))

I can safely say that I don’t know anyone who professes a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior who does not firmly believe this passage. It is very assuring to think that the Son of God is resident within our lives. Too many people stop at this part of the passage and ignore the remaining aspects that we are to then live accordingly. We are to live out our lives with a confidence, with an assurance that we have placed our faith correctly.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
(Galatians 2:20 (NIV))

We are to give up our previous lives. We are to surrender our sinful nature and exchange it for His righteousness as we walk out each moment of each day of our new lives. We are a new creation and our lives must reflect that! If Christ lives in you, you must allow Him to go to the fullness of His remaking of you in His image. You must wholeheartedly live out the concept of He must increase and I must decrease. Fully submitting to this allows the old, sinful you to be replaced with the righteousness of Jesus.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
(2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV))

Have you experienced the removal of old habits from your life? Have you experienced a renewing of our heart? Have you experienced a desire to grow in your faith in Jesus? Is Jesus fully at home within you?

Have you allowed Jesus to truly live in you?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you living by faith?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

but my righteous one shall live by faith,
(Hebrews 10:38a (ESV))

Do you try to live by faith?

Everyone who professes a belief in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior prays that they can live by faith, but in order to live by faith, we must know what faith is.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
(Hebrews 11:1 (ESV))

Another translation words it like this.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))

In essence, faith is confidence, assurance and conviction that what you profess to believe is true and then you act on it no matter what the circumstances are in the world. It requires that you believe that God is real. It requires that you believe that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. It requires that you believe that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. It requires that you believe that Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected on the third day. It requires you to believe that the only way to escape the punishment of sin is to call upon the name of Jesus. It requires that you believe that Jesus has the power to save, and it requires you to surrender your life to Jesus not only as Savior but also as Lord! It requires that you trust in the promises even though you cannot see them yet.

Can you do all of these with confidence, assurance and conviction?

Noah built an ark because he confident, assured and convicted.

Abraham went on a journey to an unknown destination because he was confident, assured and convicted.

Moses led the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt because he was confident, assured and convicted.

To simplify this, they lived by faith!

Are you living by faith?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you confident in your faith?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
(Hebrews 4:16 (ESV))

How confident are you of your salvation?

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))

Such confidence we have through Christ before God.
(2 Corinthians 3:4 (NIV))

The early church leaders knew that we should be confident in our faith. Those who wrote these words had either seen Jesus or they knew those who had witnessed the events that we now cling to as strategic moments of faith. They had witnessed the miracles and were confident in what they saw. They had witnessed the severity of the scourging and the crucifixion and were then completely overwhelmed by the resurrection! They had witnessed the ascension and were given the promise that He would return the same way He left.

Think about that for a moment.

If you had witnessed someone beaten so badly that he was not identifiable after the beating and then they were killed by crucifixion, how confident would you be that the person was dead? If you heard that he was buried, yet was alive again, would you question your confidence in what you had witnessed? What if you met that person and he spoke to you about the things that you had done together, would you be confident that it was the same person? What if that person showed you the scars? How confident would you be that this person had died, was buried and then rose again? If you had witnessed these things first hand, you would not be able to keep quiet about what you saw and what you know. You would proclaim it with complete confidence.

That is exactly what the disciples and the early church leaders did! They were so full of confidence that they told everyone the good news of Jesus.

Sometimes I think that we, as the modern church, have lost our confidence. We read the words and we watch reenactments, but do we truly comprehend what happened? If we did, I feel that we would be doing what the disciples and the early church leaders were doing. We would be telling everyone about Jesus. I feel that we couldn’t be made to be quiet. Even the threat of persecution or death would not detract from what we boldly and confidently proclaimed.

Take a serious look at your faith. Do you believe without any doubt? Do you fully understand what you profess to believe?

Are you confident in your faith?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you ready to receive His righteousness?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
(2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV))

In just a few days, we, as the Body of Christ, will be celebrating the event that proves that Jesus is who He said He was. No other person in all of history faced such a horrible death, was buried and then arose from the grave on the third day. In addition to this, He ascended into heaven in front of a group of witnesses.

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
(Acts 1:7-9 (NIV))

I love the truth of the resurrection. I love the hope of promises. Still, I believe that we need to focus our attention on the words recorded that give us assurance that He will return.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
(Acts 1:10-11 (NIV))

The resurrection means so much more than Jesus arose from the grave. It means that He has the power over sin and death. It means that He has the authority to save us from our sins. And best of all, it means that He will return for those who profess a faith in Him.

It is as easy as ABC.

A is for admit that you are a sinner in need of a savior.

B is for believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Him from the dead.

C is for call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.

Are you ready to receive His righteousness?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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