Are you going the one true way?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
(Ephesians 4:5-6 (NIV))

Some denominations say that only by belonging to their particular denomination can your get to heaven. Some people believe that you can only be from a certain nationality or lineage. Still others believe that what applies to others does not apply to them. Paul had to deal with those issues in his day and time.

His response dealt quickly and decisively with the issue. Paul should know, after all, he faced Jesus on the road to Damascus when he was doing wrong in the eyes of God. Afterward, he spent years studying and learning about Jesus before he began teaching and preaching. Let’s face it, if you had an experience such as the conversion experience of Saul to Paul, wouldn’t you want to make sure that you got everything absolutely accurate before teaching? I know that I would.

It is with this certainty and conviction that Paul wrote these words. Saul was a scholar among scholars before his conversion. In all likelihood, this did not stop after he became Paul. In fact, I would venture to say that it was his desire to learn that drove him to earnestly seek God and His Truth. With Paul’s earthly credentials (which actually only matter in this world), and Paul’s Damascus road experience, and his learning, it is impossible to refute these words. Paul taught only what came from God. If this came from Paul, then we can know it to be true. If it did not come from God, then we know that it could not have come from Paul. Ask yourself if you would have written something that was not true after you faced Jesus as Paul did.

Paul knew the truth and he knew whom he would have to answer to if he did not tell the truth. It is historically proven that Paul wrote the letter to Ephasus, therefore, we can rely on the truth of the words.

If there is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, then we have but one way to heaven. Grace through the salvation offered through Jesus Christ!

Are you going the one true way?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you truly free from sin and death?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin– because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
(Romans 6:4-7 (NIV))

What a glorious statement! We, as believers, are free from sin!

This does not mean that we do not sin. We are still human. What this means is that we are free from the punishment of sin. We have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. He has paid the price for our sin. It has been washed away from us by His crucifixion. Through His resurrection, we have been granted the right to be born again, to be looked upon by God as righteous and spotless in His sight.

We will still sin. We are in the world. The world is controlled by Satan, the father of all lies and sin. But, we will not be condemned to suffer the consequences of sin, for we have a risen Savior in Jesus Christ! This does not mean that we can choose to sin all that we want. It means that when we do slip up, we can ask for forgiveness.

We can ask for and be shown grace and mercy in spite of our sins. This is the ultimate freedom!

Are you truly free from sin and death?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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There is only one

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
(Ephesians 4:4-6 (NIV))

I don’t know about you, but this pretty much clears up how to get to heaven!

Contrary to what society says, there are not multiple ways to God. According to my understanding of the word “one,” there is a distinct and singular quantity that is being discussed and defined. This concept clearly indicates that what some people call a god is not the one true God and Father of all. They are false gods.

All throughout the New Testament, we are given glimpses of oneness, and they all point to Jesus as that one true way.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
(John 14:16 (NIV))

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
(Matthew 7:13 (NIV))

We are the Body of Christ and Jesus is the head. We should be moving in unison with the head and the Holy Spirit, just as the cells of our own bodies move in unison as directed by our own heads. We should be glorifying the one Lord as directed by the one Spirit. We should profess one faith that Jesus is the one true Lord, the only begotten Son of the one true God. We should stand firm in our faith and be ready to proclaim our faith in the one and only way to the Father.

Have you proclaimed your faith in the one?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you been baptized into new life?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
(Romans 6:4 (NIV))

Baptism symbolizes a re-birth. Just as the Jewish Passover tradition of hiding the middle loaf of bread symbolizes death, the complete submersion in water symbolizes death. In both cases, the reappearance symbolizes a resurrection from death.

Luckily, we do not have to experience the ultimate death, which is eternal separation from God. Jesus paid the price so that we do not have to suffer the ultimate death. Through the symbolism of baptism and the spiritual meaning that it has, we have died to death because Jesus has already died for us. When we arise out of the water, we arise as new creations. Creations that are holy and righteous in God’s sight because of our faith that God sent Jesus Christ to pay the price for us.

If we truly die with Jesus, then we will live with Him as a reward for our faith. This is a gift of grace, for we cannot do anything that will make us worthy of this gift. It is given freely, and all we have to do is be willing to “die” so that we may live eternally with God.

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Don’t hold on to your sin! Repent!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin– because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
(Romans 6:4-7 (NIV))

“So that the body of sin might be done away with!”

I find it interesting that far too many people believe that God would not condemn them for their sin because He loves them.

Did God love Jesus before He came to the earth?

Did God love Jesus when He was beaten?

Did God love Jesus when He was crucified?

Why would God put His only begotten Son through all of this if we could be with Him and still hold onto our sin?

Jesus did not go through everything that He suffered so that we can keep sin in our lives. Jesus came to bring forgiveness, but forgiveness requires repentance. To repent means to turn around, to turn away from what you are currently doing.

If you are driving and you see a sign that says that the bridge is out, do you defiantly keep going? Do you tell the people that you are with that you don’t believe the sign? Do you tell them that it no longer applies to the world because with today’s modern construction, why would the bridge be out? Do you keep ignoring the warnings and drive off into the chasm that the bridge was supposed to span?

I find it so ironic and sad that when it comes to salvation, far too many people are doing what I described the driver doing with the bridge.

We all sin. We all need redemption. We all need a way to escape the consequences of our sin. God has given us a way to turn away from the sin that leads to death. Don’t be like the driver who ignores the signs before him.

Don’t hold on to your sin!

Repent!

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