Have you truly received and believed?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
(John 1:12 (ESV))

Have you ever stopped to reflect on what this passage means to you?

It basically boils down to two very distinct words – Receive and believe.

When we hear the word “receive,” we think of something along the lines of receiving a gift. This goes well with the concept of one definition that means to come into the possession of something. However, there are other definitions that I believe are more relevant. According to Merriam-Webster, these are also valid definitions of the word “receive.”

1. To act as a receptacle or container for
2. To permit to enter
3. To accept as authoritative, true, or accurate

When you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you open your heart and permit Him to enter because you have accepted Him to be authoritative and true to what has been foretold in God’s Word. In other words, by you profession of faith in Jesus, you are doing more than simply receiving the amazing gift of grace! You are proclaiming so much more! This profession of faith also is a declaration that you believe what Paul wrote that this salvation, this amazing grace, is found only in the name of Jesus.

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

I believe that the modern church has whitewashed the power behind professing a faith in Jesus. We tend to neglect what it means to receive. We tend to forget that the idea behind receiving Jesus is the three definitions listed above. It is not a passive activity. We have made a choice and we should stand fully ready to expect that Jesus will fill us with the power of His truth. With this in mind, I have but one thing to ask you.

Have you truly received and believed?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Have you believed in the mighty name of Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God –
(John 1:12 (NIV))

If you have accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, which incarnation do you envision as Jesus? Is it the infant in a manger? Is it the young man in the temple? is it the man who turned water into wine? Is it the man who walked on water? Is it the man who raised Lazarus from the dead? Is it the man who went to the cross? Is it the Lord who rose from the grave on the third day? Is it the King of kings and Lord of lords who sits at the right hand of God the Father? Is it the might warrior who will return to defeat the power of the enemy?

Jesus did many things when He walked this earth. We have promises of what He will do as history unfolds and as He returns. Not a single one of these pictures of Jesus is wrong, but if you only focus on one, then you miss out on the awesome power and majesty of the many facets of the one who is completely human and also completely God!

Christmas is rapidly approaching, and for the message of Christmas, I am forever grateful. Christmas is the celebration of the physical birth into this world of Jesus our Messiah. It is the celebration of the point in history where God stepped into His own creation as one of us. It is the celebration of the physical manifestation of the promise of salvation that humanity has waited for since Adam and Eve and the fall from grace. We celebrate the innocence that a new born baby represents. We celebrate the wonderfully good news that Jesus came into this world to give us His innocence, His righteousness, while taking our sins upon Himself.

Is it difficult for you to picture the innocent baby and the suffering servant as the very same individual?

This Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, we must not forget that He is no longer that baby boy in the manger. When we celebrate His miraculous entry into His creation, we must not forget His miraculous life, ministry, death, burial and resurrection. We have history to look back on, but I feel that we still have trouble grasping the fact that God stepped into His creation to be with us, to call us to Himself!

Mark Lowry’s words in “Mary, Did You Know?” say it very well from Mary’s perspective, and perhaps ours as well. What Jesus did turned the world, and all of eternity, upside down. The Creator of all things stepped into His creation as a child so that we could become His children. The child that Mary delivered came into this world to deliver her and all of humanity!

All that we have to do is receive the one whom God has sent and believe in His name?

Have you believed in the mighty name of Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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I have no desire to know anything other than God!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
(2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 (NIV))

Have you ever wondered what the powerful delusion might be?

We know that those who will be effected will be so because of their wickedness, but what exactly is the delusion? What makes them believe the lie? Is it possible that we are seeing the results of this delusion in our society and in our world today?

Think about that for a moment.

Far too many people don’t recognize the truth about anything. Men can be women and women can be men simply because they say that they are. Evil is called good and good is called evil. Sin is no longer called sin. It is now called a lifestyle choice. Truth is not recognized as truth. What passes for truth is open for interpretation and can change based on emotions even when the facts say something different. Absolute truth does not exist. Truth is now relative. Anything can be a god, but if you mention Jesus you are a bigot.

Does this sound familiar?

I am beginning to think, and I pray that I am correct, that those who truly call upon Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior will only see the results of the powerful delusion. We may never fully understand exactly what it is, but we will encounter those who do experience it. They will be easy to distinguish since they will reject God’s truth and His righteousness and they will fully embrace the lies of the enemy and all wickedness. What makes someone reject righteousness and truth and embrace sin?

It makes no logical sense!

I have no desire to know anything other than God!

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Have you received and believed?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
(John 1:12 (NIV))

Have you been given this gift?

Perhaps I should ask this in a different manner for this gift is freely given to all, but it takes a willingness to receive the gift. You must ask to receive it in order for the gift to be given. This requires that you humble yourself to the point of recognizing that you are a sinner in need of the gift of a savior. This recognition opens the door to receive so much more than anyone could imagine. It opens the door to receive so much more than anyone could ever do for themselves, for we are all sinners by nature.

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
(Isaiah 64:6 (NIV))

The gift is offered to everyone who will accept!

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
(Romans 3:22-24 (NIV))

Nothing in this life is a sure thing. The old saying that we may be hit by a bus is so true. We never know what tomorrow will bring. If tomorrow finds you no longer on this earth, can you say with confidence that you will be with Jesus? Can you say with confidence that you will be recognized as a child of God? It is so simple to ask to receive this wonderful, eternal gift! 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.

God made it so simple to receive and believe! Have you received and believed?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you want to be credited as righteous?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
(Genesis 15:6 (NIV))

Based on this passage, would we be considered righteous in God’s eyes?

Think about that for a moment. Abram was promised to be the father of multitudes too numerous to count. He was promised to be taken to a place where his descendants would possess all of the land that he could see. Abram believed that the Lord would keep these and other promises and the Lord credited this to Abram as righteousness.

How do we stack up in comparison to Abram?

We have been promised that the Lord would return for His church. We have been told what to look for as the beginnings of the worldly events that will happen just before He returns. We have seen signs in the heavens. We have seen nation rise against nation. We have seen kingdom rise against kingdom. We have seen wars and rumors of wars. We have seen good being called evil and evil being called good, yet, too many people who profess a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior are going about their lives hoping that the situation in the world gets better. They are hoping that things will return to normal. They aren’t looking to the promises of the Lord!

Does this sound like we are believing the Lord?

We should respond to these events with the assurance that our Lord and Savior is coming soon. We should respond by looking up. We should respond by telling everyone that now is the time to repent and accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. We act as if we only believe the Lord when it has anything to do with what we read about in His Word that has already happened. We choose to ignore or not believe the one quarter of the Bible that is prophecy. Abram believed the Lord’s prophecy of his descendants. Why do too many people today have trouble believing the Lord when He says He will do something?

Now is not the time to play church. Now is not the time to ignore what the Lord has foretold. If believing the Lord is credited as righteousness, those who are called righteous will be with Jesus. Do you want to be credited as righteous?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are we listening?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!
(Acts 28:28 (NIV))

When Paul was in Rome, local Jewish leaders came to him. During the visit, Paul spoke of what was told to their ancestors through Isaiah. Some believed while many did not. The last words recorded of that conversation are shown above. For over two thousand years, we, as Gentiles, have listened. We have taken the Gospel that Paul preached and have been able to reach a large number of people. It is true, just as it was in Paul’s day, that some people have perverted the Gospel for their own gain, but for the most part, Gentiles have listened.

The time is now here when we must stand firm in our faith. We must proclaim Jesus loudly and boldly to a world that is falling apart. Time is running out!

Yes, I did just say that.

I have this feeling in my spirit that this world will not return to what we knew just last year. I actually have mixed feelings about this, for I love life. I love my family and I love spending time with those I love. But, I love Jesus more. After years of study, I believe that we are seeing things unfold as we have been told in God’s Word. With the things that are going on in this world, evil is rising. I am seeing things in this country that I would expect to only see in regions of this world that have been known for being oppressive. I am seeing a global hatred of people who profess a faith in Jesus. I am seeing ethnicity rising against ethnicity. Just for reference, this is often translated as nation rising against nation. I am seeing a push to go completely digital with money as well as a push to collect and destroy any physical money once the digital is implemented. I am seeing a big push to wear masks. I realize that the virus is real, so I don’t want to get into a debate about wearing masks. What I find sad is that the whole world is engulfed in this. There are those who are pushing a vaccine in order to be able to take part in society. In other words, get vaccinated and you can buy and sell. Would that vaccine leave a visible mark?

Paul was right.

The Gentiles have listened. But, do we know and understand God’s Word well enough to do something with what we have heard? Are we praying for God’s Will, even if it means things get much worse, or are we praying for our will and our comfort?

We need to truly seek the Lord. We need to listen for His voice and His guidance.

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
(Revelation 2:29 (NIV))

Are we listening?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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At once!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

At once they left their nets and followed him.
(Matthew 4:20 (NIV))

When was the last time that you reacted immediately to a situation?

If you are like me, this probably doesn’t happen very often if at all. To be honest with you, most days I have trouble deciding what I want for dinner.

Each one of us who profess a faith in Jesus did not come to this decision as quickly as Peter and Andrew did. We had heard of Jesus most of our lives before we came to the decision to give our hearts to Jesus. Could we have and would we have been so quick to follow Jesus if He had appeared to us at our work and told us to follow Him? Would we have believed Him? Would we have left the comfort of what we knew and in an instant make a decision to leave it all behind and follow who in essence was a complete stranger? From a logical perspective, this sounds like lunacy. From a worldly perspective, it sounds like lunacy, but from a Godly perspective, it sounds like redemption, grace and salvation!

I have often wondered how I would have reacted if I were Peter or Andrew. Would I have been able to take that leap of faith? Would I have recognized that moment in time that would change my eternity? Would I have been able to place my trust in Jesus so quickly?

Think about that with respect to your life and how you came to faith in Jesus. Was it a well thought out decision or was it a quick and bold move? No matter how quickly the decision was made, the important truth is that you did make that decision. Even so, I want to give you something to think about. Peter gave his commitment “at once.” We do know that Peter was sometimes quick to do things, such as stepping out of the boat to walk on water. We also know that Peter vowed to never abandon Jesus, yet he denied Him three times. We also know that Jesus restored and forgave him. Perhaps Jesus saw something in Peter that is something that we should be willing to take hold of. Peter was willing to place his faith in Jesus even if he didn’t understand. He made the commitment and then relied on Jesus to see him through. We rely on our intellect to come to the decision and then we rely on our intellect to determine how we react. Is this really faith?

Are we able to decide at once to follow Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Celebrate Jesus!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
(Luke 2:8-14 (NIV))

What an honor it must have been to be the first to hear the good news! The shepherds must have been terrified by the presence of the angels, after all, angels were not, and are still not an every day occurrence.

Luckily for us, God’s plan does not discriminate against us for not being there. In fact, it is probably with mixed blessings that we are embraced as part of God’s Kingdom. We do not have the first hand experience of having seen the angels, the star, or Jesus’ life. Sometimes, I wonder if I would have believed if I lived at the time of Jesus!

On the other hand, we have the faith of millions of people who have gone before us. We have the New Testament, the hundreds of years of prophesy study that proves Jesus is King of kings, the Messiah. It may be easier for someone today to come to faith than it was in Jesus’ day. Yet, through all of this “historical proof”, I sometimes feel empty. I think it is the desire of every believer to be able to go back in time and be a witness to the miracles and hear the teachings of Jesus firsthand.

We celebrate the birth of Jesus and look back in awe to the miracles. At the same time, we should look around us in awe of what God is doing today and look to the not-to-distant future and know what God is going to do. We celebrate the First Coming. Some tomorrow we will celebrate the Second Coming.

Merry Christmas!

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you fully understand the mystery of godliness?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.
(1 Timothy 3:16 (NIV))

What power these words hold!

What power these words speak of!

How many times in the history of the world has somebody fit the description that these words invoke? Only one man has ever fit this and only one man ever will.

It is human nature to try to attain a status equal to that of God. Yet, God, in all His infinite wisdom, mercy and grace, felt that it was better to come to us as one of us.

Our human frailties and shortcomings will never allow us to reach God on our own. God needed to come to us, and that is exactly what He did through Jesus. I cannot begin to fathom the magnificence of heaven and why anyone would willingly leave there to come to earth, yet that is exactly what happened, and because of that decision, we now have a means to approach the Throne of God completely spotless.

Do you fully understand the mystery of godliness?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
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Do you believe the Lord?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
(Genesis 15:6 (NIV))

What is your definition of righteousness?

If you are like me, it is probably not an easy thing to define at the personal level. We see ourselves and all of our flaws and we come to the conclusion that we can’t truly call ourselves righteous. We know all of our faults and imperfections. We probably even know some that are only faults and imperfections in our own minds. We see people who seem to have it all together and we compare ourselves and all of our known issues with a false perception of these individuals.

Did this passage in Genesis say that Abram was better than his neighbors? Did it say that he was wealthier or better looking than his neighbors?

No!

It simply says that he believed the Lord!

Do you believe the Lord?

That question may be as difficult to answer as my previous request to define righteousness. First of all, there is a difference between believing “in” the Lord and believing the Lord. Let me explain with an example. I believe in gravity. The concept makes sense, but do you believe gravity? Have you ever put gravity to the test? Have you ever said to gravity, I believe in you, but can I believe that you will keep me from floating away? If we believe in something, we acknowledge its existence. If we believe something, then we hold fast to the truth that it represents. Using the gravity example, we can say that we believe in it, but we have to believe the principle that if we step off of a cliff, we will fall to our death.

Believing in the Lord does not stop your from doing your own thing. Believing the Lord means that you trust Him and you know that His guidance is perfect. Believing the Lord is a major step to obeying the Lord. Being obedient to the Lord is a very good definition of righteousness. Abram, in his belief, was obedient.

Do you believe the Lord?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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