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.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Never lose hope in the Lord!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
(2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV))

Do you find the same comfort in this passage that I do?

With all the things, and some even coming from our churches, that are going on around us that are contrary to God’s Word, it is easy to lose heart.

Even with all this is going on, when we feel that we are wasting away as we see things that we know are wrong, take heart.

I know that this sounds strange to say that we should take heart when all around us is wrong in the eyes of God.

But . . .

If they were not so wrong, would we, as the Body of Christ, take a stand for what is right? We are being renewed daily in our faith, for we see things that go against God’s Word and we are taking a stand. Our conviction is growing. We are choosing which side we will be with. We can choose the world or we can choose God!

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
(Joshua 24:15 (NIV))

Do you feel your faith growing during these times?

Do you know that this will pass when it is God’s will?

Have you fixed your eyes upon Jesus?

I find myself longing for what is unseen, for I know that God’s promises will be fulfilled. His track record of fulfilled promises and prophesies is proof of that. All that we have to do is place our faith in the Lord and wait for His timing.

And, while we wait, we must pray and allow the Holy Spirit to renew us and to guide us.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
(Psalm 130:5 (NIV))

Never lose hope in the Lord!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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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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Have you embraced the power of the Gospel?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.
(1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 (NIV))

For those who don’t believe in the Gospel, we are given a good description of what they think of the message of grace and mercy. To them, it is foolishness.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
(1 Corinthians 1:18 (NIV))

To those who believe, it is power. It is the power to change lives. It is the power to free us from the laws of sin and death. It is the power of grace and mercy. It is nothing to be ashamed of. It is not foolishness!

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

I love how each of these passages talk about the power of the Gospel. It is more than mere words. It is power! It is not foolishness. It is power! It is nothing to be ashamed of. It is power! No matter what the world may say, the Gospel is power!

Have you embraced the power of the Gospel?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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How are you convicted?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
(Hebrews 4:12 (NIV))

I may be a little slow, but I just realized why many people don’t want to read the Bible.

Conviction!

Far too many people do not want to take a serious look at their lives. They would rather feel comfortable in their sin and try to plead ignorance. God’s Word holds up a measuring stick and it is out of reach by human standards. Instead of facing our shortcomings, we tend to ignore them in hopes that what we don’t know won’t hurt us.

Unfortunately, that is not how anything in this world works.

If you do not know that electricity can kill, do you refrain from suffering the consequences of a run in with a high voltage line?

If you do not know that fire burns, are you able to walk through the flames without needing medical attention?

The same principle applies in the spiritual world as it does in the physical world. Ignorance will not keep the consequences from you. In fact, it is said that we all have a God-shaped hole in our heart that longs to b filled. We are born to have a relationship with God, yet, far too many of us try to ignore that. As a result of this God-shaped hole, it is human nature to know that something doesn’t feel quite right even if we tell ourselves that it is okay.

If you claim that you do not know that something is a sin, does it lessen it any? If you did not know that placing your favorite activity above your family was wrong, would your family understand when you spend all of the monthly food budget on your hobby?

The same is true with God and His Word. If we do mot spend any time in His Word, we will not know God’s calling upon us. We will not understand that our actions have consequences. We will not understand that the reason we have no love in our life is because we have not loved Him.

God’s Word is living and active. It is like that small mustard seed. Once you start, you begin to understand and then you want to understand more. Soon, it begins to change your life.

There are two types of attitude toward conviction in relation to God’s Word. One is fear and condemnation. The other is an embracing love and guidance of our Father. The conviction of fear leads people away, while the conviction of love draws people in. Through love, we desire to change.

How are you convicted?

Copyright 1998 – 2011 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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