Do you want your name found in the book of life?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
(Revelation 20:15 (NIV))

I truly understand why people have an uncertainty and fear of the book of Revelation, after all, who wants to have this happen to them!

But, . . .

This passage describes what happens to those who have not professed a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. It is the last passage of five that describes what has come to be known as the Great White Throne Judgment. It is for those who have not had their sins covered by the blood of the lamb. This judgment is for those who have rejected the grace and mercy that God has freely given to all who would simply believe.

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 they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
(John 3:16-18 (NIV))

Do you believe?

If you answered “Yes” to this question, then you have nothing to fear for you are not condemned. Your sins have been forgiven. You will not stand before God in fear and trembling!

The book of Revelation is a promise of the fulfillment of God’s plan to restore the world to His design. For those who have professed a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, this is a glorious time for we know that we will see our Lord and spend eternity with Him. For those who have not accepted God’s gift of grace through the atoning blood of Jesus, this time is a time of lawlessness, pain and suffering that will eventually end in eternal judgment. How you see this period in God’s plan is up to you. How you experience this part of God’s plan is up to you. You can change your outlook on this judgment and all of eternity by making a simple profession of faith.

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.

The book of Revelation, just like many passages from Daniel and Ezekiel, is a glimpse into the fulfillment of God’s promises. It should give you hope. It should instill within you a desire to have your name found in the book of life?

Do you want your name found in the book of life?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Have you embraced the Lord’s great love?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
(Lamentations 3:22 (NIV))

When we hear these words, can we honestly claim them as our own?

It is not always easy to claim them because of the burdens of the world and the things that we face every “morning.” Yet, all we have to do is stop and reflect on God’s promises to see that He has gotten us through another day and that we were indeed not consumed by the burdens of this world.

Each day that we have is a gift from God and should be approached with thankfulness and joy for the enemy is all around. Through God’s great love and mercy, we have escaped the enemy to see another day. The enemy that I speak of is death. Death through sin. Physical death and spiritual death are both a part of the enemy’s arsenal of weapons. The spiritual death is the consumption of our souls by the enemy.

Through God’s compassion, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to face the ultimate “consumption” for our behalf. Even though Satan tried to consume Jesus, Jesus defeated Satan, and through this act, we have the ability to claim that we will not be consumed by the enemy, but covered in grace and “compassion.”

What better gift can we receive?

Have you embraced the Lord’s great love?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

What have you been finding?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.
(Proverbs 21:21 (NIV))

There are so many distractions in this world and all of them seem to focus on one target and one objective. The prime target is us! The prime objective of any distraction is to keep the attention of an individual off of what they should be focusing on, thus keeping them completely from the intended outcome. Distractions come in so many different forms, yet the enemy seems to know each of us so well that he can send just the right distraction, the right temptation, that will keep each of us in his grasp if we do not take action to steer clear.

What is that action?

We must stay focused on the Lord!

Even before Jesus came into this world to save us from our sins, God had a plan for us. We were to pursue His righteousness and love as He loves. Sadly, this was impossible.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(Romans 3:23 (NIV))

Fortunately, the Lord knew this and had a more detailed plan.

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 they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people 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 their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
(John 3:16-21 (NIV))

If we accept this plan, then we are covered by grace. Even if we slip and fall when we are pursuing His righteousness and when we try to love as He loves, we can repent and get back on track. We may find bad days along the way, but, through God’s grace, we can repent and stand firm in His promises knowing that we will find that if we hold fast, He will be true!

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
(Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV))

What have you been finding?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Do you cover as well as you are covered?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
(1 Peter 4:8 (NIV))

Do you believe this passage? Do you believe that love covers over a multitude of sins?

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 they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
(John 3:16-18 (NIV))

Just think of the multitude of sins that God’s love for us covered! Would we have the ability to claim salvation in the name of Jesus if our vast multitude of sins was not completely covered by God’s love for us? Would we be able to claim that we have been washed in the cleansing blood of the Lamb?

Think about what our response should be.

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
(John 14:12 (NIV))

We are told that if we believe in Jesus, then we will do the same things that He had done. The Father’s love was made manifest through Him and by this love, our sins are covered by His love. I am not saying that we have the power to forgive sins and to cover them, but we do have the power to love people and show them the love of God. We can let them know that their sins can also be covered by God’s love. Do we love others enough to lead them to Christ? Do we love others enough to allow them to be covered?

In other words, do you cover as well as you are covered?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Grace does not mean that you can continue sinning!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.
(Galatians 5:13 (NIV))

What does freedom mean to you?

Many people believe that it means that they have the right to do whatever they want to do whenever they want to do it. This attitude is even prevalent in the church. Too many people who attend church falsely believe that since they are covered by grace, they can do anything that they want to do. Do you remember the woman who was caught in adultery? Do you remember what Jesus said to her?

“No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
(John 8:11 (NIV))

Does this sound anything like the false belief that people have about grace? Jesus did not tell the woman to embrace the sin. We are to turn away from our sinful nature, no matter what it may be.

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
(1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NIV))

Do you know the difference between the word “are” and the word “were?”

Paul addressed the members of the church in Corinth by saying that some of them had been these things. Nowhere does it sound like Paul was implying that we could still cling to our favorite sins while claiming freedom, grace and mercy through Jesus. We are to leave the old behind and hold fast to the truth that is before us. If we could cling to our sins and still have salvation, then why did Jesus have to come to the earth? Jesus offers us a way out of our sins and a way to receive the true freedom from sin.

Focus on following Jesus and the indulgences of the flesh will fade!

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Are you covered by grace?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
(John 1:17 (NIV))

If you were pulled over for speeding, would you want to be dealt with based on the laws that you broke, or by the grace of someone in authority over you?

Think about the ramifications of that for a moment and consider that laws are written and enforced with exact wording. Using the speeding example, if you were driving 56 miles an hour in a 55 mile per hour zone, you are guilty of breaking the law. A strict adherence to the law would mean that you would suffer the consequences of your actions. Is that truly what we would want to happen to us in that situation?

Now, consider the laws that God has given through Moses. Unlike our traffic laws, these were written in stone by the hand of God. How do you think that these would be enforced if there was no hope of grace? We would be, and we all are, guilty of breaking every single one of God’s laws. How could we expect to uphold such a high standard when we can’t even keep from driving 56 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone?

Since the fall from grace, every single person who has ever lived has broken God’s laws. We are all guilty!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
(John 3:16 (NIV))

I am so thankful for grace! God’s amazing grace!

We are held accountable by the law of Moses and vindicated by the grace of Jesus!

When God sees you, does He see you as covered by grace?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook