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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Only through the blood of Jesus!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
(Ephesians 1:7 (NIV))

All throughout history, humanity has searched for something to fill a void, to give us something that was missing.

If you stop to think about your life before you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you can attest to this. All that you have to do is take a look at all of the things that you chased after to fill up that emptiness that was in your life. People have tried to fill that void with wealth, power, lust, greed, envy, anger, bitterness, revenge, and so many more things that I should probably not even attempt to mention.

All of this was a result of the single biggest problem that humanity has ever faced, and it all started in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve.

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

Ever since the fall from grace, humanity has had an emptiness that was left when the direct relationship with God was severed through the cunning lies of the enemy. Ever since this happened, we have been helpless, hopeless and lost. We have been left in a sinful, fallen world of our own making and we had no way out. Humanity created various different gods to try to fill the emptiness. We have gone after these gods in vain hope of being able to escape, to find redemption, to find forgiveness. Humanity has tried every possible avenue, every possible gate, every possible road.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
(Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV))

What has your life been like? Are you still searching? Perhaps you are simply off course in your walk of faith. There is no better time than this very moment to correct this and turn to Jesus. Tomorrow may simply be too late for we are not promised tomorrow.

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.

Redemption can be yours. Forgiveness can be yours.

Only through the blood of Jesus!

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Choose wisdom. Choose life!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

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))

If you haven’t figured this out, the narrow gate is Jesus. It also represents the wisdom to select Jesus and to stay focused on Jesus in all that you do!

Accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior is thought to be a one time salvation occurrence. To be honest with you, accepting the salvation freely given through the cross is a one time occurrence, but it takes a lifetime of dedication to follow Jesus in all that you do. Too many people fail to grow in their faith. They fail to get to know the Word of God. They fail to realize that there is so much more that God wants them to know than Jesus saves. There is wisdom and truth in God’s Word that is designed to teach us how to walk in His light in all that we do.

Do you want that wisdom?

Do you want the wisdom that leads to righteousness and salvation? Do you want the wisdom that leads to a strong faith? Do you want the wisdom that leads to maturity in Christ? Do you want the wisdom that leads to life everlasting?

I don’t know about you, but all of these things are things are what I long for!

Have you taken a serious look at your life and your priorities? Do you long for the things of God or are you still so focused on the things of this world that you miss Jesus in all that you do?

The decision is entirely yours!

Choose wisdom. Choose life!

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Will you be like Caleb and Joshua and enter into God’s promises?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
(Numbers 14:30 (NIV))

I was given a history lesson that I feel that I need to share with you from a perspective that most of us are not aware of.

We all know the story of how Moses sent people into the land that God had promised to give them so that they could spy out the land. When they returned, all but Caleb and Joshua report that the land is unconquerable. As a result, the people rebelled and cried out to be taken back to Egypt. What we read in Numbers 14:30 is part of God’s response to this rebellion, to this very public display of their distrust of God. What we don’t know as part of the Gentile world is the historical date that this happened on. Here is where I started to learn something of extreme interest. This event occurred on the 9th of Av in the Hebrew calendar.

We all know about Solomon’s Temple which is also known as the First Temple. It was destroyed in 423 BC by an invading army. Israel had rejected God and would not repent. They had fallen into sin. If you made the assumption that Solomon’s Temple was destroyed on the 9th of Av, you would be correct.

The Second Temple, the one present at the time of Jesus, was destroyed by the Romans in 69 AD after Israel had rejected Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus called them hypocrites for doing all of the right things for the wrong reasons. Once again, this happened on the 9th of Av.

There are numerous other events that have all happened on the 9th of Av.
– The Jews were expelled from England in 1290 AD.
– The Jews were banished from Spain in 1492 AD.
– World War I began in 1914 AD. Some historians believe that WWII and the holocaust were actually a continuation of WWI.

It is said that once you accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you become a temple for the Holy Spirit. Please don’t twist this. I am trying to convey a point without going into all of the details. In essence, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us.

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
(John 14:15-21 (NIV))

“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
(John 14:25-27 (NIV))

Based on the history of the importance of this date and the proposed explanations of the Temples:
– Solomon’s Temple was destroyed because of the Jews rejecting or turning away from God the Father,
– The Second Temple was destroyed because the Jews rejecting Jesus as the Son,
– It has been speculated that the temple to the Holy Spirit, the true church, will be removed, Harpazoed, Raptured, on the 9th of Av because those who don’t profess a faith in Jesus have not only rejected Jesus, they have rejected the Holy Spirit!

Just for reference, a day in the Jewish tradition is marked from sundown of one day to sundown, or nightfall, of the next day. I find it interesting that many people believe the phrase “in the twinkling of an eye” is accurately used to indicate nightfall. This is when the sun vanishes and a last twinkle of light is seen! Think of that in terms of when Jesus said that we are the light of the world!

I am not setting dates, only presenting what I have recently seen. It is a very intriguing series of events that God has unfolded all on the same day in the Hebrew calendar. No matter what the date may be, we must be ready. If you are not ready, it is as simple as ABC.

Admit that you are a sinner in need of a savior.

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

Call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.

Are you ready? Will you be like Caleb and Joshua and enter into God’s promises?

Click here if you are curious as to when the 9th of Av falls in our calendar for the next few years.

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you found that narrow road and gate?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
(Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV))

Are you able to stay focused on your goals?

Based on your answer, how has your life lived up to what you have just professed about yourself?

We all like to think that we can focus on our goals and, as Paul wrote, keep our eyes on the prize, but how often do we truly achieve our goals? Are you doing what you intended to be doing when you graduated from school? Are you living where you thought you would be living? And here comes the ultimate question. Do you weigh what you want to weigh?

Ouch!

Don’t feel bad, because I don’t either on any of these questions, especially the last one. I do believe that my current state of life is a direct result of God’s plan and my running from His plan. There is God’s perfect will and then, thankfully, there is His prevenient will. He takes all of our mistakes, our sins, and directs us down a better path than the path that we were on. He directs us back to that narrow gate. He leads us according to His will so that our final destination is an eternity with Him. In order to arrive at the destination that He has planned for us, we must keep our eyes on Jesus.

Think about that for a moment.

What happens when you are driving and you find yourself looking at something that is not directly in front of you? Chances are extremely good that you will swerve, that you will stray into the direction that you look. If you look too long, you will find yourself in serious trouble. In order to guarantee that you will stay on the road and arrive at you destination, you must keep your eyes on the road before you. Jesus is that road. He is our destination. He is our goal! He is that narrow gate.

It is important that we must keep our eyes on Jesus. Jesus will guide you on a road that leads to life.

Have you found that narrow road and gate?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Where do you send your praise?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
     and his courts with praise;
     give thanks to him and praise his name.
(Psalms 100:4 (NIV))

All too often we forget this simple statement of faith. We forget to praise God and give Him thanks!

What does that say about our walk with God if we allow ourselves to be diverted from what should be our foremost thoughts? Are we so easily distracted by the temporary things of this world that we ignore the permanent things of God and eternity? Sometimes it seems that we would rather partake of the minute waltz that leaves you exhausted and empty while we ignore the fulfilling rewards of Amazing Grace.

In all things we should give thanks unto God, for it is through Him that we have been given all things good.

When you receive a pay raise at your job, do you thank the envelope that the check came in, or do you thank the boss who gave you the raise? Do you thank God for the blessings or do you thank the blessings, or yourself?

It is a matter of attitude.

Do you acknowledge the source or do you simply acknowledge the blessing? Whom or what you acknowledge and thank is a direct result of your attitude. The right attitude will greatly enhance your praise of the one who is worthy of all praise.

Where do you send your praise?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you walking with Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.

He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

“What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
(Luke 24:13-35 (NIV))

I hope and pray that you encountered the risen Lord Jesus during Easter. I also pray that you continue to walk with Him during all the days of your life. He is with us even when we do not recognize Him. With that in mind, how would you want Jesus to see you in your daily actions?

Are you walking with Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Will the Lord know you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
(Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV))

Do you believe that it is acceptable in the eyes of God to profess a faith in Jesus and then be unwilling to give up your favorite sin?

Think about that in context of the woman caught in adultery. Jesus told her to leave her life of sin.

Think about that in context of the rich young ruler. Jesus told him to sell all he had and give everything to the poor and then follow Him. Jesus knew the rich man’s heart. He knew exactly the sin that the rich man wouldn’t give up.

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
(Luke 9:23 (NIV))

If we don’t deny ourselves the sins that we love and deny our sinful nature, then Jesus is going to deny us. We must sacrifice ourselves daily to what we desire and carry the cross that Jesus carried. He did what God called Him to do! We are to follow His example. At no point in His life did He sin, nor did He ever tell someone to continue sinning. If we are truly following Jesus, then we are truly spending time in His presence. We will desire to give up our sins. I realize that even the best of intentions will have pitfalls, but we are called to repent. We are called to change our lives to reflect Jesus in all that we do. We are called to be the light of the world, but not on our own. We are to reflect the light of Jesus. If we choose to cling to our sin, we are not filled with the light. It is a choice. We can choose Jesus or we can choose sin.

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
(Matthew 6:24 (NKJV))

I chose this translation for this passage due to the use of the word “mammon.” It means riches. You cannot serve the riches of this world, whether they are money, lust or power, and still serve God. We must make a decision to walk away from our sins and follow Jesus. We will slip. We will falter, but if we seek forgiveness for these slips, and continue to strive to follow Jesus, then the Lord sees our heart. If we refuse to give up our sins, the Lord sees this as well. He cannot save someone who is unwilling to be saved.

If you realize that God cannot associate with sin and you aren’t willing to give up your sin, the resulting conclusion is obvious.

Will the Lord know you?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you childlike in your faith?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
(Matthew 18:2-3 (NIV))

I pray that you have little children in your life!

There is something special about the innocence of a little child. Their smile is infectious. The sparkle in their eyes is so joyous. Their laugh is genuine. Their love is unconditional. Their trust has not been broken by the world, and their faith is still strong! They haven’t been tricked by the world or by the enemy which means that they have not grown callous and hard hearted. They have not been beaten down by the weight of sin.

No wonder Jesus said that we need to become like little children.

Think back on your childhood. Hopefully your childhood was wonderful. You probably didn’t have a care in the world. You trusted that all of your needs would be met and you spent your time being happy and filled with joy. You knew that you were loved and you knew just how to ask for the things that you needed, and probably the things that you wanted as well. You possessed a faith in the family and friends who were your whole world. They sheltered you from the evils of the world that you didn’t even know about. We should be just like this in our faith in the Lord. Can we say that we are filled with joy? Can we say that we love unconditionally? Can we say that we trust? Can we say that we are sheltered? It is my prayer to be childlike in my faith.

Are you childlike in your faith?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you sure about your relationship with Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

“Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
(Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV))

Are you following your will or God’s?

Do you know the difference?

Most people may not know that there is a difference. Too many pray for things to happen because it is their will. All too often, when things don’t work out the way that they think they should, they search for another way to make them happen. Is this truly following God’s will or is it following your own will and your own desires?

I know far too many people who seem to beat their heads against the wall with respect to things in their lives. They never see a blessing and they never see encouragement, yet, they still claim to be following God’s will.

Does this sound like your life?

I realize that God is not slow in keeping His promises and the lack of blessings and the lack of encouragement may be God saying that the time is not right. I know that this is a tough call. What do you do in these circumstances? What do you do when you feel that God is calling you into something, yet you are not seeing anything come to fruition?

Look at David. He was called to be king of Israel, yet he faced many years of persecution. The one thing about David that stands out is that he had a personal relationship with God. He longed to know God and he longed for God to know him.

Can you say the same thing?

Are your thoughts in line with God’s thoughts? Are your actions in line with what God is telling you? Perhaps the best way to say this, to cut to the chase, is to look at your priorities. Do you focus on yourself first and then everything that you claim to do for God is only done so that you can receive the accolades of people? God looks at the heart.

Are you sure about your relationship with Jesus?

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