Does this sound familiar?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
(John 12:42-43 (NIV))

Does this sound familiar?

From the time that Jesus actually walked upon the earth until today, nothing has really changed. Some people will always be swayed by peer pressure. They are more concerned with what people will think of them instead of what God will think of them. It sounds like they have a distorted sense of priorities.

Can people save them from their sins and offer them eternal life? Does God hold onto petty arguments and hold that against someone for the rest of their life? Do we go to church to worship people? Do we call God on the phone and gossip about what somebody is doing?

From a worldly perspective, we must turn our world upside down. We must realize that God is in control and that humanity is condemned to eternal separation and damnation if we do not turn to God through Jesus Christ, His Son.

Humanity does not have the answers. Perhaps, we don’t even have the right questions. We spend our whole lives searching for acceptance when all we have to do is turn to our Creator and be eternally accepted. In comparison, all else pales.

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
(Galatians 6:7 (NKJV))

It is not possible to deceive God. Many people think that they can do things that are not in God’s Will, and they have convinced themselves that they are allowed to do them because of their particular situation.

God does not bend His Will or Laws because of someone’s feeble attempt to justify their actions. They will still be held accountable. No one is above the law, and no one is above God’s Law. You may think that you can get away with something, but God sees all and knows all.

We are all sinners and are all sentenced to eternal separation from God. Yet, God has given us a way to be redeemed so that we may spend eternity with Him. Not one person in all of human history has ever been perfect in the sight of God. This perfection is what God seeks and requires. Since no one was capable of this perfection, God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to come to this world and pay the price for our redemption.

There is only one way to escape what we deserve. There is only one way to spend eternity with God. There is only one name on which we can call that has the authority to save us from our sin. Jesus is that name. Without Jesus, we will inevitably face the “reward” for what we have sown. With Jesus, we have someone who can stand in the gap and help us to be “perfect” through His perfection.

Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Actions and Words

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell
(Mark 9:42-47 (NIV))

Today’s society seems to have forgotten these simple yet profound statements that Jesus made. In both cases, He was referring to innocence. The innocence of children and the judgment that awaits those who cause children to sin and the innocence of the whole person with respect to a part of them that causes them to sin.

Perhaps Jesus was drawing the distinction between the innocence of children and the innocence that we should have as children of God. In either case, sin should not be allowed in to corrupt what God has created. Sin must be removed so that it cannot cause the person to pay the ultimate price – eternal separation from God. Do not allow sin into your life and do not introduce sin into another person’s life.

We should remember that God demands more from those who teach and preach His Word. Perhaps we should also associate the fact that He demands more from those who cause others to sin. I would not want to be one who God demands more because of sin. I would rather be held accountable for preaching and teaching His Word than for causing others to sin.

Remember that people are watching everything that you do. Would your actions and words be held accountable for God or for sin?

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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