Have you been set free from the law of sin and death?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
(Romans 8:1 (NIV))

Have you ever truly given thought to the meaning of condemnation?

It means blame!

To put it simply, we are not blamed for our sin if we are in Christ Jesus! We are not found at fault. We are not held responsible. We are not found guilty.

I realize that this sounds like we can get away with anything, but it actually means that we are forgiven for what we have done. It does not mean that we can continue to willfully sin. The sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross was not a free pass to continue sinning. It was and still is an offer of a way to escape the life of sin and the consequences of sin.

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 like the idea of no condemnation?

Do you like the idea of a fresh start in the eyes of God? With everything that is going on in the world, time to accept this fresh start may be running out. Don’t wait!

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.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
(Romans 8:1-2 (NIV))

Have you been set free from the law of sin and death?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you strive to practice strict self-control?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.
(1 Corinthians 9:25 (NLT))

Some translations say that the athletes go into strict training. To me, this translation hits a little closer to home. We may not have any idea of what strict training may be, but we can all understand the idea of strict self-control.

Think about that concept for a moment.

What do you think of when self-control is mentioned?

Is it the will power to not eat the last donut in the box, or is it much more?

Personally, self-control and personal responsibility go hand in hand. Let’s face the truth. Our society no longer believes in personal responsibility. People claim that they were born that way, or they were raised in a bad home, or . . .

I think that you get the picture. Our society, and each of us as a member of the Body of Christ, must be willing to practice self-control. We must be willing to accept the responsibility of our actions. We must strive to live our lives as Jesus taught us.

Using the athlete example, a life in faith is not a sprint that starts and is over quickly. A life in faith is a lifelong journey, a marathon, in which we must be prepared to face any obstacles that the world throws our way. In order to do this, we must practice self-control. We must be willing to accept personal responsibility. If you are willing to accept personal responsibility, then you are capable of learning from your mistakes and focusing once again on the prize that is set before us.

Imagine this scenario.

You are standing in front of Jesus and He is judging your life. You have never accepted His grace and mercy as your own. Every aspect of your life condemns you. Your only response, “It wasn’t my fault. I wasn’t ready!”

I can only imagine the response from Jesus.

Strive for the prize that is won only through Jesus. Don’t allow the things of this world to sway your self-control.

Do you strive to practice strict self-control?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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We must not accept sin as the new normal!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
(Matthew 18:15-17 (NIV))

Sadly, just by choosing this verse, too many people will get offended. Society currently believes that if you love someone, then you accept them as they are. Society claims that people are made that way and as a result, there is nothing wrong with them. This has become rampant even in the church. Let’s play fill in the blank to see how that actually sounds.

I was born a(n) __________________, therefore, you have to accept me the way that I am.

Pick any of the following words and see how that sounds.

Arsonist
Murderer
Pedophile
Alcoholic
Thief
Sex Addict

Perhaps you have a few more that you can think of, but the concept is clear, sin is sin! Why do we, as the Body of Christ, not follow what we have been told? How can we be the light of the world if we allow the darkness to influence us? How can we share the truth of the Gospel if we can’t follow it ourselves? The last time I read anything about the Lord, He does not lead us into sin! In fact, He leads us away from sin. Jesus, when addressing the woman caught in adultery, was clear. We are to go and sin no more! We are to leave our life of sin. We are not to embrace the sin simply because our fallen nature made us this way! We are to become a new creation. We are to repent. We are to take up our cross and follow Him daily.

Sadly, we are seeing too many people profess that what has been called good is now evil and what was once called evil is now good. Society may claim this as the new normal, but the Body of Christ must stand firm.

We must not accept sin as the new normal!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you believe that you are created in God’s image?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
(Genesis 1:26-28 (NIV))

For those people who believe in evolution, I would like to offer the above scripture for their review and consideration.

We, as believers, know this to be true, yet, how can so many people belittle themselves by saying that they evolved from apes. Does God look like an ape?

I DON’T THINK SO!!!

God created us in His image to be like Him. We, through our father Adam and our mother Eve, have let sin into the world. We had a choice. We made the wrong choice. God created us to rule over the world. We surrendered this rulership when we sinned. Yet, we are still created in His image.

He gave us free will. It was our fault. Yet, He also gave us a plan of redemption. If you have friends who believe in evolution, they do not have a proper self esteem or self-worth. They also have a very distorted view of the natural order of things. The very nature of creation, since we let sin in, is to deteriorate, not evolve.

How can they look at the world and see all of the deterioration, yet still say that evolution is true? It goes against everything that is obvious, both from the Bible and from observation.

Satan does not want people to believe that they were created in God’s image. By deceiving people, he has convinced millions that they are no more than a mass of cells with no eternal purpose. Beware the father of all lies.

Do you believe that you are created in God’s image?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you willing to tell others about Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked man, `You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.
(Ezekiel 3:16-19 (NIV))

We bear a great responsibility as believers. We have been instructed to

Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
(Mark 16:15b (NIV))

If we know the truth and do not share it, then we are to be held accountable for the loss of the people we have not told.

Jesus paid a great price in order to save us from our own sin. Should we not be willing to tell others of this great price and how we receive the rewards? This does not seem like such a great thing to ask in return for what we have been given.

God places us in people’s lives in order for us to witness to them. We can either witness for Jesus or we can be a witness of nothing. If we witness for Jesus, it is up to the individual to receive or reject Him. If we do not witness, they may never have the opportunity to hear the Gospel, and then their fate will be our fault.

I have seen some friends do some radical things to their appearance. When asked why they did these radical things, they replied that they are using it to “break the ice” with others in being radical for Jesus. Are you willing to be radical in order to bring someone to Jesus?

Are you willing to tell others about Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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What do you ask of God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
(James 1:5 (NIV))

Too many people take this passage and paraphrase it to read something like, “ask God and it will be given to you.” They literally make it sound like God is in the business of being a genie who simply grants wishes. Upon a closer read of this passage, it becomes clear that God is generous with giving wisdom if you ask for it. We must, however, understand what wisdom is.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.
(Psalms 111:10 (NIV))

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
(Proverbs 9:10 (NIV))

If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, do you truly desire to be given wisdom?

Most people associate the word fear with a strong emotion caused by an awareness of danger. Do you look upon the Lord as a source of danger? There is another definition that should be applied to the word fear when it is used in conjunction with fearing God. This definition means a profound reverence or sense of awe. Some ever say that it can simply mean a healthy and sincere respect.

Think about the definition of fear with respect to God. I already asked if you look upon the Lord as a source of danger. I want you to ask yourself, and give yourself an honest answer. Do you hold God in reverence? Are you in awe of His majesty and power? Do you respect the Lord enough to desire to not betray Him or to sin against Him? If you are able to truthfully answer these questions in a way that places the Lord God above all else, then you are on your way to possessing the greatest wisdom that you can ever possess. The next time that you begin to feel like God is a genie, remember that what He wants to give you is Godly wisdom.

What do you ask of God?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Can you claim perfection in the eyes of God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
(James 3:2 (NIV))

Do you know anyone who thinks that they are capable of doing no wrong?

For those of you who have been married for a long time, I heard those comments that you just made!

Seriously, though, do you know anyone who thinks that they are capable of doing no wrong? Do you know someone who has an ego so big that they think they are perfect? Do you know someone who fits that description and looks back at you when you look in the mirror?

We are all fallen individuals who have surrendered to sin. Sin controls us. We long for pleasure and we long for things that personally benefit us. It is these desires that cause us to do things that we should not do. We fall short of what we are called to be. We miss the mark. We sin!

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

No one is perfect except Jesus. Contrary to what we may think, we sin more than we care to admit. We fall short in all aspects of our lives.

Fortunately, our salvation is not based on our perfection and on our ability to not sin. Our salvation is solely based on our acceptance of a gift of grace as presented through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Only Jesus had no fault. Only Jesus is a perfect man. It is through His atoning sacrifice that those of us who are not perfect can gain salvation.

Jesus never stumbled! Jesus never failed!

Can you truly make this claim?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Some people will always hate what you do!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
” `We played the flute for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, `He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, `Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.” ‘ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”
(Matthew 11:16-19 (NIV))

Do you understand what we are being told in this passage?

I had to read it many times before I truly grasped what Jesus was saying.

Jesus gave examples of things that we all have experienced. Happy music. Sad music. Fasting. Eating and drinking. All of these are appropriate responses at some point in your life. These responses are not what Jesus was pointing out and criticizing.

Jesus was pointing out the criticism by those who were looking on. It was the criticism of those who were observing that made Jesus mad. If you stop to think about this, you can easily compare the Body of Christ to those who did not react as they were expected to. Sadly, nonbelievers will look at members of the Body of Christ and always find fault in what they do. It is the responses of those who do not believe that saddens Jesus.

Have you ever met someone who always criticized your faith no matter how you responded?

There is no pleasing these type of people. There is no way to make them see the truth. They will condemn and criticize simply because they find fault with anyone believing that God exists and that Jesus is His only begotten Son. These people are blinded to what is right in front of them. These are the type of people who would find fault with your response when you say that the sky is blue. They will hate you simply because you love Jesus!

I know that Jesus was referring to the generation that He saw when He walked the earth. I am a strong believer that God’s Word also has long term references. Consider this generation. Do we see the attacks? Do we feel the hatred simply because we profess a faith that Jesus is the Lord of lords and the King of kings?

When Jesus looks at you, does He see a member of the Body of Christ, or does He see a member of the wicked generation?

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