Don’t believe the lies!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.
(Matthew 24:4 (NIV))

We are constantly on the lookout for SPAM, PHISHing attempts, and fraudulent credit card charges. We have come to understand that this is now the world in which we live. We spend so much time dealing with these type of deceptions and how they could harm us, that we never truly stop to reflect on the biggest deceptions that are going on in the world right now. These deceptions could have such a far greater impact on us than we even stop to consider.

How well do you know God’s Word? How well do you know why Jesus came to this earth? How well do you know what Jesus lived and taught? How well do you know why He went to the cross? How well do you know why He had to die and then be resurrected? How well do you know what Jesus has promised about His return?

If you are not able to give detailed accounts for these questions, how do you plan on overcoming the biggest deceptions that your faith will face?

Let’s look at this mathematically based on the following assumption: God’s Word is true. It is infallible. It is what we can label as 100% accurate.

My formula for calculating mathematical truth for this example is Xⁿ where X equals the accuracy of what is being told and n equals the number of times that is it changed with the accuracy of X. For this example, X = 1 for 100% and n=6. This still calculates out to equal (1)(1)(1)(1)(1)(1) = 1.

With that in mind, let’s look at what happens when you hear something that sounds mostly true. Let’s say that it is 90% true. It is close enough that most people who do not know the Lord will make the assumption that it is correct. If we use the same Xⁿ formula where X =0.9 for 90% and n=6, we get (0.9)(0.9)(0.9)(0.9)(0.9)(0.9) = 0.531441 as our calculated result. So much for the infallibility of the perceived truth when it is constantly twisted by the enemy!

Too many people fail to recognize the ramifications of a slight variance in God’s Word. If something doesn’t sound completely true, then it is not the truth. If someone twists God’s Word, then it is no longer God’s Word.

The enemy will try to deceive the very elect. We must be able to recognize the truth for our eternity depends upon it!

Stand firm in His truth! Don’t believe the lies!

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

What will you gain when you die?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
(Philippians 1:21 (NIV))

I haven’t written about this passage much before, but today I was going through my files and this particular passage and devotional caught my attention. I found myself reading it and I believe that someone needs to hear this at this point in their life.

I want you to carefully reread these words from this passage. Do they have a sound that is contrary to what we, as a society, tend to think about this world, life and “religion?”

Most people think of Jesus as a safety net for when we die, not as a way in which we can live in freedom.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
(John 10:10 (NIV))

We are told that Jesus gives us life to the full, yet, we ignore Him until we face dying. Isn’t it just like human nature to have our priorities turned around. We look to the promise of life when we are dying and look to sin and death when we are alive. For those who understand the truth behind these words, life is better with Jesus. There is hope. There is peace and there is grace.

Without Jesus, death is to be feared. We end up eternally separated from God and eternally cast away with Satan. With Jesus, death is not to be feared, for we will see the reward for our faith. We will walk with Jesus in the Kingdom of Heaven where we will be eternally at peace and in God’s presence. When we look at it like this, death for a believer is gain. It is not to be feared. It is a reward for our faith and our priorities in this life. We have all heard that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. If we are present with the Lord at our death, then we have “gained” eternal life through grace and mercy. This is truly gain.

What will you gain when you die?

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

What are you in step with?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
(Galatians 5:25 (NIV))

I heard an old friend preach today. He stated that his message was the same as it was from the day that God called him to preach. He has often said that he was always very enthusiastic about the things that he loved. When he was called, he remembers God telling him to use that same enthusiasm and tell people about Jesus. I believe that he has kept the enthusiasm and nothing has stopped him from telling people about Jesus. Because of this enthusiasm, God has opened many doors for him to do just that. Things have happened that can only be explained as God because he was obedient to what he heard the Holy Spirit tell him.

We claim to live by the Spirit, but do we truly live in this manner?

Are you willing to go build a church because you answer His calling? Are you willing to go to the poorest areas in this country because you answered His calling? Are you willing to go halfway around the world because you answered His calling? Are you willing to trust and obey even when you have no idea where that calling is leading?

We say that we believe.

We say that we want to live by the Spirit.

Would you even be able to recognize the Spirit in your life?

Are you so engrossed in your worldly lives that you only give God an hour on Sunday?

What do you truly desire?

What are you in step with?

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

What sustains you in your hunger?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
(Matthew 4:4 (NIV))

People are hungry!

People are starving for the grace and truth that can only be found in God, and the sad part is that they don’t realize it. They try to satisfy their hunger with anything and everything that catches their attention, while ignoring the only thing that can truly satisfy their longings. It is said that we have a God-shaped hole within us and I honestly believe that to be true. We try to fill this hole, this void, with anything and with everything that we can possibly imagine. Some turn to alcohol. Some turn to drugs. Others turn to money, and still others will turn to the lusts of the flesh. Nothing that this world can offer can fill this void. Nothing that this world can offer can satisfy this hunger.

Jesus came into this world to save us from our sins. He came into this world to satisfy our hunger.

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
(John 6:35 (NIV))

Jesus satisfies our hunger. Jesus satisfies our soul. Jesus fills the God-shaped hole within each of us.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
(John 1:1-5 (NIV))

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us
(John 1:14a (NIV))

I love how God does things. Jesus is the Bread of Life. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which means house of bread. Jesus, the Bread of Life, was born in the house of bread. This sheds light on the Passover Seder when Jesus broke the bread and told His disciples to take and eat, for it is His body. It can’t get any clearer than that. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, and by doing this, He satisfies the hunger within us.

What sustains you in your hunger?

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

Are you truly living under freedom?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
(1 Peter 2:16 (NIV))

We have just celebrated another July 4th. It is a day of celebration for the freedoms that we enjoy in this country. It is a day that we celebrate the resolve of our founding fathers to break the chains that tied them to a king and country that did not see them as equals.

What was done by our founding fathers was great, but I want you to think about what Jesus did.

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

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 6:23 (NIV))

God the Father had the resolve to break our captivity to sin. Jesus the Son had the resolve to do what was needed to break our chains of bondage. He willingly went to the cross so that we could be free; so that we could have salvation. He freed us from a far greater bondage than any physical oppression. He freed us from 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.
(John 3:16 (NIV))

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

Please think about the fact that nothing in this world lasts. It is possible that something will happen and we will lose some or all of our freedoms that our founding fathers fought for.

The freedoms that are given through the Blood of Jesus can never be taken from us. We, in our human frailty, can turn our backs on the freedom from sin, but Jesus will never take it from us.

Jesus has broken every chain that can bind us to the law of sin and death!

All that you have to do is accept it.

Have you accepted your servanthood and freedom?

Are you truly living under freedom?

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

We should pay it forward in prayer!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

   “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
      if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
   In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
(Romans 12:17-20 (NIV))

When Jesus was being beaten before His crucifixion, He could have been angry and vengeful. In the world’s point of view, He had every right to want to repay what He was receiving. Yet, Jesus did not exact revenge. Even though He was and is the Son of God, God With Us, He left the revenge to God the Father. It was not time. Jesus came to be a sacrifice so that many could live. If he had exacted vengeance at that time, it would have voided the reason that He came. If Jesus, who is Emmanuel, God with Us, can leave vengeance for God the Father, then we can too.

We need to treat our enemies as Jesus would treat them, for God loves everyone and He does not wish for any to perish, but when God’s vengeance does come, it will come swiftly. With that in mind, we must pray for our enemies. We must pray that they receive the same grace and mercy that we received when we accepted what Jesus did on the cross.

We should pay it forward in prayer!

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

Are you living the life of a healed sinner?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
(1 Peter 2:24 (ESV))

I don’t know about you, but this trade is very one-sided. And, no, I am not complaining, for I know what I deserve and I know what this trade has given me!

What about you?

Do you truly realize what has been given to you in this trade?

Do you truly realize the totality of the burden that has been lifted from you in this trade?

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

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 6:23 (ESV))

Based on these two passages, each of us are guilty of such serious transgressions that we have been sentenced to death without any hope of redemption or pardon through anything that we could ever do.

But, God . . .

Thankfully, He had other plans!

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
(John 3:16-18 (ESV))

As believers in Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, we must never forget what our Lord has done for us. We must always keep our eyes and our hearts focused on Jesus, for without the grace and mercy freely give at the cross, we would still be completely helpless, hopeless and lost.

Are you living the life of a healed sinner?

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

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
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

How does this manifest itself in your life?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us.
(2 Timothy 2:11-12 (NIV))

Nothing could be simpler to understand. God the Father will treat us as we have treated His Son, Jesus Christ. For those who reject Him, they will be rejected. For those who despise Him, they will be despised. For those who let Him reign as Lord of their life, they will reign in heaven.

Jesus died for us on the cross. We are to die to ourselves and our sinful nature. Whatever Jesus has done, we are to do. Whatever we do, we will be rewarded in like manner. Nothing can compare with the grace and mercy that we are given, but we must accept it and then live our lives as if our future depends upon how we live.

We are not saved by good deeds, but only through Jesus. However, once you accept Jesus, you must allow the Holy Spirit to work within you to transform you into His likeness. I do not profess to know God’s Will when it comes to those who say that they accept Jesus and then do not live as they should. I only know that based on the words above, we will be treated by God as we have treated Jesus in our lives. Remember:

“The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
(Matthew 25:40 (NIV))

“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))

How does this manifest itself in your life?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Do you belong to the Lord?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
(Romans 14:8 (ESV))

What is your outlook on life?

Do you think that the world owes your because you are in it? Do you think that the world belongs to you and everything in it is yours for the taking? Do you live your life for yourself and everybody else is just in the way? If your heart is this hardened, are you even capable of love?

Perhaps you aren’t quite that bad in your eyes.

Do you live your life ignoring God and only commit an hour to the Lord on Sunday? Do you sit in the congregation and think that you are better than everyone else there because your sins aren’t that bad? Do you think that you are a good person because you sit in church? Just as sitting in a garage does not make you a car, sitting in a church pew does not make you a Christian!

When Paul wrote these words in his letter to the Romans, he called for one hundred percent commitment to the Lord! Are you capable of having this type of outlook on life? This outlook calls for repentance. It calls for sharing the Gospel. It calls for trust. It calls for love. It calls for surrender. Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior means that you not only look to Jesus for you salvation. It also means that you look to Jesus to be the Lord of your life.

Jesus has full authority!

Does He? Do you truly live for the Lord, or do you only try to surrender part of your life? We are called to surrender everything to His authority?

Do you belong to the Lord?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook