What do you have?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
(1 John 2:23 (NIV))

What do you do when you hear people say that they don’t need Jesus to be close to God? Do you agree with them or does your heart break over their reluctance to accept the truth?

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
(John 14:6 (NIV))

Why do people still reject Jesus? Honestly, I believe that this is the same mentality that makes people reach out and touch the wall when they see a “Wet Paint” sign. They simply cannot accept things at face value. They believe that God would not limit how someone can come to Him. They don’t want to accept the simplicity of God’s plan. You can show them the truth but they refuse to believe. They refuse to accept what is right in front of them. They refuse to recognize the fallacy in their thinking. I started to use the word reasoning instead of the word thinking, but if you truly reason, if you truly apply all aspects of your intellect, then your conclusions would be completely different.

“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
(Isaiah 1:18 (NKJV))

Perhaps you are on the fence about accepting or denying Jesus.

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))

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

Accepting Jesus means that there is no condemnation!

What do you have?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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God gave us the ultimate gift!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
(Romans 8:1 (NIV))

Before Jesus came to this world to live and teach, and then to die for our sins, everyone lived under condemnation. No one was worthy to approach the Throne of God as righteous and blameless.

No one in all of history could have earned salvation on their own!

God knew that this was an impossibility due to the sinful nature of man ever since Satan was allowed dominion over this world. Still, God had a plan for a redemptive gift.

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

God gave us the ultimate gift! The gift is freedom from condemnation through Jesus Christ. All of our sins are forgiven once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What does freedom mean to you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

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

What does freedom mean to you?

To many people, it means that they have the right to do whatever they want to do. They look upon freedom as a blank ticket to indulge in anything and everything. They see freedom as a right that cannot be taken away from them. They see freedom as something that they are due.

Is this your definition of freedom? It isn’t God’s definition of freedom.

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))

God defines freedom as escaping the just condemnation that is a result of our sins. God gave us a way to become free. Jesus came into this world to free us from the power of sin and death. When we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, we accept this freedom. Does that mean that we are free to sin without suffering the consequences of our sin? Contrary to what many believe, we cannot accept the freedom that God has given to us and still desire to sin. When we do, we reject God’s grace.

Freedom has a price. Not many people today are willing to admit this. Jesus paid the price for us to be free from sin and death. We must pay the price to accept it. That price is to leave the old ways behind. We must repent and turn away from our sin.

Have you paid the price for accepting God’s grace and mercy?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you accepted your 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 2:16-1 (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 freedom?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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