Faith gives hope. Faith gives promise.

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.
(2 John 1:7 (NIV))

Have you ever heard people say that Jesus was a fictional character and that He never lived? Their reasoning for saying this is simply based on a lack of faith. They know the laws of this physical world and they do not think that it is possible for someone to do the things that are recorded as having been done by Jesus.

I am certain that you have also heard the other sayings about Jesus such as He did live, but the accounts of His miracles were recorded by superstitious people who wanted to control the minds of others. How about the ones who say that He did live and was crucified, but it is physically impossible to be raised from the dead after all of the physical abuse that He endured.

I find it so sad that people will take the most profound moment in human history and try to explain it away based on their limited understanding of how the world works. I am sure that these people simply are not willing to put their faith in anything that they cannot see, smell, touch or taste.

That is a shame.

Those who spread these type of lies lack the ability to step out in faith, to embrace the possibility that there is more to this life and this world than what they can see. They are the ones who have been deceived, and in their deception, fully intend to sway others to their deceptive ways of thinking. A life lived without faith is a sad thing. Faith gives hope. Faith gives promise. Faith gives us an assurance that there is more than meets the eye.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))

Pray for those who do not possess faith, for they possess nothing of certainty. They possess nothing of hope.

What do you possess?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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God’s NOT Dead!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But with wise and knowledgeable leaders, there is stability.
(Proverbs 28:2 (NLT))

Moral rot within a nation!

Stability?

I am sure that each of us have our own opinions of these two simple statements. I am also sure that each of us would like to see things differently. As the Body of Christ. we should all long for righteousness. We should all long for peace and stability.

Are we so far removed from God’s law that we, as a nation, cannot turn from our moral rot? Can we find the righteousness that we long for? Can we, as the Body of Christ, do anything?

I honestly pray that this is able to be turned. I honestly pray that we seek after righteousness in all that we do. According to the media, and the normal entertainment venues, as well as many in the government, we are not a nation that seeks after God’s own heart.

I believe.

No, I know that there is a very strong voice for righteousness still alive in this country. When we see televisions shows such as Duck Dynasty, which is openly Christian, in the top of the ratings, there is hope. When we see a movie that no one thought would draw an audience continually break attendance records and continually add more theaters, then we as the Body of Christ are loudly proclaiming that God’s NOT Dead!

We have to take a stand for what is right in the eyes of God. We must seek after righteousness and not give in to the world.

We must continually seek God in all that we do.

Our nation, and the world, is not lost. God loves impossible odds!

Think about that for a moment.

What are the odds that the son of a carpenter would fulfill all of the prophesies? What are the odds that a person could be violently killed and in three days be raised from the dead? What are the odds that twelve men of simple birth could proclaim the Gospel in such a way that two thousands years later it is still impacting the lives of people and bringing salvation?

We don’t know what the future holds. We do know that Jesus will return. We do know that many of the signs are indicating that this is very close. We also know that God is not slow in keeping His promises. He does not wish any to perish.

Still, in the world today, we have extreme moral rot. We do not have stability. We do not have righteousness in our society. That does not mean that you cannot have an impact on one person and that one person will have an impact on another person, and so on.

Where there is life, there is hope. Where there is hope, faith matures. When faith matures, we see wonderful things unfold.

God’s NOT Dead!

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Commitment shows in all that you do

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs–he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
(2 Timothy 2:1-10 (NIV))

How true these words are! If you are committed to something, it shows in all that you do.

A good soldier lives, eats and breathes military issues. Are we not soldiers of Christ? Then we should live, eat and breathe only righteous issues, things that Jesus would deal with if He were here in our places. If we do as the world does, and focus on our objective, then we will be rewarded as those in the world are rewarded: We will be the first to receive a share of what is righteous.

The world receives worldly things that will tarnish and fade with time. Our reward will be eternal salvation and glory with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All the rewards the world has to offer pale in comparison to the reward that will be ours if we are strong in our faith and witness reliably to all who can hear.

Is your witness reliable and are you focused on Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Join in the victory as conquerors

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin– because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
(Romans 6:5-14 (NIV))

Grace is an amazing thing. All throughout the Old Testament, man lived under Law. The Law convicted man in everything that he did. Man could not live up to the standard of the Law. We had fallen from Grace and sin had entered into our lives, and no matter what we tried, we could not be perfect in God’s eyes.

Grace changed all that! God knew that we would need a Savior – someone who was perfect in His sight to pay the price for our sinful nature. Jesus’ death was that price paid once for all. But, there is more. Jesus’ resurrection was the crowning glory to God’s plan for salvation. God knew that in order for us to be able to live with Him, we must conquer death which was brought about by our sin. Jesus HAD to be resurrected in order for us to fully have salvation.

Sin cannot be present with God. Death was brought about by sin. Death HAD to be conquered once and for all. All we have to do is proclaim our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and we can join in the victory as conquerors.

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