What are you able to recognize?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
(1 John 4:2 (NIV))

Each and every one of us has the proverbial gut feeling at times. You know the one where without any details or reason, you get a feeling about something or someone that you just can’t seem to shake. How many of you have had that gut feeling confirmed as time passed and the details came into focus? Some people refer to it as a discerning spirit. If you are someone who has professed a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, then your discerning spirit is the Holy Spirit giving you insight.

Think about that last statement.

We all know people who are not believers and many are nice people, even friends and family, but there are those who just seem to exude evil even though they may put up a pleasing facade until the topic turns to Jesus. You know the type. Angry and lashing out at anything and anyone who disagrees with them about God. Not only do they just ignore Jesus, they vehemently deny that He is from God.

but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
(1 John 4:3 (NIV))

As members of the Body of Christ, we have professed a faith that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh and that He was sent by God the Father. We will encounter the spirit of the antichrist in this world. With all of the events transpiring in the world today, we are seeing that more and more. Some even say that we may be seeing the real antichrist soon appearing on the world stage. As believers, we have been told by Jesus that we would still have troubles in this world.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 (NIV))

No matter what the world may send our way, we must stand firm in our faith in Jesus. We must rely on the discerning spirit that we have been given. We must be able to recognize evil when the world is calling it good. We must stay strong in His Word and put on the full armor of God so that we can discern evil and stand fully with God. We must be able to recognize the enemy.

What are you able to recognize?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What does your spirit say about Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
(1 John 4:2-3 (NIV))

What does your spirit say about Jesus?

I know that most people don’t read this passage and draw the conclusion that it could be talking about them. They forget that each person is multifaceted and many consider us to be body, mind and spirit. Some people refer to these aspects as physical, mental and spiritual. No matter how you label them, each person has a spiritual side and it is that spiritual side that is the part of us that must come to the full realization that Jesus has come in the flesh from God. We can come to a mental conclusion of this truth. We can surrender our bodies to the works of God, but unless our spirit acknowledges Jesus as the only begotten Son of God, our mental and physical actions are just that. They are merely actions. They have no meaning. They are only works.

For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
(Romans 3:28 (NIV))

Where does faith originate within each of us?

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))

Can the physical be confident in what is unseen?

Can the mind be confident in what cannot be comprehended?

I honestly believe that faith originates in the part of us that was designed by God to understand the unseen, the part of us that was designed to be confident in what we cannot comprehend. Faith originates in our spirits.

In closing, I want to ask this question one more time.

What does your spirit say about Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do not be deceived

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
(1 John 4:1-3 (NIV))

In today’s world, deceit is everywhere. The prince of this world tries to deceive the faithful by wrapping his deception in a cloak that imitates the Truth.

Be careful in what you allow into your heart. Test everything. Satan can also appear as an angel of Light. If something does not acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, run from it.

All of God’s Truth throughout the history of the Bible has pointed to one man through many prophecies. If something professes to be from God, yet does not acknowledge that Jesus is the only begotten Son, it is not from God.

Jesus foretold of this and left us a warning.

For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect–if that were possible. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.
(Mark 13:22-23)

Do not be deceived, but keep your eyes focused on God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you have the mind of Christ?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment:
“For who has known the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct him?”
But we have the mind of Christ.
(1 Corinthians 2:14-16 (NIV))

I read this passage and it hit home!

We think that we are spiritual and listen to God because we don’t directly rebel. We look at those who rebel against God and think that we have an inside track to God’s heart.

What is the difference between those who rebel against God and those who seek after God’s heart? What is it that makes one person claim that anything to do with God is foolishness and the one person who embraces every word that God speaks?

Do you see yourself in these polar opposites? Perhaps you see yourself somewhere in the middle. Do you find yourself thinking that God is foolishness when what He says contradicts what you want to do? Do you embrace God’s promises when they will benefit what you want?

Do you want to know the mind of God?

Do you want to be so in tune with what is on His heart that you see things as He sees them?

We are seeing things unfolding in this world that I would have never imagined happening in my lifetime. Many in our society, and in the world, are calling the things of God foolishness. They are rebelling against what is righteous. We, as the Body of Christ, cannot be in the middle.

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
(Revelation 3:15-16 (NIV))

We must fully embrace, we must fully know the mind of the Lord and accept His instruction.

We must have the mind of Christ in all that we do?

Do you have the mind of Christ?

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

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation–but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
(Romans 8:12-17 (NIV))

Paul could have made his living today as a trial attorney. His arguments that he presents are so powerful. Yet, given this gift of persuasion, Paul did not use this to his own ends. He presented the legal issues as they pertained to God and Jesus Christ.

Can we read these words and truly say that Jesus should not be the central aspect of our lives, for it is through Jesus that our sinful nature has been given an opportunity to be redeemed from the death that comes with sin. Accepting Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior is a vital step to our salvation. It is the most important step, but our actions afterwards still play a big part in our spiritual walk.

We can not simply claim Jesus with our lips and continue to claim the world with our actions. We must die to the world and fully embrace the Holy Spirit that has been sent to live within us. Our hearts must reflect the change that we say we have made within our lives. We must be able to know that the Spirit has “marked” us as children of God because of our desire to turn from the world.

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