Are you confident and unashamed in your faith?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
(1 John 2:28 (NIV))

It has been almost two thousand years since these words were spoken, yet the message is as true today as it was then. We must stay focused on Jesus. We must keep our eyes on the prize. We must not forget that He is coming again.

When Jesus returns, are you confident that you will be rewarded? Have there been times that you did less than you should have simply because you were in a group of people and you did not want to be thought of as a Christian? Have you been ashamed to show the world that you have been bought by the Blood of the Lamb? It seems that no matter how hard we may want to do what Jesus asks of us, we falter and we deny Him. We are not alone.

Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”
But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.
(Matthew 26: 34-36 (NIV))

We all know what happened to Peter a few short hours later. He did just as Jesus said He would do. Thankfully, Jesus did not come to condemn us in our sins. He came to forgive us of our sins. He looks at the heart. Just as He forgave Peter, He will forgive you if you simply ask for it. Even when Peter felt that he couldn’t be forgiven for his betrayal, he found that Jesus would not betray him. He fulfilled His promise. He encouraged Peter’s faith. He embraced Peter as if he had never sinned.

Are you as confident and unashamed in your faith as Peter?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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How are you trying to enter?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
(Luke 13:24 (NIV))

Too many people today believe that there are many different ways to get to heaven. Luke 13:24 tells us otherwise. This is also not the only passage where we are told that the way is narrow.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
(Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV))

What door we choose is up to us. We need to be sure that the door we do choose is the one that leads to salvation through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus is that narrow door. All other ways that mankind devises are simply that: man’s attempt to reach God. Jesus is God’s attempt to reach man.

Is your door the narrow door?

Stay focused on Jesus and make sure that you do not swerve either to the right or to the left.

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Stay focused on Jesus!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives
(2 Peter 3:10-11 (NIV))

I was given a phrase today that just will not let me go.

Mindless entertainment.

Think about that. I also prayed to know what verses to write about and I stopped on these. At first I did not see the correlation, but then I read the passages again.

We ought to live holy and godly lives!

We all have an the idea that we live as closely as humanly possible to how God calls us to live. We pray. We attend church. We read our Bibles. We try to treat other as Jesus would. We realize that no one is capable of living a perfect life and we try as hard as we can to follow what Jesus has taught us.

Still, we have those moments.

We all have them.

Moments when we drop our guard and simply allow the world to creep in. These moments often are a result of a desire to relax, to simply let go and enjoy something mindless for a little while. We treat our minds, our spirits and our bodies the same. All three seek a rest now and then. It is what we fill this time with that is often the problem, especially for our mind and spirit. If we are not careful, when we let our guard down, the things that we allow to fill us during these times can be very detrimental.

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
(Deuteronomy 11:18 (NIV))

In other words, know God’s Word so well that even when you are in need of a rest, the mindless entertainment will not plant seeds of wickedness within your heart. I am sure that you are all familiar with the saying, “Garbage in. Garbage out.” Don’t let the world’s garbage change what is in your heart. Stay focused on Jesus!

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