Do you understand the depth of His love?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Jesus wept.
(John 11:35 (NIV))

Do you truly realize the implications of these two words?

Without going into detail to expound upon the fact that Jesus is part of the Holy Trinity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, I want you to consider some basic word swapping. What happens when you switch Jesus as the subject of this short, yet powerful sentence with God, Father, or Holy Spirit?

God wept.

The Father wept.

The Holy Spirit wept.

It’s easy to think of Jesus weeping, after all He was fully human even though He was fully God. Swapping the subject out and replacing it with other incarnations of the Holy Trinity puts this verse into a different light? Have you ever thought of God weeping? Did you ever think that God’s heart could break? If you think of Him as Father, then perhaps you have considered how God’s heart breaks when we sin. Have you ever thought of the Holy Spirit weeping? If you have ever experienced that still, small voice, then you probably have felt the pain and the anguish that He feels when someone sins.

The original two words show the compassion and love that Jesus has, but if you extend to the obvious, it shows the deep compassion and love that is there in all incarnations of the Holy Trinity. I realize that each member of the Holy Trinity has a unique task that they perform, but they are all God. All three love. All three weep. All three are involved in the plan of redemption and grace. Think about that in context of these words in John 11:35. If Jesus wept, that means the very heart of God was broken and weeping.

Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
(John 5:19 (NIV))

The Father wept!

I don’t like the fact that we break His heart, but I am so overjoyed that our God has compassion and love for His creation that He weeps when we do break His heart.

Do you understand the depth of His love?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you embraced the Lord’s great love?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
(Lamentations 3:22 (NIV))

When we hear these words, can we honestly claim them as our own?

It is not always easy to claim them because of the burdens of the world and the things that we face every “morning.” Yet, all we have to do is stop and reflect on God’s promises to see that He has gotten us through another day and that we were indeed not consumed by the burdens of this world.

Each day that we have is a gift from God and should be approached with thankfulness and joy for the enemy is all around. Through God’s great love and mercy, we have escaped the enemy to see another day. The enemy that I speak of is death. Death through sin. Physical death and spiritual death are both a part of the enemy’s arsenal of weapons. The spiritual death is the consumption of our souls by the enemy.

Through God’s compassion, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to face the ultimate “consumption” for our behalf. Even though Satan tried to consume Jesus, Jesus defeated Satan, and through this act, we have the ability to claim that we will not be consumed by the enemy, but covered in grace and “compassion.”

What better gift can we receive?

Have you embraced the Lord’s great love?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Have you accepted God’s compassion for you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
(Psalms 103:13 (NIV))

How many times, as a child, did you do something terribly wrong? You knew that you were going to be in BIG trouble! You knew that there was going to be punishment for your actions. Many times you did receive punishment for what you had done. Think back and take a look at what you did and what you received in return.

Chances are that the punishment was far less serious than the action really deserved. Your earthly father had compassion on you and tempered the punishment with love. Our heavenly Father is far more compassionate than any person can ever be. No matter what you have done in your life, it can all be forgiven through one simple act of faith.

Profess the name of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and the severe punishment for your sins is wiped away. You may still suffer the immediate consequences of your actions, but the long term consequences of sin are no longer to be applied to you. The wages of sin is death. God, through His compassion, has given us a way to escape what is rightfully ours to face.

Have you accepted God’s compassion for you?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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His compassions never fail!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
(Lamentations 3:22-25 (NIV))

Seventy times seven! That is the number of times that God says we must forgive others when they sin against us. When that was written, that was considered a large number and was intended probably to mean that we are to forgive unlimited times.

If we, who are not perfect, are to forgive unlimited times, how much more can God forgive if His compassions never fail? If we place our trust in God, He will forgive those who earnestly seek after His Will.

Look at two different scenarios. If you had a son who constantly disobeyed and did not wish to take Godly counsel, you would want to change his attitude, but would not help him until he did. If you had a son who wished to do what is Godly and right, but constantly fell short, you would assist him in his struggles. It is his desire to do what is right, but he needs guidance. One son you would stop helping until he changed his heart, the other son you would continually help because his heart is right.

God is the same way. If you earnestly seek after God, then He will assist you immeasurably to achieve His Will for your life.

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