Jesus is far greater than our troubles!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

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))

Is it just me, or do you feel that it is impossible to make it through a single day without having some kind of trouble?

I realize that some troubles appear negligible in our eyes because we have become so used to facing them that we completely ignore them when they do happen. Do you even consider those to be real troubles? On a scale of zero to ten, at what point do you consider a measurable trouble to begin? At what point do you consider a life-changing trouble to begin? At what point do you consider a life-ending as we know it type of trouble to begin?

I have one more question that I want to ask you in relationship to your answers to the previous questions above.

At what point do you turn to Jesus?

Do you wait until your problems have hit the life-changing point? Perhaps you are one of those individuals who are adamant that you can do things on your own and only turn to Jesus when you encounter what could be a life-ending trouble? Perhaps you are on the opposite end of the spectrum and turn to Jesus when something happens like a flat tire. No matter when you choose to turn to Jesus, it isn’t soon enough! As members of the Body of Christ, we should be walking with Jesus in all things and not just the troubles. We should be so confident in our relationship with Jesus that we are able to laugh with Him and to cry with Him. We should be able to ask, “Jesus, what do I do?” at any time, day or night, in times of plenty or in times of need, in time of good and in times of trouble. We must come to the realization that all of our troubles combined with all of the troubles of everyone who has ever lived are still much smaller than the Jesus that we can claim as our Lord and Savior, after all, one thing is true!

Jesus is far greater than our troubles!

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Is the Lord truly your strength?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

I love you, O LORD, my strength.
(Psalms 18:1 (NIV))

As believers, that should be our first priority!

Unfortunately, all too often, things get in the way. We allow the world to grab a little corner of our lives and before we know it, we have lost sight of our first love. We allow these things to become our “gods” and they slowly take their unmerited place as our personal priority.

What have you allowed to become your first “love” and priority? Is it work? Is it prestige? Is it money. or fame? Perhaps it is even something that you don’t even wish to admit.

Whatever it has become, now is the time to recommit to the faith and trust that you have placed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn from the things that have become your priority and turn toward Jesus. Rebuild your relationship with Him. Relationships require time and attention. Take the time.

Be still, and know that I am God
(Psalms 46:10a)

Spend time daily within God’s Word. Spend time daily in prayer. Spend time daily with God and His Son and you, too, will be able to proclaim that you love the Lord and that He is your strength.

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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How strong is your love for God’s children?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
(1 John 3:16 (NIV))

Are you willing to go to this extreme?

Are you willing to lay down your life so that others can know salvation?

That is what Jesus was willing to do when the Father looked down from heaven and saw the sin in the world. That is what Jesus was willing to do so that all may be able to be redeemed. This is what Jesus was willing to do so that we may have the ability to spend eternity with God.

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
(John 15:13 (NIV))

Think about this simple fact. Jesus was willing to lay down His life for you. Jesus was willing to lay down His life for me. He would have done it for only one person, but He did it for all. Through deductive reasoning, we are friends of Jesus and He is a friend of ours. If someone is willing to lay down one’s life for you, then they must consider you a friend.

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
(John 14:2 (NIV))

The primary work that Jesus came to accomplish was to lay down His life so that we may know salvation. Are we, as the Body of Christ, called to do any less so that others may come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ? God’s love for us was made manifest through 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.
(John 3:16 (NIV))

Do you have the faith to allow God’s love to shine through you?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Does the world accept or despise you for your faith in Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
(Isaiah 53:3-4 (NIV))

Does this sound like it would describe the one that God sent to earth to save us from our sins?

Does this sound like it would describe the Savior of the world?

Human characteristics are not what God looks at. When we see a strong physique, God sees the heart. When we see a pleasing exterior, God sees what is on the inside. Fortunately, Isaiah 53:3 was not the end of the story. It was only the beginning of the story that God would unfold to offer grace and redemption to a lost creation. Since humanity, in all of our fallen nature, looked up to the worldly as beautiful and of importance, God sent His Son, Jesus, to be the exact opposite of what we would expect. Instead of elevating Him to a place of worldly power, God sent Him to be a lowly servant. It was the nature of servanthood that made everything possible.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
(Isaiah 53:4 (NIV))

Jesus willingly left the presence of God and came to earth as one of us. Would any of us do that?

Jesus willingly took upon Himself the weight of the sin of all humanity. That is a heavy burden to bear.

Jesus willingly suffered and died so that we could be offered grace and mercy! Would any of us be willing to suffer so greatly for those who rebuke us?

After all that Jesus suffered, He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. He told those who choose to follow Him that they, too, would be despised because of Him. He was telling us that the world would see us differently. The world would not see us by worldly standards and accept us. The world will see us by God’s standards and despise us.

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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We must embrace Jesus as both Lord and Savior!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
(Acts 19:11-16 (NIV))

Doing things in the name of Jesus may not be enough !

Don’t get me wrong, because calling on the name of Jesus is a very powerful thing, but there is a time when it fails.

Calling upon the name of Jesus requires a faith. It requires a personal relationship with Jesus as Lord, not just as Savior. You must recognize His authority and not just His saving grace. If you do not recognize His authority over all situations, then calling upon His name will only get you in trouble. The enemy will recognize that you do not have the power and authority that is available through Jesus. The enemy knows the names of those who have truly claimed Jesus and they will turn from these servants. They do not know those who halfheartedly call upon Jesus.

We must embrace Jesus as both Lord and Savior. Only then can we:

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
(Ephesians 6:11 (NIV))

Taking on the enemy without the “full armor of God” is not a wise move. Be sure that you have fully clothed yourself in the authority that is only available through the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and not only the salvation that is your through Jesus as Savior. Then, and only then, will the enemy know your name as a mighty warrior of God.

Does the enemy know your name because you have the power of the blood of Jesus, or does the enemy overpower you?

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