Do you have all that you need?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:19 (NIV))

Do you have all that you need?

Be honest with yourself when you answer. Don’t confuse need with want. With this in mind, I’m going to list several things and I want you to think about them in relationship to your life. Do you need them or do you want them? There is a difference!

A new car
A bigger house
A big bank account balance

Now, let’s take a look at some more things and decide whether you need them or you want them.

Grace
Mercy
Salvation
Daily bread

There is a huge difference between the things that we need and the things that we want. Based on the two lists, our wants are earthly and temporary. They will have no lasting impact on us once moth and rust take hold. Our needs have eternity in mind. Even our earthly needs are solely focused on one day at a time and have the resulting effect of keeping us focused on Jesus. We are to rely on Him! We are to place our faith and our trust in the Lord!

When we experience disaster, we learn quickly the difference between need and want. Each of us have basics human needs that long to be met.

Love
Shelter
Food
Forgiveness

The sad thing is that we spend so much time replacing what we truly need with what we want. Jesus is all that we need. Through Him, God’s love was made manifest. In Jesus, we find shelter from the ravages of the enemy. Jesus is the Bread of Life. Through Jesus, we find forgiveness, mercy and grace!

Do you have all that you need?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: ” `Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
(Matthew 22:36-40 (NIV))

I want you to be honest with me. Actually, I want you to be honest with yourself. How well do you keep these two commandments?

We say that we love God, but do we love Him with all our heart and all our soul? That is a big commitment. It is one that takes more than an occasional “Amen” on Sunday. It takes more than simply having a Bible. It takes more than acknowledging God when it is convenient for us. Every aspect, every moment, every breath should be dedicated to God.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
(1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV))

Is that possible for a sinful creation to place God above all else, after all, we are a selfish creation. We place ourselves above everything and everyone. Most of the time, we would rather ignore our neighbor if we could, yet we are told to love our neighbor as ourself. We are to not only place God above ourselves, we are to place our neighbor equal to ourselves.

Ouch !!!

I fully understand why Jesus answered the question in this way, but why does it have to shake us up, why does it have to rattle our cages, why does it have to make us move outside of our comfort zones? I suppose for the very same reason that Jesus placed God first in the Lord’s Prayer. It makes us think of others first. It makes us think of the well being of all of God’s creation and not just the part that He created for us. He wants to turn our world upside down. He wants us to reach out in praise. He wants us to reach out in prayer. He wants us to reach out in humility, for it is after we reach out to Him and to our neighbor, we realize His great love for us is not just for us. It is for everyone.

“This, then, is how you should pray:
” `Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
(Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV))

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