April 3, 2019
Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
(1 Corinthians 1:18 (NIV))
Ever since it happened, the crucifixion and the resurrection have been points of contention in the minds of millions, if not billions, of people. It is either looked upon as the most amazing gift and the most amazingly simple way for God to restore a lost creation to Himself, or it is looked upon as a childishly simple lie and a fairy tale. Ironically, both camps recognize the simplicity involved. Those who profess a faith in Jesus and what He accomplished on the cross understand the Gospel, or good news, in such a way that they realize God made it simple to receive salvation. All that you have to do is repent and ask Jesus to be your personal Lord and Savior. Those who look upon the cross as foolishness cling to the old saying, “If it looks too good to be true, it is!” They also often think that it doesn’t make sense that one man could save me by dying on a cross. What they fail to recognize is that one man was not just any man. He was the Son of Man. He was fully man and He was fully Lord.
I realize that there are many possible shades between these two ends of the spectrum, but in essence most can be included. Even those who profess that there is no God fall into the foolishness category. Many of those who profess this think that any and all concepts of a god, let alone the one true God, are all signs of an uneducated mind. They fail to see the evidence that is right in front of them. In all of their so-called wisdom, they fail to see the obvious.
Do you recall your life before you came to faith in Jesus?
Think about your attitude towards those who professed a faith in Jesus. If you are like most people, you probably bought into the stereotypical characterization of believers that the world wants you to believe. You probably had a tendency to look at all believers with a very jaded perspective. Now that you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, that characterization has hopefully been long gone. Looking honestly back at these periods in your life, which one was the foolish period?
The cross divides many aspects of this world. It divides time – B.C. and A.D. It divides families. It divides societies. Nothing in all of human history has been the source of so much division. It all comes down to a simple matter of perspective.
Is the message of the cross foolishness or power?
Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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authority and power, awesome power of God, Christ's power, foolishness, God's power, His power, message of the cross, mighty power, power and authority, power and authority of Jesus, power of God, the cross, the power of the cross, Uncategorized, wisdom or foolishness | Tagged: amazing, ask, Be still, believers, childishly, contention, creation, cross, crucifixion, division, fairy tale, faith, foolishness, fully Lord, gift, God, good news, gospel, jaded, Jesus, lie, Lord, lost, message, perishing, personal, perspective, power, profess, receive, restore, resurrection, salvation, saved, Savior, simple, Son of Man, understand | 
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Posted by dailylivingministries
December 7, 2012
Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
(Psalms 95:6-7a (NIV))
Does this sound familiar?
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
(Matthew 2:11 (NIV))
The Magi, who were kings in their own right, bowed down to Jesus. They kneeled before Him. They recognized just who it was that they had found. They worshipped Jesus and gave Him honor. They had been seeking Him and recognized the star that guided them to Jesus. They went out of their way to find Jesus and to worship Him.
Do we do that?
Do we go out of our way to find Jesus? Do we go out of our way to worship Him?
Think about those questions.
Would we travel across deserts to find Jesus? Would we face harsh conditions in order to see His face and to be in His presence? Would we bring gifts of great worth to lay at His feet?
Would we, do we, kneel before Him? Do we even give Jesus the honor and glory that is due to the Son of God?
Have we become complacent in our worship? Have we become jaded by the world? Have we been led to believe that Jesus is not worthy of our praise and worship?
It has been the custom for centuries to bow before royalty. We have a tendency to focus on the savior part of Jesus and ignore the Lord part. Do we treat Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords, or do we simply treat Him as an acquaintance that we give lip service to for an hour a week?
If Jesus is our Savior and our Lord, then we must live as if He means something to us.
Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Leave a Comment » | acceptance, accountability, accountable, Acknowledgement, action, acts of worhsip, bow down, complacent in our worship, faith, find Jesus, He is our God, He means something, honor and glory, jaded by the world, Jesus, kneel before the Lord, lay at His feet, lip service, Lord and Savior, Magi, praise, praise and worship, truth, we are his flock, we are his people, wisdom, worship | Tagged: Be still, bow, bowed, bowed down, complacent, flock, God, gold, Honor, incense, jaded, Jesus, kings, kneel, Lord, Magi, myrrh, our Maker, people, praise, treasures, world, worship, would we, would we kneel | Permalink
Posted by dailylivingministries
Daily Living Ministries 