Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: daily devotional

Incredible Greatness

Encouragement

and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
Ephesians 1:19-20

We read in the Bible the most miraculous things that man could ever imagine such as creating everything from nothing, parting the Red Sea, making the sun stand still for a day, and causing the wall around Jericho to fall with shouting voices. These are great things but still not the greatest of all.

The mightiest work of God ever recorded is raising Jesus from the dead. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest display of the power of God. And God wants us to know what happened in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jesus died on the cross but He is alive and well today. He is seated at the right hand of God, which is the seat of authority. Jesus has all authority over everything. Paul writes these things for our spiritual understanding; so that we may know the authority that we hold since we are “in Christ.”

The New Living Translation says it this way, “I (Paul) also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe in Him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 1:19-20) Meditate on these words and let the Spirit of God speak to you.

Pray

Lord, You are the head of the church and the head of my life. You have full control and I submit to Your Lordship. Help me to understand the authority that I hold as I believe in You.

Strong In The Lord

Encouragement

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
I John 4:4

Have you ever said these words to yourself, “I don’t know if I can make it another day?” We all face some days with circumstances that we wish we didn’t have to face. But just know with full understanding that Jesus has already overcome them and you belong to God.

Sometimes we try to rely on our own strength when we should be relying on the strength of our Lord, Jesus Christ. He holds the victory over sin and Satan. And as Christians, we are in Him. Jesus is greater than the devil who is in the world.

The power that is living inside of us is greater than the power that is living outside of us. The power that we hold inside of us is the power of God Almighty. The power that is in the world is the power of Satan. Satan has no power against us!

Stand strong today. Stand in the power and strength of Jesus and not your own. Stand against the power of the devil and he will flee. Take captive the thoughts that you have that you are weak. For you are strong in the Lord. You have victory over your enemies. 

Pray

Lord, I stand in awe of You today. I know that I belong to You and You have given me eternal life and forgiveness of my sins. Help me today to be encouraged… In Jesus Name!

God Will Take Care Of It

Encouragement

Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭26:27‬

What goes around comes around! 

Turnabout is fair play! 

You reap what you sow!

Do these phrases sound familiar? They have a lot of truth in them. God has an interesting way of punishing those who do evil. 

Solomon, in all his wisdom, shares in this verse about the truth of God. God will not allow a wicked and evil act to go unpunished. There are many examples in the Bible where people tried to do wicked things to God’s people but they didn’t get away with it. 

Pharaoh wouldn’t let the Israelites out of slavery, but God did. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, but God used him in a powerful way to save the nation. The Jews crucified Jesus, but He is alive!

Do you know a hypocrite? Do you have an enemy? Is someone causing you pain and suffering? Their wickedness will be exposed and God will turn their cruelty on their own head as described in Proverbs 26. 

The lesson of this proverb is to trust God to protect you and let Him punish your enemies. “Vengeance is mine,” says the Lord. (Romans 12:19) 

Even if your enemies strategically try to attack you, God knows what they are doing and He will take care of you. 

Be careful not to be a hypocrite yourself! Make sure you do no evil to anyone lest you fall in a pit as well.

Pray

Lord, keep me safe from my enemies. Thank you for putting a hedge of protection around me. Fight my battles and give me peace that passes all understanding.