Month: November 2010

Unless We Become Like Children

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Humility, Listen to the Word of God, ObedienceLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Mark 10 

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

Mark 10:13-16 ~ One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

I believe that it is good for us to be reminded of some of the qualities of a child that should influence us in our relationship with our Father:

  • Their innocence – When we tell them something, they believe us and, if we are telling them something that will occur, they will expect it to happen just like we said. God has told us so much in His Word. In fact, we can find answers to all of our questions and/or struggles. However really tend to struggle with believing Him that it will happen just like He said. In fact we sometimes question if God really understands the uniqueness of our situation. There’s another verse where Jesus told the disciples, “O ye of little faith”, and that would be very appropriate to us in this scenario, because we should always be aware that God is our Father, and He knows everything about us and the struggles that we face, and only He has the solution, praise be to God!
  • Their imagination – If you have ever encountered a time that a child came in and told you about an event to come, you will realize that they just accepted the wild imagination of a performer or perhaps built on a situation with their own imagination and developed a story that anyone will believe. As we grow older we tend to question every little thing and doubt everything that we have not seen or experienced ourselves. Friend, it is extremely difficult for us to imagine or believe the power of God, but let’s be reminded from this passage this morning that we must retain some of the qualities that we had as a child. When our Father tells us through His Word that we should follow Him, listen to Him, obey Him and do what He says – we need to just do it. Remember, we are talking here about the Maker of the universe, the One who rose from the dead after three days, the One who turned water into wine and raised the dead, He is greater than anyone or anything we can imagine…. unless we take on child-like qualities and simply place our faith in Him.
  • Their willingness – I believe that at times kids kind of look at us and say to themselves, are you kidding me with what you just said, because perhaps it sounded far out compared to anything they had heard so far. However, I also believe that they are way more willing to accept what they are told and act upon it than what we often give them credit for. Jesus wants us to be like little children and be willing to accept Him at His word. There is lots of evidence in the Bible that prove the power, trustworthiness and dependability of our God. We should be willing to accept Him at His word. We should be ready to obey His commands.

Jesus will one day return to collect those that have been innocent like little children; accepted Him at His Word; followed His commands; built a relationship with Him like we would do with our earthly father; and shared His love with the world. Remember, “anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it”

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father I pray that You will be patient with me. I pray that You will grant me the strength and determination to believe on You like a little child. Thank You for leading me to the cross and convicting me of my sin, but most of all thank You for forgiving me of my sin when I surrendered my life to You, and each day as I surrender my weaknesses over to You. Please help to be in such a close relationship with You that I will be mindful of all that You would have me do and say.

‘Til Death Do Us Part!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christian, Divorce, Listen to the Word of God, Love, Marriage, Our Help comes from God, Righteousness, SeparationLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Mark 10

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

Mark 10:1-12 ~ After Jesus left, he went to Judea and then on to the other side of the Jordan River. Once again large crowds came to him, and as usual, he taught them. Some Pharisees wanted to test Jesus. So they came up to him and asked if it was right for a man to divorce his wife. Jesus asked them, “What does the Law of Moses say about that?” They answered, “Moses allows a man to write out divorce papers and send his wife away.” Jesus replied, “Moses gave you this law because you are so heartless. But in the beginning God made a man and a woman. That’s why a man leaves his father and mother and gets married. He becomes like one person with his wife. Then they are no longer two people, but one. And no one should separate a couple that God has joined together.” When Jesus and his disciples were back in the house, they asked him about what he had said. He told them, “A man who divorces his wife and marries someone else is unfaithful to his wife. A woman who divorces her husband and marries again is also unfaithful.” (CEV)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

I believe that most of us have encountered divorce in some part of our family, either directly or indirectly through a family member. I don’t believe that it is ever pretty, or mutually agreeable, because someone often gets hurt, in fact I would dare say that many times many people get hurt. I am not here to judge anyone who makes such a decision, but I feel like this is something that perhaps someone who may be considering divorce today may need to hear. In fact, if I skip over this ‘Nugget’ in Mark 10 I believe that I could be considered like the folk that Moses dealt with in his day, I could be accused of being heartless. To those that are struggling in their marital relationship today I would ask that you consider the following tips that I discerned from God’s Word, and the sensitivity of this was heightened this morning when I read this passage:

  • God made us in His own image – I don’t believe that this pertains only to bodily form, or not just in character like Him, but in whole I believe that He made us to be imitators of Him in every way. For instance, He is known as ‘love’. He taught us to love like He does. He loved us so much that He sacrificed His one and only Son so that we may have…. If we are to be imitators of Him, why would we turn our heads on a spouse that God has blessed us with? God never faltered in His love for us, why would we falter in our love for our spouse?
  • Is your marriage in trouble because you believe that you found someone else better looking? Remember that beauty comes from within, not outward beauty.
  • Is your marriage in trouble because your spouse is cheating on you? Look deep inside and try to determine why you have allowed this. Is it because of Neglect? Not showing your love? Not praising them when appropriate?
  • Is your marriage in trouble because you have been distracted with someone else of the opposite sex in your circle of friends or coworkers? In your marriage vows you promised to pledge your allegiance and love to only your spouse. Don’t put yourself in the position of allowing someone else to interfere in your vow and in your marital relationship.
  • Is your marriage in trouble because you never included God in your union with each other? It is not too late. Go to God in prayer, with your spouse, asking God to be a part of your union and to help you maintain a strong, loving and happy relationship with Him and with each other. Remember, God is bigger than all of our troubles and when you welcome Him to be a part of your life, He can work miracles in your situation. Draw close to Him and He will draw close to you.

As your relationships are mended you will find much less stress in your life. In fact, with a happy and loving relationship with each other and God, you will find that you can deal with everything else! Let God be a part, won’t you?

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Lord Jesus, I thank You for being a part of my marriage. I thank You for holding our hands and helping us to overcome those times when we struggled and when we doubted Your presence. You have truly been an inspiration in our lives and in our marriage and I pray that You will continue to bless our marriage, because I know that old Satan could easily interfere if we let our guards down or if we exclude You, our source of power and strength. May we be a blessing to others that may be struggling in their marriage? May Your love and Your light shine so brightly in us that others may be touched and encouraged? May You receive honor and glory for anything and everything accomplished as a result of our union. Please continue to be instrumental in our individual lives and in our marriage. Thank You Lord Jesus!

Are You Building Up, or Tearing Down?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Getting Along, Love God, Love your Neighbor, MotivateLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Mark 9 

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

Mark 9:42 ~ It will be terrible for people who cause even one of my little followers to sin. Those people would be better off thrown into the ocean with a heavy stone tied around their necks.
(CEV)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

I am convinced that God hates sin. After all, He sent His only Son so that we may seek forgiveness of our sin and therefore be one with Him. In other words, without the forgiveness of sin we cannot be one with God. Now seeing how important this is to God in our own relationship with Him, we can imagine how much this verse really speaks of the mind of God when He sees anyone doing things to entice a child of His (a Christian) to sin. Each of us should examine ourselves and determine what we are doing to build up the kingdom of God, to enhance a Christian’s relationship with Jesus. Moreover, we should examine ourselves, and always seek God’s guidance for anything we might be doing that would lead a Christian to stray/sin. The Bible says that it would be better for us to hang a heavy stone around our necks and be thrown into the ocean/water, than to cause one of His children to sin. Let’s remember today and everyday that we are to build up each other. When we are not doing that, we are either tearing down, causing someone to sin, or facilitating the weak environment for someone else to tear that brother or sister down. Remember, God knows our hearts. We may hide our intentions from our spouse, our friends, or our church, but God knows and sees all things. When we say that we will just stand on the sideline and watch for someone to do the ungodly/sin, we are hoping that they will, not doing everything we can to help them not sin. Let us then love one another and lift one another up so that we all may be more like Christ each and every day.

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, I believe that this is a very challenging thing for any of us to recognize in ourselves, because we would never say that we are facilitating the opportunity for someone to sin. Please then, help me to always lift my brother up. Please help me to love that sister enough to want to see her succeed and do her level best in living a life pleasing to You. I would fight to stop anyone from hurting my child or leading her to sin, so I understand how it would hurt You to see anyone hurt Your children or not help lead them on a right path towards You. I believe that You love us too much to see us go to Hell. Please help us to love our brothers and sisters that much. Help us to promote good instead of evil, love instead of hatred, good works instead of those things that lead others away from You. I believe that Your Word teaches us to love one another like we love ourselves. When we do that we will want them to be as successful as we would like to be. Please help me to help someone overcome sin today.

For, or Against Jesus?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Getting Along, Reflecting Christ, TeamworkLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Mark 9 

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

Mark 9:38-41 ~ John said, “Teacher, we saw a man using your name to force demons out of people. But he wasn’t one of us, and we told him to stop.” Jesus said to his disciples: Don’t stop him! No one who works miracles in my name will soon turn and say something bad about me. Anyone who isn’t against us is for us. And anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name, just because you belong to me, will surely be rewarded. (CEV)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

First of all I believe that Jesus was referring to Christians here when He spoke of “anyone who isn’t against us”, because there are too many other places in scripture where He spoke about there being only one way into heaven and that’s through accepting Him as Lord of Your life. However, in reading this passage I thought about the many denominations that exist today and how we often work against, or at least ridicule each other for what we believe or practice. Last weekend I worked at the annual Noah’s Fall Festival here in Avon Park and I was blessed to see Christian brothers and sisters from all over our area working together, ministering together and meeting the needs of our community – in fact, over 3,600 of them! We cannot win the lost world while being busy looking down our noses and judging fellow Christians/churches! The world is looking for a better place to be; in fact they are looking forward to being with folk that could get along, love on each other and be evidence of Jesus in the flesh. In our own households we don’t necessarily believe the same way about each and every subject, yet we love and respect each other anyway. Why then should we expect anything different when we get outside our homes? Let’s remember what Jesus said in these verses, if they are not against us, there are for us! Let’s respect others’ belief on things that may be different to what we believe; sometimes they may actually be right!!! Remember, when we accept Jesus and learn to become more like Him, we will act like Him, we will love others like He did and we will have a burning desire to get along with all of God’s people and accept the fact that He alone is judge over what is right and what is wrong. Let’s do our part to live, worship and reflect Jesus so that the world will know that we are ‘For Jesus’!

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, I believe that often Satan will send things, or even people our way to tempt us and make the world question whose team we are on. I also believe that if we ever intend to win our communities for You, it is super important to reflect to those that may be watching our every move, that we are for You, that our every move reflect Your will and Your teachings. I’m sure that the world will quickly recognize that we may not always be right on, but Lord Jesus I pray that Your hand will be so active in directing my life each day that they will know whose I am and who I am following and representing. May they see Jesus in me, is my sincere prayer today. May I not try to assume Your responsibility and judge others myself, instead may I welcome fellow Christians and their efforts to also become more like You. May solidarity be evident in our efforts to reach and win the lost in our community.

Your Attention Please!

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Bible Believing, Christian, God our Helper, Listen to the Word of God, The Book of LifeLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Mark 9

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

Mark 9:30-34 ~ Jesus left with his disciples and started through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know about it, because he was teaching the disciples that the Son of Man would be handed over to people who would kill him. But three days later he would rise to life. The disciples did not understand what Jesus meant, and they were afraid to ask. Jesus and his disciples went to his home in Capernaum. After they were inside the house, Jesus asked them, “What were you arguing about along the way?” They had been arguing about which one of them was the greatest, and so they did not answer.

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

So often we will sit in church and hear God’s messenger speak from His Holy Word and our minds are miles away. Note in this passage that Jesus had the same problem with His disciples. He did not want the people of Galilee to know that He was passing through their town with His disciples because He was intent on teaching them that He would be handed over to people who would kill Him. Very serious news He was trying to alert them about. Yet when they arrived at Capernaum Jesus asked the disciples what they were grumbling and/or arguing about along the way. This tells me that they were totally distracted while Jesus was sharing His heart with them – something He was very concerned about. I’m sure that this must have saddened Jesus because of the lack of interest in what He had to say to this group. I believe that we see a similar experience during our church services. Our pastor will take hours to study God’s Word, seek the face of Jesus as to what He would have him say to the people, then do his very best to explain the Word and express what God has laid on his heart, yet we sit and fall asleep or let our minds wonder to the many things that we become involved in outside of the church, instead of giving our undivided attention to the most important thing being shared with us all week. Here are some tips on things that might help us with this:

  1. Get at least 8 to 12 hours of sleep the night before;
  2. Let Sunday morning, or any other preaching/teaching moment be a continuation of our daily worship and commune with God, and not our only experience for the week, for we must grow our relationship with God ourselves and not think for a moment that the preacher/teacher can grow it for us;
  3. Pray before going to services. Ask God to help you stay alert to what He will say to you during that service. Better still, pray for a miracle in someone’s life out of that service, that you have been ministering to throughout the week – perhaps in physical ways, or in prayer, or even just on your mind;
  4. Take your Bible with you. Think about it, you would never go to work without tools. Similarly, take your spiritual tool with you, God’s Holy Word. Look up the passages being shared;
  5. Take notes during the sermon or teaching opportunity. Again, at work you would take notes during meetings to help you remember what was asked of you and to guide you as you complete the chores that were asked of you. No different when it comes to God’s instructions;

I believe that the most important times of your week should be those times that you spend alone with God in His Word, and those times that you spend with other believers for the teaching and preaching of God’s Word. However, as in everything in our lives, we will only get as much out of those times, as the effort and energy that we put into them. God deserves our best! Conversely, we should expect the best time of our lives when we meet together with God and His people, but remember, we will only get as much from these opportunities as we put into them. No interest or enthusiasm on our behalf will make it almost impossible to receive anything otherwise in life.

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, You gave Your best for us. You gave all You had – Your ONLY Son. Please help me, my church, all those that I know and love, including all who may read this devotional online, to give of our very best to You. Help us not to be distracted, especially when You are trying to get our attention. Help us to give respect to You and to Your messengers as Your Word is opened and shared with us. Thank You for Your continued love and effort in getting my attention. Please help me to always seek Your face and look for Your blessings and pay attention to Your teaching and/or direction for my life.

Anything is possible for someone who has faith!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, HealingLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Mark 9; Mark 10 

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

Mark 9:22-24 ~ The demon has often tried to kill him by throwing him into a fire or into water. Please have pity and help us if you can!” Jesus replied, “Why do you say `if you can’? Anything is possible for someone who has faith!” Right away the boy’s father shouted, “I do have faith! Please help me to have even more.”

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

Although a familiar story about Jesus casting out the demon from the little boy brought to Him by his father, yet I found two nuggets that spoke to me:

  1. Jesus’ disciples were unsuccessful in casting out the demon from the little boy, and when they questioned Jesus later about why this may have been the case, Jesus said that “Only prayer can force out that kind of demon”. I believe that too often in these days we see so much being said and done on television and in some of our churches that tend to lean on the abilities of man. I believe that healing comes from God alone, and until we humble ourselves and give God full reign over His people and their circumstances, then anything we do will be powerless. The power of healing comes from God, and in turn the glory of such healing must be given to God. We should never lose sight of that.
  2. Too often we approach God like this father did. We know what we want God to do, but we are filled with so much doubt that God must ask sometime, well why are you here then? I believe that deep inside this dad wanted to have faith, because as soon as Jesus told him about how doubtful he sounded, he shouted out about the faith that was deep indie of him and rightfully so, he asked for even more faith. It is too bad, and really too sad that today we find ourselves in the same position as this dad, we want to have faith, but our relationship with God is so weak that we are really not sure about the whole thing. Knowing the awesome power of our God, and knowing how much He loves us and would bless us in multiple ways beyond anything we could ever ask of Him, we should approach His throne in confidence knowing that God can do it, and having the faith to believe that He will do it. Without this kind of faith, are we coming to Him to just ‘test the waters’?

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Lord I believe, please help my unbelief. Please help me to be so in tuned with You, Your Word, and Your will for my life that I can come boldly to the cross and seek Your face, knowing that as my father You will answer my prayers in very bold and responsive ways so that You may receive glory from everything accomplished, but also in ways that will best fit Your will for my life, not for the selfish desires for which I may pray. Please direct our paths today as we vote, may Your will be accomplished at the polls so that Your men and women who should have charges over Your people during this time will be elected today. Thank You for being my guide today, for always being my deliverer and friend, my healer and all powerful God to whom I can approach when decisions must be made and when healing is requested.

The Source of our Help

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, God our Helper, Helper, Our Help comes from God1 Comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Psalm 121

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

Psalm 121:1-2 ~ I look up to the mountains — does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

When studying the Bible, I look to BibleGateway for multiple translations and concordances. When some folk are concerned about what lies ahead for them, they refer to the daily horoscopes, or even pay palm readers, while some folk go to their preacher/pastor/priest or trusted friends for help in their decision making. David found that some in his day, including himself, were looking up to the greatest grandeur of their time, to the hills around Jerusalem, to sacred Mount Zion and Mount Moriah. However, at the stage of him writing this Psalm, he had matured to the state that he knew that his help really came from someone much mightier than these fixed, mighty mountains, he realized that the maker of those mountains and everything else around him was also accessible via prayer and communion with God himself. Friends, it is time that we come to our senses and also realize that, like David, our help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. Looking elsewhere will bring us unsettling, temporary satisfaction, with very limiting and insecure help. Through Jesus, we have access to the throne of God, the ultimate source of all help. Let’s make that our first and only choice from whom we seek our help. As a father, I feel awful when I realize that my daughter or my wife asked help from someone else because I was either unavailable or they were unwilling to ask for my help. So it is with God when we look to all the other sources mentioned in my opening remarks, rather than or before looking to Him. Remember, He is our Father and He wants to help us overcome our fears or battle our needs.