Month: May 2011

Faith to Believe

On By Ed AlgreenIn Ask and Receive, Bible Believing, Faith, Follow Jesus, God Reigns, God’s Word, Obedience, Power of PrayerLeave a comment

Scripture: Mark 16.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Mark 16:9-14 (NLT)

9 After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons.

10 She went to the disciples, who were grieving and weeping, and told them what had happened. 11 But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn’t believe her.

12 Afterward he appeared in a different form to two of his followers who were walking from Jerusalem into the country. 13 They rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them.

14 Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen him after he had been raised from the dead.

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

God really highlighted this passage to me this morning, particularly the point of unbelief that the disciples had surrounding His resurrection. At the first reading of this we might feel pity or feel sorry for the disciples for such unbelief. In closer deliberation I thought about who it was that struggled with unbelief. These were the men who were handpicked by Jesus; they were closest to Him during His ministry here on earth; they witnessed miracle after miracle which showed them firsthand the power of Jesus, and they heard Jesus speak about how He would rise again after the third day. Further, I am sure that the prayers that went up by these men after Jesus was arrested was probably very intense, for they had lost their Master, their friend, their leader. So why then would they be surprised to hear that Jesus was alive? Friends, we are just as bad today even after all we know from God’s Word, and even after all that we have prayed about, and even after all that we have witnessed and/or heard about Jesus doing here on this earth. I believe that Jesus can easily say to us today, “Oh ye of little faith”. Having just celebrated Easter, we know that Jesus is alive. We know that He is the same miracle worker that we read about in His Word and witnessed in so many cases here on this earth, so let us therefore place our faith and trust in Him. Let us expect the miracles that He has the power to perform and not be surprised when we witness the answers, but instead celebrate the power of God and His willingness to hear and respond to our prayers. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to us. Near enough that we could have a relationship with Him and witness His answers to our prayers and perform the miracles that we could only dream of. Have faith in God!

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

Father I believe in You. I believe in Your almighty hand. Please help me to always pray in faith, believing that You have the power to do all things. Let me therefore not be surprised when You answer my prayers, but instead be ready to rejoice and lift up Your name above all names. Please help my unbelief!

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Acknowledge God’s Power

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, God Reigns, Victorious LifeLeave a comment

Scripture: Deuteronomy 1-3.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Deuteronomy 3:23-24 (NLT)

23 “At that time I pleaded with the Lord and said,

24 ‘O Sovereign Lord, you have only begun to show your greatness and the strength of your hand to me, your servant. Is there any god in heaven or on earth who can perform such great and mighty deeds as you do?

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

So often in our lives today we see God’s hand at work among us and we praise Him for His mighty acts for a short time afterwards. As an example, I am reminded of the weeks following the 9-11 disaster, the weeks following the 2004 hurricanes that passed through our area, and other times that we saw God’s mighty hand at work – both in destruction and in protecting us from disaster. It seems like soon after we felt like everything was settled back down and ‘we‘ had things back under control, that we then returned to our normal lives that were often lived without Christ. Oh that we may have the stamina and determination of Moses to stick with God, not only through our disasters but through to the Promised Land. For just like such a land was in sight for Moses and his Egyptian followers, we too are promised a land where there will be no more fighting, or sickness, or heartache, but a land where the glow from our Savior will lighten the surroundings for us! Where there will be peace and harmony forevermore! Where there will be no distractions from our worship time as we will literally worship at the feet of Jesus for years and years! We have a Promised Land that out-shines anything we may have read about in God’s Word, or any other book, or can even imagine! Let us therefore recognized the awesome power of our living God in our everyday lives, and let us not lose sight of the Promised Land that we, who know Jesus as Lord and personal Savior, can look forward to one day! Like Moses, let us stay focused on the Promised Land as we face the everyday challenges of this world, knowing that there are bigger and greater things in store for us from a God who loves us so much that He sacrificed His only Son so that we may have and enjoy the land promised to us! What a Mighty God We Serve!

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

Father, with excitement I come before You being reminded of the Promised Land that You have prepared for me and others who believe in You. With that view in mind, all the temptations, struggles and trial of this life become obscure, for I now look forward to the day when You will call me to Your side. Thank You Father for this reminder this morning. Like Moses, I can say today that there is no leader that can perform the mighty acts like You have performed, and there is no leader who will look out for my best interest like You have done in preparing for my eternal destiny. Thank You for loving me so much. Thank You for being such an awesome God to Moses and his people. Thank You for using that victory to still inspire me and others today as we study Your Word. You are a mighty God and I worship and adore You today as my Lord, my Savior and my God!

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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