Scripture: Proverbs 21-23.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Proverbs 21:4-5 (NLT)

4 Haughty eyes, a proud heart, and evil actions are all sin.

5 Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.

Proverbs 21:16 (NLT)

16 The person who strays from common sense will end up in the company of the dead.

Proverbs 21:21 (NLT)

21 Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor.

Proverbs 21:23 (NLT)
23 Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble.
Proverbs 22:4 (NLT)
4 True humility and fear of the LORD lead to riches, honor, and long life.
Proverbs 22:6 (NLT)
6 Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.

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

It was interesting reading the Proverbs and taking note of all the wise advice given by Solomon. Because these saying are in God’s Word, I am convinced that God intended for these to be words of advice and direction in our lives. While many of these appear to be commonsense, and practiced by most intelligent people, I believe that it would behoove us to take note when God speaks to us. I find it nothing less than amazing at how much is covered in God’s Word that could be applied to daily living, to a successful and meaningful relationship with Him, and others that we come into contact with. Friends, what I have shared from God’s Word above is only the ‘tip of the iceberg’. I encourage you to get into the Word and read all of the words of wisdom available to you. In fact, why not take the challenge that I strive for every day, let’s look to God’s Word as our guide and as our staple for every day, successful, righteous living. It is only then that we will grow to be more like Jesus in our daily walk.

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

Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for speaking through the prophets of old, the saints of old so that Your followers today can still hear from You and receive instruction for righteous living. Please give me boldness today to live my life in line with Your will, and for Your benefit as opportunities for ministry presents itself. Please speak through these simple words of encouragement to the hearts of those that will read this devotional today, and may You receive honor and glory from all that is accomplished.

 

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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Scripture: Colossians 4.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Colossians 4:5-6 (NLT)

5 Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.

6 Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.

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

It is so unfortunate that we act the way we do at times with family members and folk that we love. We tend to take advantage of them. To a large degree they tend to understand that beneath that ‘acting up’ we really have a heart of love and care deeply for them. Meeting up with strangers will not yield the same results, because they don’t have the advantage of the latter part of my statement. Paul was warning his church members, and so are we being warned because of this being included in God’s Word, that in order for us to be well received by non-Christians, we must live wisely – earn their respect, their love and their trust, then perhaps we could make the most of the opportunity that we have in spending time with them. I believe that we make several choices when we come into contact with strangers: 1). We like them and we want to know more about them; 2). We’re not totally sure about them and will need to trust them a whole lot more before believing what they say, or 3). They give the appearance of being phony, and we will stay our distance from them emotionally and will not trust them. Hopefully as others come into contact with us today we can quickly give them reason to move from a ‘3’ to a ‘2’ and very possibly a ‘1’. Until a person can trust us, I don’t believe that they will put a whole lot of stock in what we have to say to them. I want to be sure that my conversation is gracious and attractive, so that the right response will be evident from everyone. How about you? Until we care enough to be concerned about the One that we represent, I believe that we are only selfishly spreading our own agenda and looking for self-preservation and recognition.

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

Father, thank You for saving my soul. Thank You for drawing me unto Yourself. May this be a day that I will unselfishly seek to spread the joy, love, peace and understanding that comes from knowing You as Lord. May my conversation be pleasing to You and may it yield responses indicating that folk are being drawn to You. May Your will and way be evident in my life today, and in the lives of those that share in reading this devotional. May You be lifted up and magnified in and through me today!

 

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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Scripture: Colossians 3.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Colossians 3:12-15 (NLT)

12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

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

Sometimes we allow the simple things of this life to get under our skin and upset us so badly. Sometimes we lose our cool with others and really despise, or even hate them for what they have done or what they have said, or what they should have done or should have said, but didn’t. God revealed through Paul that we must examine ourselves and acknowledge who it is that we represent or who we are claiming to align ourselves with. In the few verses above Paul reminds us of the One that chose us to be His own. He chose us to be holy, just as He is holy and He loves us as His chosen children. In being a part of this privileged family, there are some important expectations from us. We must be the image of, and bear these characteristics:

• Tenderhearted mercy – sympathetic and empathetic towards others;
  
• Kindness – be kind in spite of whether the individual we are in contact with seems deserving of it or not;
  
• Humility – never consider ourselves better than the other person. God made us all equally, and He expects us to treat each other equally;
  
• Gentleness – When we are gentle with each other, we treat them like we would want to be treated;
  
• Patient – seeing that we don’t always think at the same level or act similarly, we must learn to be patient with each other and help each other to grow in the Lord;
  
• Make allowances for each other’s faults – yes we all have them, so let’s learn to help each other through our faults, and together grow to be more like Jesus;
  
• Forgive anyone that offends us – let’s not get on our ‘high horses’ and exclude anyone because of what we feel they may have said about us or done to/for us. We are children of the same heavenly Father, and if He forgave us in the mess we were in, how could we ever feel like we shouldn’t forgive our brother, or our sister? Of course we should.
  

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

Father, considering all that You forgave me of, and all that You did through Calvary just for me, who am I to refuse to forgive my brother or my sister? You set the example for me. You sacrificed it all just for me. Thank You for loving me so much that You gave. Thank You for providing Your Word to guide me and direct me. Please help me to be a true example of You in every way today and in all phases of my life. Please speak to all that may read this devotional today, that they too may regain the desire to please You in the way that they act with their fellow brothers or sisters, so that You may be lifted up in all aspects of our lives. We want others to see Jesus in everything surrounding our everyday lives so that they will want to know You personally. Please help us not to be a stumbling block to others because of our selfishness and the wrong ways that we may treat others.

 

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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Scripture: Colossians 2:6-7.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Colossians 2:6-7 (NLT)

6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.

7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

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

In order for an earthly relationship to develop or grow or last, we must nurture it by spending time together, getting to know the other person intimately, trying to understand the other person in every way, being unselfish and looking out for the benefit of the other person, and trying to please the other person in every way. In our spiritual relationship, we must do the same. Paul’s advice here to the church at Laodicea, is to:

1. Let your roots grow in Christ – our lives reflect that which we have fed it. Furthermore, the strength of any tree comes through its root system. If we feed our lives based on that which we are rooted in, and that is Jesus Christ, then we will reflect Him in all that we do and say;
   
2. Let your lives be built on Him – Similar in a way to the root system, but when I think of a life built on Jesus Christ, I think of a life that looks, smells and acts just like Jesus did. When we think of a child that acts just like their parents, we have noticed that their character and actions are built on the same principles that the parents reflect;
   

Now the results of the above items will be a faith/life that grows strong based on what the person was taught, and what they saw exampled around them. Because of this, the person will overflow with thankfulness and the happiness that dwells deep inside of them, and this will be evident in all contact with them. I don’t know about you friend, but I’ll bet that you are just like me in wanting to see your life experience be one that develops sweet relationships because of your innermost strength and outward evidence of happiness! With God on the inside, giving us strength and directing our every move and action, our lives will reflect His love and His character. This is so important to those of us that claim that we know Him, because we want our lives to reflect the One that we claim as Master and Lord of our lives!

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

Father God, please help me to daily develop my root system so that it is so entrenched in You that my life will be totally strengthened and directed by You. Thank You for Your wonderful reminders through passages like this. Your Word is awesome, and there is no doubt that it provides daily nourishment to my spiritual well-being through the root system that I have developed. Please use this short scripture reading to remind those that may read this devotional of the same importance in their lives.

 

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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Scripture: Proverbs 11.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Proverbs 11:17-21 (NLT)

17 Your kindness will reward you, but your cruelty will destroy you.

18 Evil people get rich for the moment, but the reward of the godly will last.

19 Godly people find life; evil people find death.

20 The LORD detests people with crooked hearts, but he delights in those with integrity.

21 Evil people will surely be punished, but the children of the godly will go free.

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

In Proverbs 1:2-7 let me draw your attention to the purpose of the Proverbs. With that in mind I want to draw your attention to the wisdom in the chosen verses today:

Friends, you will note that I adlibbed some in parenthesis, based on other sections of God’s Word, but the rest of my input above came straight from the passage. I believe that God inspired the words of Solomon so that His followers today may be enriched, and fore-warned with the wisdom of what will result from our actions today. If, as a child of God, you find that some of the characteristics in the right column may still exist in your life, then I would urge you to grow in the wisdom of what God is saying to you through this passage, and turn from your wicked ways, grow in God’s favor by living your life in conformance with His Word. In
Proverbs 1:3
we are told that the purpose of the Proverbs is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair.

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

Father, I pray that all who may read this devotion today will join with me in a desire to live disciplined and successful lives and to always be looking for what is right and just and fair. I believe that in following this guideline, we will be more apt to listen to Your voice, follow Your commands, and live holy and righteous lives that You would honor and be proud of. Please give us Your peace, wisdom and boldness to live our lives modeled after Yours.

 

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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Scripture: Proverbs 8.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Proverbs 8:13 (NLT)

13 All who fear the LORD will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech.

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

This particular verse caught my attention today, because I believe that God is saying to me, and other saints of His: Hey, if you believe in me, and if you want to live your life as an example of me, then you must not be two-faced. You must stand up for all that I stand up for. Don’t say out of one side of your mouth that you love Jesus and will do everything you can for Him, yet you sit and listen to the awful jokes told by your non-Christian co-workers or friends. You join your buddies elbow to elbow at the pub to have a few beers before going home to your family that I graciously blessed you with. You gossip about your co-workers, your co-laborers at church and anyone else that you could possibly gain information on. Child of mine, you will not find anywhere in my Word where I did any of those things, nor taught you to do those things. Learn to stand up for what is right. Learn to hate those things that have the appearance of evil. Fill your lives with those things that will please me, and that will further my Kingdom there on earth. If you are sincere in the decision that you made to serve Me, then I really want to see you living a life that proves that. I have given you loads of advice on how to live and how to talk, obey my Word and live as my child would.

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

Father, I ask Your forgiveness for the lax way in which I have lived my life. I believe that I have done a fair job in representing You in my life and through my walk and talk, but yet I wonder at times if those that I come into contact with, would find me ‘guilty’ of being a child of the King of kings. As advised in this verse today, I pray that I will learn to hate evil, hate pride, hate arrogance, hate corruption and abhor perverse speech. I pray that I will learn to overwhelmingly honor Godly speech and a Godly example set by those who love You. I pray that I will recognize and honor Godly attitudes in Christian brothers and sisters today and that I might encourage them in their walk with You. Thank You for loving me enough to want to see Your very best lived out in me every day.

 

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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Scripture: Philippians 4.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT)

11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.

12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.

13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

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

If someone was to give us the advice that Paul gave to the Philippians in verses 6 and 7, I would imagine that we would say to them: “right, that’s easy for you to say, because you could never imagine what I am going through right now”. However, it is believed that Paul wrote this letter to his church while he was still in prison being punished for his work with his various churches. Furthermore, as you read down you will find in verses 11-13 where Paul shared how he had been there and done that – the same types of things that the Philippian church could easily bellyache about. Friend, let’s take it to heart the advice that Paul gave to this church. Let’s stop worrying about every little thing. Instead let’s pray about everything. Especially let us tell God about all that we ‘need’, and let us always thank Him for all that He gives to us each and every day. Let us experience true peace in God, it will truly be more than we could ever imagine or understand. Let’s learn to be content in all that we have, for being content with everything that God has blessed us with is true happiness, contentment and ultimate peace. As our eternal Father, He will provide all that we ‘need’.

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

Lord, thank You for being there for me in good times and in tough times. I have been so blessed that it is difficult for me to honestly say that I have had tough times, for I have felt blessed even when I didn’t have all that I wanted. Thank You for always providing my ‘needs’. Yes, I can look around me and see many with a lot more than I have, but I can praise You today because You have always provided all that I have needed. Please continue to give me Your wisdom and ongoing strength to face the challenges of each day, and allow You to keep charge over all my circumstances. I truly believe, like Paul, that I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength!

 

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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Scripture: Philippians 3.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Philippians 3:12-14 (NLT)

12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.

13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,

14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Philippians 3:20-21 (NLT)

20
But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

21
He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.

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

I have often heard verse 14 quoted and I have always admired the determination that I saw in Paul to encourage us in and through his words. However this morning it all came together when I read verse 20. I believe that I can explain this by comparing it to my move to this country. When I first moved, I had a green card and I lived here just like citizens do and did those things that citizens do. I liken this to church attendees. Eventually, as I placed my roots in this country by purchasing a home, having a child and raising her, I wanted to make my stand for this country so I applied for, and became a citizen. At that time I truly pledged my allegiance to this country and have considered this ‘my country’. I liken this to when a church attendee, or any person, makes the decision to accept Jesus as Lord and the subsequent citizenship of heaven, for our journey towards our heavenly home becomes as Paul said, focused on that heavenly prize. When we sincerely do this, we set aside the things of this world that tend to burden us down and hold us back, for our eyes are fixed on the end of the road – a point to which we are ultimately destined. Where are you at today friend? Have you asked for your heavenly citizenship? There is only one way! For the Word of God tells us that it is only by faith our Jesus Christ that we could become a child (citizen) of the Heavenly Father (God). If the answer to the citizenship question is ‘yes’, and I sincerely pray that any who read this devotion could soundly respond positively, then please don’t allow the things of this world to hold you back and distract you from your heavenly destination. Look for ways that you may please God while you are still on this side of glory, His Word is filled with directions that will help us to run the course and stay on the right track!

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

Father, You are very aware of the distractions that bombard us every day. I pray that during this day You will fill me with Your love, fill me with Your wisdom, Your direction and the boldness to live my life following Your design. Please help me to stay the course, and while being brushed by worldly citizens, may there be a whole lot more of You brushing off on them than the filth and mire of this world that could possibly drift on to me from them. May I be so filled with Your awesome Holy Spirit that our impact on the world will be very promising today!

 

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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Scripture: Philippians 2.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Philippians 2:1-5 (NLT)

1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate?

2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

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

So often in life we are taught to either have the same attitude as our parents, or as a church leader or role model that we admire, or as our supervisor at work, or as our spouse. In other words, if someone has it all together and doing something right, imitate them and you too will get it all together! In this passage today, we are admonished by Paul to imitate the only one that ever had it all together and did what was right – Jesus. Friends, as we read God’s Word and meditate on it each day, we can see the example set for us by Jesus. Even in this passage today we have some excellent pointers given to us by Paul that tend to better align us with the attitude of Christ:

• Agree wholeheartedly with each other – think about the opposite of that – make everyone miserable by disagreeing with everything they say or everything they want to do. Wouldn’t that be miserable and so opposite to all that Jesus did? Agreeing with each other means that we are willing to accept the gift that God has given to the other person. This often results in a better plan when we can put all the thoughts together and come up with a plan built by all involved.
  
• Love one another – sounds like a simple command, but extremely hard to practice, especially when we feel like we are the only one that has it all together, or if the other person is different in action or word than what we picture in our ‘perfect’ little minds!
  
• Work together with one mind and purpose – I like to give the example of a task where a group might be pushing a car up a hill. Together we can make it easy and pretty effortless. However, get one person pushing in the opposite direction and it makes for extremely hard work by all the others.
  
• Lay aside selfish desires; trying to impress others and your own interests, but try to take an interest in others and trying to help them;
  

Friends, when we accept Jesus as Lord, we strive to be more like Him in every way and have the same attitude as He had. This is an ongoing piece of work for us, because friends and non-believers of Jesus will constantly strive to pull us in the opposite direction with opposing goals and attitudes. So watch for this and strive to follow the ways of your Master – hopefully that Master is Jesus, the Christ.

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

Lord Jesus, You knew that this would be a challenging world in which to live, so You inspired Paul to write the above words for our benefit. I pray that I will be very conscious of the way that You would have me to live and the attitude that I should display, so that others may see You in everything that I say and in every action that I may take. Please forgive me where I have been weak and selfish in this over times past. Please help me to always put my selfish ways aside and live my life with You in mind and with You driving my every decision. As I reflect back on each day I know that I will easily see my selfish ways. May they be fewer and fewer each day as I strive to follow Your will and not my own.

 

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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