Scripture: Matthew 22.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Matthew 22:37-40 (NLT)

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’

38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

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

Sometimes we will hear friends say that it is too difficult to follow the Lord because there are too many rules and commandments. Jesus simplified this for the Pharisees, who thought that they could find excuses for the followers of Jesus. Jesus met the challenge head on by giving them two commandments that, if followed, would help them obey all the law. Friends, when we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind, we acknowledge Him as Lord of our life and therefore become willing to obey His commands. I believe that it is safe to say that we all love ourselves. Imagine loving your neighbor that much, and then imagine what a peaceful and loving world this would become if we all did the same! Friends, Jesus is our example on how to really live. Do you know Him?

PRAYER
(What I will ask of God, in order for me to properly apply His Word to my life)

Lord, You have set the perfect example for us and You have taught us in Your Word how we should live. Please help us to be obedient and live our lives accordingly. I know it would make such a difference in this world. Please deal in the lives of Your children, as You have done in my life, and help us to be more like You in every way.

 

**Words 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
**

Scripture: Matthew 20.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Matthew 20:30,32 (NLT)

30 Two blind men were sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was coming that way, they began shouting, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

32
When Jesus heard them, he stopped and called, “What do you want me to do for you?”

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

I believe that these verses are very special. These two blind men were sitting beside the road waiting for Jesus. They heard of Him, anticipated His coming, and sat waiting for Him. Let’s compare that to Christians today. We have heard from a very early age that Jesus is coming back to get us, and while some of us may have surrendered our hearts to Him, others have chosen to ignore the warning that our time is very limited to seek His favor. I also see in this story that we must be careful in trying to help someone. We needn’t assume that we know what their need is. Jesus didn’t! In verse 30 it shows that it was a well-known fact that these men were blind, yet Jesus didn’t assume that they were reaching out to Him for healing of their sight. Jesus wanted to make sure that He was not missing the most important need in their life. Too often we look at someone, compare them to ourselves and assume we have them figured out. These men, like many we see today may have had priority in needing to know the Lord, more than needing their sight. Let’s follow Jesus’ example and ask a person what their need is, rather than praying in general for them, or assuming their need. There’s something special in voicing your need, and hearing someone pray with you about that specific need. The other general stuff is unimportant to you at the time. Ask, listen and pray specifically for the voiced need.

PRAYER
(What I will ask of God, in order for me to properly apply His Word to my life)

Lord Jesus, please help me to be more like You. To be concerned about the needs and/or desires of my brother or sister so that I may pray specifically for their needs. Thank You that You are concerned about our specific needs and that You don’t just generalize. Each of us have very specific personal needs or desires, please help me to not assume that I know a brother’s heart, but to ask him how I might pray for him. Thank You for the concern You show for me – a display of the love that You have for me!

 

**Words 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 . Letwould 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
**

Scripture: Exodus 17.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Exodus 17:11-13 (NLT)

11 As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage.

12 Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset.

13 As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.

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

This is a very fascinating story that shows the power of God working through Moses. This also is a story showing the power of partnership in ministry. There was no jealousy between Moses, Aaron and Hur that prevented them from working and supporting each other to accomplish the work of the Lord, for they were all striving for the same end result. What a pity that we don’t see more of this in our churches today. We are so busy finding fault, instead of praying the power of God on those we are finding fault with. We are so busy standing by waiting to pick each other apart, instead of locking arms and fighting the battle together. We are so busy gossiping about the person doing the work, instead of thanking God for blessing His servant with the strength, power and willingness to let God work through them. Friends, when we work together to accomplish the work of the Lord, we will see results like that described in verse 13, we will see God overwhelm the work of Satan and therefore celebrate great victories.

PRAYER
(What I will ask of God, in order for me to properly apply His Word to my life)

Father, please help me to do my part in listening to Your voice and allowing You to work through me to accomplish Your work. As others endeavor to do the same, may I stand in partnership with them and support them in their effort so that together we can celebrate Your power and Your wondrous work among us. Lord, I pray that the wicked work of Satan will be eliminated in our church so that we may see Your mighty work accomplished in our community. I pray that our eyes may be fixed on the much bigger picture of winning the lost of our community, instead of the infighting, jealousy and self-focus that Satan is known to bring to Your people. You are the victor, oh Lord, and as we serve You we must learn to do things that victors do – celebrate, overcome and lift up each other.

 

**Words 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
**

Scripture: Exodus 13.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Exodus 13:8-10 (NLT)

8 “On the seventh day you must explain to your children, ‘I am celebrating what the LORD did for me when I left Egypt.’

9 This annual festival will be a visible sign to you, like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the LORD: ‘With a strong hand, the LORD rescued you from Egypt.’

10 So observe the decree of this festival at the appointed time each year.

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

During my study of this chapter it hit me that not only would a celebration like the one mentioned in Exodus 13 have an impact on families, but what if we, as Christians, set aside an annual celebration of our commitment to God, and celebrate it with our families? Think about it, assuming that we surrendered our lives to Christ on February 1^st, then on that date each year we would invite our family to come and celebrate the occasion with us. Now this will not just be another opportunity for a grand meal and party favors, but more towards a time where you would share your testimony with the family gathered. What you were like before accepting Christ, your salvation experience, and what changes He made in your life since that time. Now before you think that this might get boring to tell this each and every time you meet, I want you to think of the positive impact this would have: (1) You will share the plan of salvation with your family, this might be especially impactful to those that have not committed themselves to the Lord yet; (2) What would daddy, granddaddy or any other family member look like telling this story if they did not live the Christian example over the past twelve months? This would serve to be great accountability to our family; (3) Imagine the impact this would have on children and grandchildren, nephews or nieces. They could hear the plan of salvation professionally explained from the pulpit or by their Sunday School teacher, if they indeed go to church, but hearing it from a family member in whom they have recognized and respected their godly example all year long, will have a lasting impact on them; and lastly (4) This will give us the opportunity to minister to our family in preparation for the ministry that we should be doing with the world. By sharing this with our loved ones, may be the only opportunity they may have heard the plan of salvation over the past year – that’s sad but may be very true in some cases. Think about it friend, this may start a whole new experience with your family!

PRAYER
(What I will ask of God, in order for me to properly apply His Word to my life)

Father, I thank you for speaking to me through Your Word. Please help me to obey and follow Your example in every way as I strive to be more like You every day. Thank you for the blessing of family. Please help me to run with this idea and start a new idea for sharing my faith with my family, with hopes that they too may ultimately come to know You as Lord and serve You all the days of their life. When I consider where I was and where You brought me to, I realize that I was nothing before you found me, but now I have everything!

 

**Words 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
**

Scripture: Matthew 18.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Matthew 18:2-3 (NLT)

2 Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them.

3 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.”

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

In reading this chapter this morning, I was reminded that some things really don’t change a lot. In this story Jesus’ disciples had approached Him with the question of who will be greater in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus reminded them that they have no room to boast about where they are in life, or in the church or in their Christian walk, but rather it was of super importance that they were humble, forgiving and totally surrendering their lives to the Master. This sounds so much like our world today, and unfortunately sounds a lot like our churches today. We tend to lose the importance of our relationship with God when we are so busy and so caught up in church structure and church business. Ever noticed how concerned little children are about the finer details of church life that we adults become so engrossed in? Jesus said that we need to become like them, in other words humble ourselves and learn how to totally release ourselves to God. I believe that as adults, we must learn all over again how to stay focused on the main thing, our relationship with God and our service to Him, and not allow all the extra circular things of what the church of today has become today, to distract us.

PRAYER
(What I will ask of God, in order for me to properly apply His Word to my life)

Lord Jesus, You sacrificed it all for us, yet we get so caught up in our own little world with all of our rules and business structures that we lose sight of the main thing, the reason that we come together, the reason why we joined a church in the first place, the reason why You saved us in the first place, the reason why You left Your living Word for us to follow Your commands and Your example. Please help us to get back on track, renew a right spirit within us and help us to redirect our focus on You so that we may properly pattern our lives after You for maximum impact on our lost world.

 

**Words 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
**

Scripture: Matthew 17.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Matthew 17:17 (NLT)

17 Jesus replied, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

Matthew 17:20 (NLT)

20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

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

There are several scriptures that tell us about the ordination of the disciples where Jesus extended a lot of power to them and sent them out in His name and His power. However here in verse 17 Jesus is told about a case where His disciples were given the opportunity to heal a young man but couldn’t. Jesus scolded them and told them why they couldn’t – because of their lack of faith and the corruption that had crept into their daily lives. Friends, I wonder what else Jesus would scold us about today? What about greed, or pride, or ability to get along with others, or our prejudices? Often these are things that our friends, or the deacons, or the pastor of your church may not see, but let’s not forget that Jesus knows all things, sees all things and hears all things. He knows our inmost thoughts and desires. And what about our faith, when we pray for someone, do we truly pray and are convinced that our prayers will be answered and that God’s work can really be accomplished through us? If not, we are not alone, for even the disciples had the same challenges. However we’re reminded in verse 20 that this is possible, and I believe that it is something that Jesus would really love to see us practice.

PRAYER
(What I will ask of God, in order for me to properly apply His Word to my life)

Lord Jesus, please forgive me for not practicing more faith in my Christian walk. You have placed so much in Your Word to convince me of Your power and Your love, yet I go along displaying my faithless attitude in Your power and Your ability to work through even me. Please help me change this attitude and regain my strength and confidence in You, the One who showed ultimate love so that I may have a chance into heaven. You are so awesome God, please help me deal with my unbelief and doubt. I don’t believe that I am alone in feeling this way, so I pray that You would also deal in the lives of our church leaders and pastors so that they too may be renewed in these areas

 

**Words 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
**

Scripture: Matthew 16.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Matthew 16:23 (NLT)

23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

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

Jesus made it very clear to Peter that there was grave danger in looking at His work from a human perspective. In other Scripture we are told that our ways are not God’s ways and His ways are not ours. Tying this altogether, I believe that it is clear that: a). We don’t tell God what to do, because we could only see the limitations of human eyes; b). When we place our requests at His feet, we don’t then try to tell Him how to do His work, and c). When we try to reason miracles away and try to find a human explanation for the action, we are only making God angry. Friends, we serve an awesome God. His ways are truly not our ways, and I thank God for that. Think about this old saying: “when you always do what you’ve always done, don’t expect different results”. Now, when we’ve done all we can and we go to God in prayer, don’t we need something different done than what we have already done? Let’s make it a practice to trust wholeheartedly in God, to the extent that when we ask something of Him in prayer, that we leave it up to Him for His resolution in His time and in accordance with His perfect will. I believe that it is only then that we can truly thank Him for answered prayer, and besides that, we don’t have to stress over supervising God to make sure He does it right! He is God, not us! Let us therefore surrender the desires of our hearts over to Him for miraculous responses.

PRAYER
(What I will ask of God, in order for me to properly apply His Word to my life)

Father God, I am thankful that I serve an awesome God like You. Thank You for your patience, steadfastness and love for me. Thank You for the reminder that I can truly place my needs before You and leave them there, knowing that they are in the best hands for long-lasting and miraculous responses.

 

**Words 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
**

Scripture: Exodus 3.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Exodus 3:9-10 (NLT)

9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them.

10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

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

Much has been said about the encounter between Moses and God through the burning bush, including movies that tried to reenact the miraculous story. So we may question how this may be applied to our lives today. Friends, we live in a world that is far from righteous, far from God, and God is calling out to us (Christians), to lead His people out of the slavery of sin, to show them the way of the Lord, to introduce them to our Savior. Many of us will respond like Moses did in verse 11, with many excuses, but God is looking for those that will take off our cloak of pride and make-believe, much like Moses was told to take off his sandals, so that we may recognize from whom we will receive the power to accomplish the work of the Lord. The Scripture tells us further over that the people will not know unless they are told about Jesus. Our commission is to tell

PRAYER
(What I will ask of God, in order for me to properly apply His Word to my life)

Father, please speak to me and Your people at large today, and help us to catch a glimpse of the urgency of the hour. Please prompt us in Your own way about the urgency of sharing our witness with others, and to challenge them to change from their life of sin to a committed, joyous life in the center of Your will. Please inspire us with the power to tell of Your love and Your mercy and Your grace.

 

**Words 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
**

Scripture: Matthew 15.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Matthew 15:18-20 (NLT)

18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you.

19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.

20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.

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

In a time when Christians are just as guilty of fighting among ourselves and getting a chip on our shoulders, as the followers of Jesus’ day, I believe that we should revisit these verses and take heart to what Jesus is teaching here. My take on this is that with our mouths we can say anything that we believe the hearer needs, or wants to hear. However, what Jesus is concerned about is the heartfelt malice, hatred, unconcern, envy, and bad feelings we have towards the person. I immediately thought of that popular song “Create in Me a Clean Heart, Oh God, and renew a right spirit within me”, because this is what I believe that God is calling us out to be – honest in our relationships and in our representation of Him.

PRAYER
(What I will ask of God, in order for me to properly apply His Word to my life)

Lord You have reminded me of the importance of being Your child in all ways and not simply speaking the words that I believe the other person wants to hear. What they really want to hear is my heart, my honesty, the open truth about a situation. Please help me to be loving in what I say, but yet help me to be very honest in what I say. I want to be just like You, and this can only be accomplished when I represent You well so that others may see and hear Jesus and want to know You in a very personal way. Thank You for Your honesty with me, now please help me to do the same in all of my dealings with others.

 

**Words 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
**

Scripture: Genesis 50.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Genesis 50:19-21 (NLT)

19 But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you?

20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.

21 No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them.

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

Like Joseph, I believe that we can look back in our lives and reflect on the times that we have really wondered what was going on, perhaps even questioned if God was hardened to our call out to Him yet, after the fact, we could smile at what God really accomplished during those down times in our lives. I’m sure that Joseph must have felt like he had reached a stage in his life where he had really felt forsaken, abandoned, unloved and was considered a nobody, yet God used all that to reposition Joseph to a place of honor and a place where his influence actually proved to be a savior for his family. When we talk about rags to riches, or from the pits of Hell to the glories of Heaven, these might illustrate the extremes from which Joseph was lifted up. Friend, this is the kind of impact that God can have on those that surrender their lives to Him today also. Have you committed your life to Christ? Have you accepted Him as Lord, and humbled yourself to a place of servanthood so that God may truly rule and reign in your life? Seeing that you are able to read this devotional, makes me know that it is not too late for you to make this key decision in your life that can bring eternal implications and benefits. Please consider speaking with your pastor today for help in this decision, or contact me and I will gladly help you and pray with you, but don’t ignore an important decision like this today.

PRAYER
(What I will ask of God, in order for me to properly apply His Word to my life)

Lord Jesus, thank You for the gift of salvation. Some of my friends have not made this vital decision yet. I pray that You will tender their hearts today and work with them yet again to help them see their sin and ultimate sentence of Hell and damnation. Thank You for Your love and providing a much better option for us. May decisions be made even today to accept You as Lord, is my humble prayer.

 

**Words 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
**