Scripture: John 17.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

John 17:4 (NLT)

4 I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.

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

In these first few verses of John 17 Jesus is having a conversation with His Father, God. In this particular verse 4, Jesus says to His Father that He has completed the work He was sent to do – to bring salvation to the world. The way that God spoke to me through this passage is by showing me that if I am to be an image of Jesus, following in His footsteps and taking His lead on the things I should do here on this earth, then I too will be striving to follow the will of God with all my heart. In fact, I believe that at the end of each day I should be able to reflect on the day and say to my Savior that I have completed the work that He placed me here to do. For as I do that each day, I believe that I will definitely gain the confidence to say to Him at the close of my life here on earth, much like He said to the Father, thanks be to God I have completed the work for which I was called. I don’t know about you friend, but I don’t feel like I could honestly say that at this point in my life, but I do believe that if I make this my goal, and if I seek the Father’s face daily for His help in achieving this awesome goal, that He will surely give me the direction, the strength and the fortitude to serve Him in sincerity each day by accomplishing all that He has placed me here to do. Are you prepared to join me in following Jesus in this way? With Jesus as our Savior and our Guide, we can do all things through Him who strengthens us!

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

Lord Jesus, please give me strength each day to follow Your will. Please help me to be obedient in all that You might lead me to do, so that Your perfect will might be accomplished. Please give me determination and commitment to do all that’s necessary to honestly say each day that I have completed all that You have asked me to do. May Your will be done oh Lord, not mine!

 

**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: Numbers 13.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Numbers 13:30-31 (NLT)

30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”

31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!”

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

This story is evidence that a majority vote will normally win an argument! However, as Christians we must be careful to measure even the popular vote against what God says in His Word. For in this story we can see where the majority of the men that went to scout out the Promised Land that God had promised to them, returned with very negative thoughts. In fact, reading their accounts it is very evident that they only accounted for their abilities, in spite of all the miracles they had seen firsthand while travelling through the wilderness. Caleb, on the other hand knew the power source behind them and was convinced that this challenge was nothing compared to the obstacles they had overcome with God’s help while traveling through the wilderness. Friends, this is typical of people in general where some may look at the glass half empty, while others see it half full. We have a book with story after story that detail miracle after miracle. We meet together with other believers that testify to the great power that our God demonstrates in their lives day after day, and with all that as our back drop, we should display all the faith, courage and abilities as anyone here on earth could possibly muster up. Unfortunately, there may be times that we focus on the majority vote, instead of the awesome God that we serve. May we all be encouraged to be like Caleb today and stay focused on God and His awesome power, and not on the circumstances that could very easily lead us astray. Think about it, there is nothing that our God and us cannot conquer. Why not let Him?

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

Lord Jesus, I believe with all my heart that, as children of the all-powerful, almighty God, we are more than conquers in all things. Please help me to keep my eyes focused on this truth today. Please touch the life of that friend who is struggling to see the positive side of Your power and strength today. Please give them the confidence of Caleb to encourage them in their circumstances today.

 

**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: Numbers 11.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Numbers 11:21-23 (NLT)

21 But Moses responded to the LORD, “There are 600,000 foot soldiers here with me, and yet you say, ‘I will give them meat for a whole month!’ 22 Even if we butchered all our flocks and herds, would that satisfy them? Even if we caught all the fish in the sea, would that be enough?”

23 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!”

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

All too often we allow the spirit of weakness to well up in us and overpower us. We are reminded from God’s Word about His great power and we see from current miracles that our God’s not dead, He’s very much alive and just as powerful today as in all the evidence that we see in His Word. Yet we come before this awesome God like weak and defeated folk who has no knowledge of God. In verse 23, God became visibly upset with Moses, because in spite of the miracles God had done through Moses and in his presence, yet Moses had the audacity to doubt how he and God were going to feed the multitude of people gathered as an army for Moses. Friend, don’t beat up on Moses. We are even worse when we go before God in prayer on behalf of something or someone, with challenges that appear to be a mountain to us. Friends, we serve an awesome God, whose power excels anything we could ever imagine. Let us place our total selves in His hands and immerse ourselves in His love, and allow His mighty hand to reign over everything in our lives or anything that could ever trouble us. Rest assured, He has this covered. He’s in control! We just need to let go and let God have His will and way. He can do it!

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 falling short in the area of faith and complete confidence in You at times. Thank You for this reminder this morning, that You are God and God alone. I have no reason to doubt Your power, Your grace and Your love for me. Please allow me to place my hand in Yours today with the greatest confidence in knowing that You are still God and can do all things that bring honor and glory to You.

 

**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: Mark 8.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Mark 8:27-29 (NLT)

27 Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

28 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.”

29 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”

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

I believe that if the right person asked us how we feel about Jesus, we might respond that He’s my best friend, my Lord and Savior, my deliverer and I love Him wholeheartedly. Now, I also believe that if we were challenged with that question by someone we didn’t know very well, or we didn’t know where that person stood, we may respond a little more reservedly. My challenge today is verse 29, where Jesus is asking very pointedly to each of us, but who do you say I am? This takes on a new perspective, because Jesus knows us very personally. He knows if we respond hypocritically, for He knows our very heart. So my challenge to us all is, how would we respond to Jesus if asked this question today? I bet for those of us without challenges, this may be a quick, easy, very positive answer. For those of us that are faced with challenges, I need to remind us that Jesus is Lord of all, yes all of life’s challenges and good times. He died a sacrificial life for us, while we were yet sinners, so of course He loves us and cares about all that is going on in our lives. Let’s not turn our backs on Him, or love Him any less if we are thrown a cure ball today with a challenge that may cause us to question “where is God?” Jesus said that He will be with us, even until the end of time here on this earth. Careful not to disown Him or think less of Him when things are not going our way.

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

Thank You Lord for loving me even through the worst of times. Yes, even in times that I may not be very proud of. Please strengthen Your people today so that we may learn to stay loyal to Your love, and our Savior, even in times when things are not going the way we want them. Thank You for loving me. May I always be loyal and loving to You in return.

 

**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: Mark 7.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Mark 7:20-23 (NLT)

20 And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. 21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 2 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.

23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”

Philippians 4:8

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

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

Folk may sometimes say that the Bible is full of negative things, because all it ever tells you about are the things that you shouldn’t do. This passage in Mark is probably one of those, because Jesus is warning us about how important it is for us to protect our heart and our soul, for most terrible things that occur come from a heart that is defiled, or soured. Praise God though, that over in Philippians 4 we are told what should occupy our mind, our heart and our soul. Friends I want to encourage you today to: a). Protect your heart from the things mentioned in Mark, for we are warned that these will lead to no good, and b). Look at the positive side of things when faced with challenges or just everyday life. I believe that as we look at the good in folk, we will see good folk, and we will allow them to influence areas of our lives that we may struggle with. Let’s not allow the negative found in many folk to have a negative impact on our already challenged lives.

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

Lord Jesus, I will be faced with choices and decisions today where I will decide whether to respond negatively or positively. I am convinced that with Your help, strength and direction, I can make wise choices that will lead to a positive experience others may have in dealing with me. Lord, I want to be just like You, so it is important that I stop and listen to Your voice before making stupid responses or acting in ways that will not reflect Your loving nature. Please have Your will and way in my life today, so that I may represent You well in all of life’s circumstances.

 

**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
**