Month: November 2014

Attitude More Important Than Sacrifice

On By Ed AlgreenIn Attitude, Giving, SacrificeLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

10 Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. 11 Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. 12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.

(Bible Translation and Location: New Living Translation – 2 Corinthians 8:10-12)

Thoughts:

In my previous devotional I addressed the idea of giving to God, as we are blessed. In today’s scripture I am reminded of the New Testament story of the ‘Widow’s Mite’ where Jesus highlighted the penny offering dropped in by a widow. Because it was given from the heart and represented everything the widow had to give, Jesus was overjoyed with her gift. Personally in growing up, a quarter was a frequent offering given to me to place in the offering plate. Later while still at home, I remember that increased to a dollar. When I started working and was taught about the biblical standards for giving, it almost killed me to know that I was actually giving one hundred dollars to the church at one time! It wasn’t until I recognized that God was blessing me beyond measure with the 90% I had left to meet my bills with, and spend recreationally, that I understood that I had no reason to judge what the church might do with all this extra money I was giving. Rather, I learned to praise God for all His many riches that He blessed me with each day, and in return, for allowing me to give a portion back to Him for His continued work here on earth. I am a firm believer in church members giving freely of their tithes and offering to the Lord. I am also a firm believer that, based on my personal experience, God will open the doors of heaven and bless you with more than enough to still meet your earthly financial obligations. Let me encourage you to look at your income in this way: If you earn $1,000 gross pay, $200 of that may be taken out in taxes – so you can’t bank on the $1,000 as your spendable income, you can only count on $800. If you are a follower of Christ, then you can’t bank on the $800, because $100 of that gross income belongs to God as your tithe, so you can only bank on actual spendable income of $700. Now for those who are new to this principle, there is no economic class that will teach you how God can help you meet $800 worth of bills with only $700, but friend let me be quick to remind you that no professor can tell you how the Red Sea was parted for God’s chosen people to cross safely across to the other side either. Nor how Lazarus, who had already begun to decompose in his grave, yet he was brought back to life by Jesus! Remember, if we could figure the acts of Jesus out in our minds, then it is, or was not an act of Jesus. The one thing I can encourage you with this morning, based on personal experiences, is that when you place your faith and trust in Jesus, then you must do what He says, in expectation and assurance that He will do what He said He would do for you! His love never changes, and He’s still God, friend!

Prayer:

When I consider the beauty around me today: the ocean and all that it brings forth for us to survive on and enjoy; the plants and all the vegetables and fruit that plays such a vital part in my health; the wonderful family, friends and even strangers that I meet who enrich my life; who am I to question You oh God about working out Your will and way in my life? I just celebrated my 44th year at work, when some stay only a very short time before moving on to ‘greener grasses’. I will be celebrating my 39th wedding anniversary tomorrow (God willing) to the same lovely lady, while I look at statistics that more than 50% of marriages end in divorce. I can thank my God from the bottom of my heart that He’s still God in every way, especially in my life. With all that reassurance Lord, I humbly ask that You will continue to bless me, and Your other servants who has Your heart to give in support of Your work here on earth. May our hearts always be appreciative of Your many gifts that You provide for us, as incentive to continue giving from hearts of love. May Your work flourish in our churches and in our communities. May we continue to willingly and gladly serve You in and through everything we do and say everyday, so that those who may not have accepted You as Lord yet, will see Your hand at work in us and have a stronger desire and intent to know You more today than ever considered before in their life.

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day‘s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL!

The Precursor To Unreserved Giving

On By Ed AlgreenIn GivingLeave a comment

The Holy Bible Says….

    They gave offerings of whatever they could—far more than they could afford!—pleading for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians. This was totally spontaneous, entirely their own idea, and caught us completely off guard. What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives.

(Bible Translation and Location: The Message – 2 Corinthians 8:3-5)

Thoughts:

During the recession we are just now coming out of, we saw many banks fail and we saw many churches close their doors, but the reasons for failure may be different for each of these. For banks I believe that greed and lack of proper management got them in trouble. Fortunately in the US there was a big brother (FDIC) looking over the shoulders of financial institutions, with financial support to avoid loss to their depositors. In the case of the churches, I’m afraid that through lack of commitment, lack of continued outreach into the community, and subsequent lack of financial support by their members, they had insufficient resources to continue operation, so they died. Throughout my years of growing up in the church, and even as an adult, I remember the church always begging members to give more so that the church could be the church in local communities and throughout the world. I believe Paul’s explanation on what enabled the church in Macedonia to give so generously, might have a lot to do with failing vs successful churches today. The church ministered to by Paul gave generously from their hearts because they had first given themselves unreservedly to God. Now, for churches that are still failing today, could you see the correlation in their members vs what Paul witnessed in the Macedonian church? There may very well be a strong need for our members today to first give themselves unreservedly to God before we could once again see vibrant outreach, missions, teaching, making a difference in our communities, attendance and commitment from all age groups in the church, before we could see members getting their eyes off self and their worldly worth, and instead focus on the needs of the world to know Christ in a very personal and committed way. Friends, in God’s Word we are commanded to give generously from the heart (a heart committed to God and His work here on earth), and a guideline of at least 10% of our gross income is given to us. In these verses nothing is directed of the church leaders to use the funds in a way pleasing to you, so please don’t use that as an excuse not to give as commanded. Our church leaders are held accountable by God to use His resources wisely for the ongoing work of the church. Let’s answer to God in response to what is demanded of us, and let our church leaders be accountable to God for their responsibilities. Satan is the chief of all sinners and of all lies. He will temp you with every reason not to be obedient to God and His precious Word. Plant your faith firmly in God friend, listen to His voice and His commands through His Word, and allow these things to guide you in your living and in your giving. Just as God has dealt in your life to give, He will also deal in the lives of those with the fiduciary right to use those funds in a way pleasing to God. They are accountable to God, just like you are, so don’t let Satan prompt you into not giving as God commanded you to do. First of all, give yourself unreservedly to God, all else will fall into place after that!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, please touch the hearts of Your children today, for we have allowed Satan free reign in our lives that are supposedly given wholeheartedly to You. Please help us to realize our sinfulness, and to seek Your face and Your perfect will for our lives. Please teach us about commitment, because I believe that as we commit ourselves unreservedly to You, not only will we see our giving realigned to Your perfect will, but also our lives will become an open book reflecting You before our lost family and friends. Please work on us daily so that we never lose ground in our faith, our beliefs, and most of all in our unreserved commitment to You. Lord, You are worthy, and deserving of all of us. May we constantly strive to have all of You in our lives so that all of You will naturally flow from us in words and actions. Thank You Jesus! I am asking all of this in Your wonderful and powerful name, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day‘s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL!

Godly Sorrow????

On By Ed AlgreenIn ForgivenessLeave a comment

The Holy Bible Says…..

10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.

11 Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.

(Bible Translation and Location: New Living Translation – 2 Corinthians 7:10-11)

Thoughts:

I believe that most of us go to church to be uplifted, to renew our strength in the Lord, to be filled with enough joy to last us all week around family, friends and coworkers who can often get on our very last nerve, right? So, of course God got my attention in verse 11 when Paul spoke of this ‘godly sorrow’! Please allow me to bring this into perspective today, so that we might reap the benefits that the Corinthian church gained. I have a four year old nephew, and anytime I threaten to, or actually, snatch away his favorite toy, there’s a time of unhappiness! If we go to church and God didn’t challenge us on one character flaw in our life that should be changed or enhanced for His glory, then what else might we have gained from the service? When we are challenged by God’s Word to get rid of certain behaviors that actually defy the truth, or intention, of His Word in our witness for Him, that’s often a sad time. After all, we are acknowledging that under our own strength, we really screwed things up. Friends, please know that there is good that results from this kind of surrender and forgiveness. Paul explains in verse 11, that because of the people’s godly sorrow, he actually saw some very positive character and godly changes in their lives, and I would like to see us apply these to our lives. Here they are: earnestness (a carefulness to make peace with our God because of our breach of His laws, and to preserve peace by avoiding similar breaches in the future); clear ourselves (purging ourselves of the guilt of self, and/or the church, and by dealing with issues in a Godly fashion); indignation (displeasure with self-directed successes); alarm/fear (an attention to the fact that certain temptations might easily cause us to fall back into the same sin, or separation from God); zeal (a zeal for our Christian duty – not that of the qualified or most holy or younger); readiness to recognize and punish sin (acts of discipline, denying self to avoid sin to self or against others); and of course just overall peace with God and man as we attempt to live God-directed lives that are pleasing to Him in every way. So to think godly sorrow may at the surface seem like a play on words, it really is more of a mind sobering time where God straightens us out about our weaknesses and waywardness. Friends, let’s learn to place close attention to God’s Word, whether in our daily devotions or through teaching and/or preaching at our churches, and let’s apply it to ourselves. Let God deal with that person besides you or behind you that you are convinced needs to hear the topic a lot more than you. Let God speak to you privately and personally, so that you may be aware of the things requiring attention in your life. It is only then that we can be a true, honest, servant for Him in ministering to others.

Prayer:

My Lord and Savior, please forgive me for the times I am stubborn, and pay so little attention to the sorrow and disappointment that I must bring to You when I fail and/or don’t persevere in my obedience to Your Word. Thank You for providing a path to righteousness, and eternity in heaven with You. Thank You for not giving up on me, but continuing to mold me and guide me into all truth so that I might have everything I need to leave the things that dishonor You behind, and to reach for the positive and glorious future that You have in store for me. Lord, I pray that I might become more useful in Your earthly kingdom so that others who need You will witness Your peace and glory in everything that I do or say. May the ‘old’ and forgiven things that once filled my life, remain just that. May I always be prompted by Your Holy Spirit to live according to Your Word, for Your sake, and ultimate kingdom. May others who meditate on this devotional today also be inclined to honor You in this way today, is my humble prayer, that I ask in Your precious name, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL!

Purified Lives

On By Ed AlgreenIn PurityLeave a comment

The Holy Bible says….

All these promises are made to us, my dear friends. So then, let us purify ourselves from everything that makes body or soul unclean, and let us be completely holy by living in awe of God.

(Bible Translation and Location: The Good News Translation – 2 Corinthians 7:1)

Thoughts:

I once heard that there are over 5,000 promises in the Word of God! Do you make promises to strangers that you really intend to keep? I doubt it, so friend if I was you, I wouldn’t go on banking on these promises from God if you are but a stranger to Him. However, there is one promise that I’m sure He will honor for the non-Christian, or the unconcerned, and that is: if you admit you are a sinner, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, confess your unworthiness and your sin before Him, and ask Him to come into your heart and be Lord of your life, then I have no doubt that He will honor His promise to accept you as His very own child, because He declared in His Word to us that, “whosoever believes in Him” (John 3:16) will be saved, and have eternal life. Now, the second part of this verse is equally as important, for it says that we are to live in respect (awe) of God and therefore keep ourselves pure and stay away from sin and/or sinning. I once heard a story about a drunk who had followed the plan I just spoke of, and committed himself to the Lord. He was so afraid of the power of sin, and the entrapment of sin that always kept him hostage, that he walked an extra block on the way home, just to avoid passing the bar where he used to hang out with his drinking buddies. You see friend, God will save you of your sin, and He will be near and dear to help You in life’s struggles and temptations, but He also wants to know that you are serious enough about your commitment to Him that you will also do your part in making every effort to avoid the entrapments that once overpowered you and caused separation between you and Him. To keep yourself pure means that you are doing everything possible to avoid impurities. Think about the medical field and all that they do to avoid the impurities in order to save a human life. This is what we must do to keep ourselves pure before a Holy and righteous God! Paul even told us how to accomplish this: by living in awe, or reverence, of God. You know, the kind of respect that you had for your parents when you were growing up. You did what they taught you out of respect and love for them. God is out to help you way more than He’s out to get you!

Prayer:

Dear Lord, thank You for all You have done, and continue to do in my life. Thank You for Your limitless blessings that You pour out on me each day. I’m sure that You are well aware of the power of Satan to destroy Your children in particular, so it will be no surprise to You that I need Your power more and more each day to stand firm in my faith and to honor You in every facet of my life. I stand in awe of Your many blessings, and I want to be so loyal to You and Your Word that I might even feel that I am not only a child of the King, but actually feel honored as in royalty. This is in no way a wish that would result in pride, but Father, it is so humbling to read, hear and understand that the God of this universe, the King of all kings, the Savior of all mankind could ever love me as much as You do. I really need to wrap my head around that! Please deal in the heart of my unsaved loved ones and friends again today, so that they may gain an appreciation for Your love, and desire a relationship with You. Only You can accomplish this dear Jesus, so I humbly ask all this in Your precious name, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day‘s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL!

Considering Partnering?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Obedience, PartnershipLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

Don’t become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That’s not partnership; that’s war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God’s holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way:

    “I’ll live in them, move into them;

    I’ll be their God and they’ll be my people.

    So leave the corruption and compromise;

    leave it for good,” says God.

    “Don’t link up with those who will pollute you.

    I want you all for myself.

    I’ll be a Father to you;

    you’ll be sons and daughters to me.”

    The Word of the Master, God.

(Bible Translation and Location: The Message – 2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

Thoughts:

I’m trying to picture the mindset of most of my readers. Let me guess what you would do in this scenario: You are selling your home, or any large ticket item. Up walks an ordinary looking guy who tells you that he is a millionaire and wants to buy your home. You immediately go to find the keys while he is writing you a check, right? If you haven’t already closed out this blog, you are probably about to do it, because this sounds like such a silly scenario. Bear with me friend, because there really isn’t much difference between that silly example than some of the choices we make in our partnerships. Imagine a city girl, Christian choir member type girl, deciding to marry (partner with) a hunter who has never seen a church door. She might obviously feel like she will change that boy into the same image her dad always had of a successful Christian businessman type son-in-law! But imagine the first trip to the woods when the hunter and his buddies are relaxing around the fire drinking their beers and telling dirty jokes. Does that fit into the lifestyle this young lady was used to and is striving to maintain? Will it serve to strengthen her relationship with the Lord? It’s like mixing water and oil, they just don’t mix. Oh the things that we often pollute the Holy Spirit of God with. Now this is an example in marriage, but what about those cases where we make business partnerships along these same lines. The Christian partner should stand for honesty and integrity in every facet of the business. Is he not placing himself in a position for constant fights with a non-Christian partner who only cares about the bottom line, and will stop at nothing to keep the business as profitable as possible, while reporting to taxing authorities as little as he could stay out of jail with? Paul found it important enough to warn his church members about such decisions. God thought it was important enough to include this in His Word to warn Christians today, because He knew that we would be faced with such decisions. So let’s pay attention to the Word Brothers and Sisters. God has provided it as our instruction book that would lead us to all truth, and as near to His perfection as we can possible become here on earth. Are you taking notes and following ALL aspects of His Word, or just the portions that feel good and bring good results for you? God wants our wholehearted attention, dedication and commitment friend, are you willing to go the distance for Him?

Prayer:

Lord, we make such silly mistakes in the name of success and purported riches. Please help us daily to understand that our riches are in the blessed hope of ultimately being in heaven with our loving Father one day, sitting at His feet, and singing unending praises to, and glorifying, Him. To get there with the fewest bumps and bruises, please help us to stay focused and determined as Your children while blessed with limitless opportunities here on planet earth. Please direct us to the opportunities that will ultimately bring glory to You and not selfishly focus on the potential earthly riches to ourselves. Please constantly keep our lost family, friends and coworkers foremost in our minds and in our prayers so that we can one day rejoice in seeing them join us in glory with you. Please give us obedient minds so that we may always honor Your Word and serve You to our fullest potential. These things I ask in the precious name of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day‘s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL!