Month: February 2015

God’s Desire For His People

On By Ed AlgreenIn Evangelism, God's Chosen People4 Comments

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Jeremiah 13:11): …. That’s how tightly I held onto the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. I wanted them to be my people. I wanted to make them famous, so that other nations would praise and honor me, but they refused to obey me.

THOUGHTS: This verse reminds me of the desire of most parents to see the very best for their children, yet we often see our children go on living their own life and doing their own thing. Sometimes this aligns with our desire for their success and/or their future, and sometimes not. There are times that we put aside certain gifts for our children and wait for the right opportunity to bless them with it, but there are times our children become so independent that they run off and do their own thing without wanting anything from their humble parents. So if we, as weak and humble parents plan for such good things for our children, imagine how much more our heavenly Father has in store for us? As it is, I am personally blessed beyond my wildest imagination – health, family, job, friends, church home and family, and a Savior who loves me enough to have sacrificed His very life so that I might have access to heaven through His sacrifice! Wow!! But friends, more than all of this we should truly recognize the evidence of God’s love for us. Can you even imagine that He would think of us like He did Israel and Judah? Can you imagine that He wants to be able to have non-believers look up to us for spiritual life and hope? Can you even imagine us being praised by non-believers for reflecting the light and love of Jesus to them so that their eyes might be opened to His forgiveness and His offer of salvation for them? Can you allow your mind to wander off and think about other nations looking to us, then accepting Jesus as their Lord, praising His dear name and honoring Him as He demands? I know this is mind boggling friends, but I believe that God can do what appears to be impossible to us. I believe that He can, and will, use His children who will surrender all to Him, and use us for His ultimate glory. Time is running short for the unsaved to find Truth and Hope and Eternal Salvation. Under no circumstances are we needed by God, but I believe that His Word is clear in proclaiming that He wants to use us in His service while still here on this old earth. Oh that He might have unhindered access to us today! Just let go of the evil hold of this old earth, and allow God control of a fully surrendered life to Him. Will you do that today? Read the footnote for help in doing this friend!

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for loving me enough to overwhelm me with Your love! That’s about how I feel today after meditating on this verse of Scripture! To think that You would love me enough to entrust me with Your message to share with the unsaved world, is nothing short of miraculous. Please help me to surrender the parts of my life that is hindering You from working completely through me. Lord, I have family and friends that show no evidence of having accepted You as Lord. Please forgive me if I have been a hindrance to them. Please give me boldness and tenacity to show them Your love, and express the awesome impact that You have been in my life. Lord, I want them to see You and accept You as their Lord and Savior. I pray that I might be used by you to be a positive influence in their life as a child of the King, and a life so filled with Your love and example that they will be drawn to You. I know that time is getting short before Your return for Your church. Please impact the lives of all readers of this devotional today in such a way that we might all be re-energized to constant expressions of Your love towards all that we might come into contact with today. Thank You for being such a loving God to us, Your children. May we be acceptable in Your sight oh Lord, and worthy of impacting another life for You, Savior Divine, 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! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Teach With Your Life

On By Ed AlgreenIn ExampleLeave a comment

The Holy Bible   (The Message – 1 Timothy 4:11-14):     Get the word out. Teach all these things. And don’t let anyone put you down because you’re young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity. Stay at your post reading Scripture, giving counsel, teaching. And that special gift of ministry you were given when the leaders of the church laid hands on you and prayed—keep that dusted off and in use.

Thoughts:   Paul instructed Timothy on things to be leery of. I believe that God ordered that these instructions be included in His Message to us because they equally apply to us. In these verses, I heard God saying:

  • We have a responsibility to get the word out – the Word of God, The witness of all that He has done in our lives;
  • We are cautioned that people might be prejudiced against us – it might be age, it might be color, it might be gender, or anything else that they feel might serve to block us from imposing, or sharing our message with them;
  • We must be careful to also minister to believers – Paul knew that the primary way to get through to believers would be to teach them through our actions, our words, our demeanor, our love, our faith, our integrity – just our straight out attitude and character. If Jesus is not shining through us in our outward life actions, does He truly reside in our heart?
  • Keep on keeping on – a message I’ve heard consistently over the past few months. Paul is also advising that we stay at our posts, doing what God instructs us, in spite of what the people around us may do to deflect or reject us;
  • We have a special gift – share it! This can be from a talent standpoint, or simply from a standpoint of having the gift of God’s Son inside of us and a deep desire to share Him with others;
  • Keep our gift dusted off – this reminds me that I am to stay in the Word, attend church services and training, and do my very best to be current in my relationship and experiences with the Lord. Sharing something with someone that happened to you over 10 years ago gives the impression that your God must be dead. Why hasn’t He been active in your life experiences this week? Also, witnessing about something that has occurred in your life, versus something that happened in a friend’s life, is way more powerful. So be attuned to all that God is doing for you personally.

Prayer:   Thank You Lord for the plan You had for Timothy; the plan You had for Paul to encourage and minister to Timothy; and the plan You have for my life and the lives of my readers. Thankfully You are a ‘personal’ God who loves us individually in unconditional ways. You chose us to be Your children; Your followers; Your messengers; because we have family, friends and loved ones that will listen to us and watch our very actions. Lord, may they see Jesus very evident in our life, our word, our demeanor, our love, our faith and in our integrity. In fact, may the love of God be so evident in us that others would have a desire to also have Him become a part of their lives. Just as Timothy went on to win the lost to You, may You also see results from our very existence here on this earth and particularly from our personal witness. This is my desire today Lord, and I ask this in the precious name of Jesus, my King, now and throughout eternity, 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! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Be Passionate In Ministry

On By Ed AlgreenIn Evangelism, PassionateLeave a comment

The Holy Bible   (New Living Translation – 1Timothy 4:7-10): 7 Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. 8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 9 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. 10 This is why we work hard and continue to struggle (or continue to suffer), for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.

Thoughts:   In our everyday conversations we often find ourselves ‘chasing rabbits’ – getting off the subject at hand. Often, if we are not careful, our little side-tracked conversations could actually turn into a total distraction from what we intended to say. I believe that Satan works exactly like that friends. I believe that he is most upset when he is losing the battle and we are succeeding in sharing the gospel with a non-believer, so he gets us off on to something irrelevant. Paul saw where this was challenging Timothy, so he warned him to not get caught up in it. Instead, he wanted Timothy to become proficient in his faith and to work steadily and faithfully to be godly in every way. Doesn’t the various distractions, which tend to side-track Bible studies or other Christian based enhancement studies, amaze you? Let’s be cautioned about the originator of the distractions, and instead be steadfast in declaring the Word of God as He intended for us to do. Remember also that this is not restricted to studies taking place at our churches. This will happen when you are determined to witness to a friend or loved one. But let’s keep in mind that through our passion for the Lord and/or leading the unsaved to Him, that there is no greater purpose. Be reminded of what Paul said in verse 8, the benefits will bless us in this world, and in the next. So be prepared and determined to prevent distractions from getting in your way of sharing the gospel today. There is a greater purpose, and there are great rewards for those of us who believe, and are willing to share the joy with others! Be passionate and determined, and ask God to be your guide as you work for Him. Remember, it is for His glory that you share His name, not yours.

Prayer:   Lord, You are good and Your mercies endureth forever! Whom then shall I fear? Why should I doubt when I see distraction occurring? Please help me to stay focused and passionate towards the work that You have assigned to me. Please help me to be careful not to distract those trying to share the gospel, instead please teach me to pray in all earnest that You may speak through the words of mere man to reach a soul for You. Please encourage us today, and give us boldness to spread the good news of Jesus Christ through all that we may say or do with all that we may come into contact with. Please teach us to stay focused on the goal – spending eternity with You, and give us a deep desire to do everything possible to encourage those we love to be present on that day when You will gather us around Your throne. Lord, You are good and Your mercies endureth forever! Praise the name of the Lord! Thank You for being so good! Thank You for hearing the cry of Your humble servant today, for I ask all this in the precious and holy name of Jesus, all for You sake and Your glory, 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! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

What God Likes Best!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Pleasing to God, WorshipLeave a comment

The Holy Bible   (The Contemporary English Version – Jeremiah 9:23-24): 23 The Lord says: Don’t brag about your wisdom or strength or wealth. 24 If you feel you must brag, then have enough sense to brag about worshiping me, the Lord. What I like best is showing kindness, justice, and mercy to everyone on earth.

Thoughts:   From a very young age, I believe that we have a desire to please, especially when we know there are rewards when such behavior is recognized! I was pleasantly surprised to find these two verses smack in the middle of a discourse between God and Jeremiah, where God was warning Jeremiah about the destruction that will be poured out on his people, because of their sin and disregard. Fortunately, I believe that this is the same attitude God has towards you and I today, friend. Because of our sin, and our disregard for Him and His precious Word, we deserve death, destruction and total disregard by God, for we are doing much like God accused Jeremiah’s people of. We are all about self-success, self-riches, self-pride, self-smarts. I believe that way too often we feel like we have this thing called ‘life’ all figured out, so why would we need God. This is most unfortunate, because there are also times where we feel so out of control and helpless. Don’t you know that those are the times that God is shaking our conscience and trying to wake us up from the awful sleep/disregard/disrespect that we have fallen into? I was most humbled by what God told Jeremiah, when He indicated that He would really prefer not having to punish us (ever heard your parents say that!!!), if only we would worship Him, accept Him, love Him and honor Him, then He would instead show kindness, justice and mercy towards everyone on earth! We serve such an awesome God friend! He loves us enough to forgive us and bless us instead of destroying us, which is probably what we deserve. So pleasing God replaces the destruction that could be brought upon us, with blessings beyond our imagination! But can you imagine how happy that would also make God? I believe that just as we have a spirit of goodness in us, rather than a will to destroy, harm or hate, so does God. So I would encourage you to make every effort to accept Jesus and your Savior; love on Him and show the respect, regard and worship that He deserves, and then relax in His goodness and mercy all the days of your life, yes even throughout eternity! Praise the name of Jesus, our Savior and Lord for loving me enough to forgive me and put up with me through my weaknesses!! He is such an awesome God!

Prayer:   Jesus, friend of sinners, author and finisher of our faith, provider of life eternal for all who believes, thank You for Your undying love. Throughout scripture we discern that You would much prefer to love on us and provide for us, rather than the total opposite that will destroy us. Thank You for all You have done for me, I love You Lord and I lift my voice, to worship You, oh my soul, rejoice! Take joy my King, in all of Your children today. May our worship be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear. Although thankful for all Your blessings on me, I pray that You might still shower Your blessings on us yet again today. Please give us boldness and determination to be Your witness today and represent You well to those that need to accept You as King of their lives. I ask these things in the wonderful, loving and precious name of Jesus, 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! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Church Leader-Elder-Pastor

On By Ed AlgreenIn Church Leaders, Leadership qualificationsLeave a comment

The Holy Bible   (The Good News Translation – 1 Timothy 3:1-7): This is a true saying: if a man is eager to be a church leader, he desires an excellent work. A church leader must be without fault; he must have only one wife, be sober, self-controlled, and orderly; he must welcome strangers in his home; he must be able to teach; he must not be a drunkard or a violent man, but gentle and peaceful; he must not love money; he must be able to manage his own family well and make his children obey him with all respect. For if a man does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of the church of God? He must be mature in the faith, so that he will not swell up with pride and be condemned, as the Devil was. He should be a man who is respected by the people outside the church, so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the Devil’s trap.

Thoughts:   Because the ‘church’ is the bride of Christ, I believe that instructions for its leadership must be closely adhered to in order that it be pure, legitimate and representative of God’s image. I believe also that anytime we want to validate, or answer any questions regarding God’s intent for us, we should look to His Word for guidance and instruction. In my study of the Word this morning the highlighted verses were part of my study plan, and I felt impelled to share these verses. I have no reason to feel like any of my Pastors or Elders are faulting and specifically need to be reminded of the standards set by God for themselves, although they should always have this in the forefront of their minds. However, I don’t believe that God had Paul include these qualifications just for the purpose of our leaders, because it is incumbent upon the lay persons of the church to responsibly elect those leaders who truly qualify for the said positions, without allowing the overriding factors of wealth, community leadership or worldly skills to force an election, regardless of their spiritual or Biblical based qualifications. Furthermore, I believe you will agree that these are some very stringent guidelines in character, and involve personal decisions and choices over a lifetime. So it is vitally important that we, laypersons, keep these gentlemen foremost in our prayers, asking for God’s constant hand of mercy, leadership, guidance and protection from the Evil one. These guys are a prime target for the Devil, because they are given the task of leading God’s work in this world. However, we know that God’s power is greater than any attempts by Satan, so as we plead the hand of Jesus upon them, we are actually raising the only worthy shield against Satan. Friends, if we are to obey the full extent of God’s Word, then we are to ensure that God’s leaders are properly chosen based on His instruction, for we will be held accountable by God. Once elected, we are then to lift these leaders up in constant prayer so that they may be protected from the Evil one and continue to live Godly lives, and lead God’s church in ways that will magnify Him and win the lost to Him. All of this will lead to the preservation of the church, God’s bride, all for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ! Leaders, Elders, Pastors, only you and God know what happens in the closets of your lives, May you stand boldly before God, as an open book before Him, and without blemish. May His bride flourish through your leadership!

Prayer:   Thank You Lord for the Elders and Pastors you have blessed us with at my church! Thank You for the opportunities given to pray for these gentlemen! May I always take my responsibility seriously to pray for Your work in my area, and for the leaders given the responsibility to organize and promote Your cause through my church. May Your church be the church You intended for ministry to this area and as we travel abroad in mission work. May Your work never be hindered by leaders that disqualify themselves because of Satan, for that will not only constitute a failure on the individual(s) but also on laity for not doing our job of praying sufficiently. I pray that You will always have wide open access to the hearts of men, women and children who need to know You, and that no distraction by our leadership might intervene in Your work. Thank You Lord for Your Word, and for the assurance of Your protection as You build a hedge around our leaders who are determined to fulfill Your kingdom work in our community. May I always be a part of Your work and not a detractor. Bless my friends who will read this devotional with the same determination to pray. Please continue to bless our Pastors and Elders with Your will to live holy and upright lives that can be used by You. I pray believing, and in thanksgiving, in the name of Jesus, my Savior, 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! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Necessary Actions for Effective Ministry

On By Ed AlgreenIn Men, Prayer, WomenLeave a comment

The Holy Bible  (The Message – 1 Timothy 2:8-10): Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray—not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God. And I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it.

Thoughts:  In giving direction to Timothy for ministry among the churches, Paul knew that the driving force behind a successful work of the Lord would be: prayer; commitment by the church (Christian brothers and sisters); their respective attitudes, and their roles being controlled by the God they intended to serve. Friends, these same characteristics are necessary for the successful work of the Lord in our day also! To achieve the desired dedication, commitment personal effectiveness of the people, Paul had a few guidelines for Timothy to teach them, and since I already stated that this is much like our efforts today to spread the gospel, I believe this applies to us also. Here’s what Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, taught us:

MEN – Pray, pray, pray! As I studied this deeper, there is indication that Paul wanted men to pray everywhere. That tells me that we are to pray even in public places, not just in our closets as alluded to in earlier scripture. Also, just as Solomon did in 1 Kings 8:22 and Psalm 141:2, Paul felt it was important that men lift up holy hands before a holy God. Not only is this a sign of surrendering self to God, but doing this in all holiness is also reemphasizing Psalm 24:3-4. Prayer should be the first thing a Christian man should do in every circumstance. In fact, Paul indicated that this should be done rather than showing our anger against those who abuse us or harm us in any way. Think about it Brothers, when we ‘PRAY’, we are showing respect to God, humbling ourselves to His authority and His power to fulfill His way in our circumstances, and to grow us into being more like Him. Going off and doing our own thing defies submission to God and shows disrespect to the authority of God.

WOMEN – Depending on the Bible version you read this verse in, women may be offended by what Paul was teaching here. But ladies/friends, please allow me to remind you that the Word of God is not intended to be a ‘feel good’ book of instructions for everything you may like. In fact, why have a book of instruction if you want it to always make you feel good about what you are doing, or want to do? Based on supporting study material, I believe Paul is instructing our beautiful ladies to not spend so much time on the physical appearance, but instead on the inward person. For the outward appearance will attract undesirables, but the inward loving, caring, beauty and example of a God-fearing woman will serve to display the love and concern of our loving Father who wants so badly that all may come to know Him personally. Your humbleness to your Christian husbands will be a display of the respect Jesus showed for His Father in depending solely on Him for knowledge, timing and direction. Further, women have a built in mechanism that tends to nurture their children, much like Jesus wants to nurture all those that surrender their lives to Him and His authority.

Friends, if we are to see the work of God flourish, we must take our respective roles very seriously. God used this opportunity to help Paul see how to grow the churches in His day, and His Word still speaks just as clearly and loudly to us in growing and nurturing His church today. Are you on board?

Prayer:  Thank You for Your precious Word dear Lord. Thank You for considering us and how we might accept You, know You intimately, and showing us the way that we might love and care for others as You would. Please speak to myself and our Christian men that we might learn to pray more and learn to be more submissive in our prayers, so that Your perfect will might be accomplished in our world. Without You in our lives, we have absolutely nothing to offer this world that might serve to improve their standard of life. However, because You hold the key to eternal life and heaven, Your rewards are simply ‘out of this world’. May the unsaved recognize this before it is eternally too late. May we, as Christians lean on this as our encouragement for self, and as our determination to share the love of Jesus with all that we know and come into contact with. May our precious ladies have an example to follow in us as their earthly leaders, caretakers and lovers. May they see Jesus exampled in us, and may they in turn, seek to live disciplined and controlled lives led by Your sweet Holy Spirit. All to You I surrender Lord. More of You and Less of me, is my song of dedication to You today oh Lord. Thank You for taking time to listen, comfort, cheer and encourage this child today! Please be a special blessing to all who will read this devotional. May they be drawn to You. For I praise You and request my petitions in the wonderful name of Jesus, my Lord, 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! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

How to Pray

On By Ed AlgreenIn Obedience, Prayer, SalvationLeave a comment

The Holy Bible  (The Message – 1 Timothy 2:1-6): The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live. He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned: that there’s one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us—Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free. Eventually the news is going to get out.

Thoughts:  Like me, you may have thought that prayer is personal communication with God, so it is up to us what we talk to God about, right? While that may be a true statement, I believe that we must also be obedient to God’s Word. So when He instructed Paul to include his instructions to Timothy on how to pray for, and with, the churches that were organized, I believe that God wanted us to also take the same lead. While I believe that The Message does a great job of relaying these instructions simply and understandably, there are a few points that I would like to remind myself about, hoping that you also might be enriched by the Word of God today:

  • Pray in every way you know how, for everyone you know – friends we must be careful that our prayers are deeper than just responding to a prayer request by a friend by quickly responding that we will pray for them. Way too often that’s the extent of our prayer for them. Furthermore, if a non-believer asks for prayer, we must remember that their most important prayer need is salvation. Perhaps the need they are asking you to pray about will lead them to knowing the God that they are asking us to pray to, on their behalf. God works in mysterious ways, so He will hear our prayer and work out His plan in the lives of those we earnestly pray for, according to His perfect will. Our role is to pray;
  • Pray for rulers and their governments – friends, I believe that we spend way too much time in opposition to God’s desire for our government leaders. How? God never tells us to whine, complain, or bad-mouth our government leaders. Instead, in Romans He tells us that governments are ordained by Him, and their work will be a part of Him fulfilling His will for the people served by these leaders. God wants us to live humble, peaceful, prayerful lives imitating Him in every way possible. Our government leaders must know that Christians are praying for them so that they may properly lead us as Christ would have them do. This will not happen if they think or imagine that we are beating up on them at every opportunity. Please don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of corruption and greed in government, but I don’t believe we could find scripture to support that it’s our job, as Christians, to tear down and destroy governments who do this. Yes, we have the privilege to vote on whether we feel led by God to decline voting for ones we feel are not properly performing, but when they are elected, according to our prayers, it is not our job to step in and evoke, or recall those prayers and constantly be a thorn in the side of the politicians and/or God’s work through our political system. God really don’t need any help from us!
  • Pray for ourselves to be a channel that can be used by God to reach the unsaved – The latter part of this scripture relays what was on Paul’s heart, and again I believe that he was a mere messenger speaking the words from our Savior. God’s work and His heart is all about seeing the lost come to know Him as their personal Savior before it is eternally too late. In my opinion, this leaves an onus to constantly pray that we will be worthy vessels that God can use to extend His reach to our family, friends and other circles. We can only do our part of being used by God, for we can save no one. Let us therefore be in a constant cleaning mode and polishing our relationship with the Lord so that we might be attuned to His will and desire for us, and be usable vessels for Him to use.

Prayer is the key, and the answer, friends!

Prayer:  Dear Lord, thank You for the privilege of prayer! Thank You that we can pray to our Father who has time to acutely listen to us, and not distracted by the things of this world that plays such a distraction in our lives. Lord, You’ve given us direction on how to pray, and what we should be focusing on in our prayers. Yes, I am guilty of bogging down my prayer life with all the sickness and other depressing things that constantly bombard my life, but Lord I believe You are telling me today that although my concerns are important to You, there is direction given in Your Word as to how and what I should primarily pray for. Please help me to keep this foremost in my mind every day, so that I may pray in accordance with Your will and for Your sake, knowing that as Your people are touched by You, their lives will be capable of achieving Your perfect will. You are God, and we are not, so help us Lord to place full control in Your hands, as we stick to the will of the Father and pray as instructed in His Word. Bless us this day oh Lord so that we may pray aright and live like You, for I ask this in the all-powerful name of Jesus, my Savior, 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! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Patience Without Limit

On By Ed AlgreenIn Patience, Salvation, SurrenderLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (New Century Version – 1 Timothy 1:15-16): 15 What I say is true, and you should fully accept it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. 16 But I was given mercy so that in me, the worst of all sinners, Christ Jesus could show that he has patience without limit. His patience with me made me an example for those who would believe in him and have life forever.

Thoughts: I believe that these verses speak very loudly to both the believer in Jesus Christ, and to the non-believer (if they would read and accept the written Word of God).

To the believer: I believe that Paul is helping his associate, Timothy, know that he needn’t go into ministering and causing folk to believe that he is superior in faith to them. To us (believers), I believe that God wanted Paul to get across to us that sin is sin, and where God brought us from is no better than where we see those that we are witnessing, or ministering to. However, we are reminded that because of the grace of our Lord Jesus, He looked down in mercy, and because of our separation from God, our unholy lives bore no resemblance to His, however in mercy He heard our prayer, forgave us of our sin and crowned us as children of the King of all kings. As we constantly remind ourselves of where we came from, friends we will better identify with the needs of the unsaved, and we can more readily share with them the kind of loving, merciful, forgiving God that we are recommending to them. Just as Paul shared, we are plain evidence of God’s love and mercy, and we were no more special than the person we are witnessing to, other than we humbled ourselves and surrendered to His call. We gave up that old life and now stand as princes and princesses of the greatest King, only God and Creator, Jesus the only Son of God! Praise be the name of the Lord forever!

To the unbeliever: I believe it is evident that God wanted Paul to make it clear that the same power is available to the unbeliever today that saved Paul, a sinner who was feared by the church because of his undying desire to persecute the church and destroy anything or anyone who claimed the name of the Lord. Yes, in the eyes of many you may be considered a very bad person, but God sees you as His creation, one for whom He allowed His only Son to die on a cruel cross, and one for whom God loves way too much to see you die and go to Hell. Friend, I can safely and accurately tell you this from my personal experience, because I realized some 40 years ago that I needed Christ, and He looked down in love and accepted my plea for forgiveness and oneness with Him. He did it for me, for Paul, and I have every confidence that He will do it for you also friend. Jesus is patiently waiting for your word, what will it be today? Remember, no word at all means ‘No’, and I believe that anyone led to read this devotional today will not make that kind of decision! May God deal gently, but boldly in your heart today, is my sincere and humble prayer for you friend …. because I know that God loves you, and so do I!

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for going to such an extreme to show Your unswerving love for me and all of mankind. Please help me to never forget where You brought me from, in hopes that I can better identify with those that might be far away from You today. I am concerned for my family, friends, coworkers and church attendees who still have not accepted You as Lord, because I firmly believe that Your return is not only eminent, but will happen at any time. I want to meet around Your throne with all my family and friends present. I plead with You today to please melt their hardened hearts and create a desire in them to fully surrender their lives to You, like Paul did and like I and many others have already done. May this be the day of salvation for them today, please, dear Lord. May the unsaved see Your mercy and grace in action today through the many miracles You perform each day in and around us. I bring my praises, these petitions and awesome thanksgiving in the name of the only Savior, Jesus my Lord, 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! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Things That Impact Our Words and Actions

On By Ed AlgreenIn Clear Conscience, Genuine, HonestyLeave a comment

The Holy Bible  (The Good News Translation – 1 Timothy 1:3-7): Some people there are teaching false doctrines, and you must order them to stop. 4Tell them to give up those legends and those long lists of ancestors, which only produce arguments; they do not serve God’s plan, which is known by faith. 5The purpose of this order is to arouse the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a genuine faith. 6Some people have turned away from these and have lost their way in foolish discussions. 7They want to be teachers of God’s law, but they do not understand their own words or the matters about which they speak with so much confidence.

Thoughts:  Timothy’s mentor, Paul, instructed him to stay in Macedonia to help keep religious leaders accountable to the Word of God. Paul found this necessary because the leaders were getting caught up in false doctrines, old stories that were often untrue, and ancestry. As it was then, so it is today friends, for the church was established to tell the Good News of Jesus Christ. Imagine how hopeless Christianity would be today if we went to church to have our ears tickled by words that may or may not be true, but which sounds real good to the hearer. But Paul didn’t just tell Timothy what was wrong, he gave him leadership on what to look for and what to teach in order to help these people. I believe that Paul’s words and leadership is just as applicable to us today, as it was for Timothy in taking the message to the Macedonians. Our actions and our words must be those from a loving and pure heart, a clear conscience and a genuine faith. Some might question how Paul knew what filled the hearts of the church leaders. I would dare say to you friends that most people will quickly tell when you are speaking from a heart of love and genuine compassion. From a heart that has experienced the gospel of which you speak. Conversely, others can tell quicker than you imagine when you are fake, trying to impress, or speaking the words written by someone else without it ever impacting your own heart. There is an old saying “you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time”! However, putting aside who you can or cannot fool into believing a lie of yours, how would you feel lying in bed at night knowing that you were not totally honest with those that you shared the Word of God with that day? Furthermore, what type of expression would you imagine seeing on God’s face if you were not genuine, faithful and truthful in declaring His Word to a lost person, who will probably continue in their lost condition until they could possibly hear genuine Truth? Missed opportunities will cause you more grief than you might care to experience, friend. For many, there is no time for dancing around the subject, for they may never see another opportunity this side of heaven ….…… or hell. I want to strive towards seeing a smile on God’s face as He listens in to my conversations and/or my teaching, also in my actions, love and concern for the non-Christian. How is it with you friend? Do you suspect there is a smile or disappointment on God’s face as He looks in on your life?

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, You paved a perfect path for us to follow. Slogans such as WWJD have helped to attune ourselves to Your guidance, but we often fail in reacting with pure intentions to every scenario in life, and we often seek to please and/or impress our audiences. However, I was deeply reminded today that I may as well come before You as a child, in honesty, purity, innocence and openness, for You know my very heart – my thoughts and my intentions. Please forgive me for the times that I have tried to be anything else to anyone, especially if I misrepresented You or falsely represented myself. I pray that it will not be necessary for You to provide a Paul or Timothy to clear up misrepresentations of myself or my friends who will read this devotional today, for I pray that they will deal with any impacts on their lives, for we want to be pure and holy before You and our fellow man. Please continue to work on us when we stray away from these ideals and help us to stay true to You in our everyday lives. I pray for Your help, Your guidance and in accordance with Your will. I ask all this believing on, and in, the name of Jesus my Lord, 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! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!