Get Rid of Idols

On 2015-02-172015-02-17 By Ed AlgreenIn Forgiveness, Idols, SinLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (The Contemporary English Version – Jeremiah 4:1-3): The Lord said: Israel, if you really want to come back to me, get rid of those disgusting idols. ²Make promises only in my name, and do what you promise! Then all nations will praise me, and I will bless them. ³People of Jerusalem and Judah, don’t be so stubborn! Your hearts have become hard, like unplowed ground where thornbushes grow.

Thoughts: While I believe there was a lot of value in these verses for Israel and the people of Jerusalem and Judah, I also believe that this passage of scripture was included in God’s Word to us for self-application also. Let me explain, I believe that God spoke to me as I read this, and had me substitute ‘Israel’ with the family and friends that I am praying for. At times when I feel distant from God, I believe that this passage also applies to me. Friends, I want you to read this carefully to make sure that you too understand that when God seems far away from you, examine your lives and see what idols (priorities; things) have you allowed to step in the way of your open communication and dependence on God. The kinds of things that get in our way might be:

Work – for we can become so absorbed in our job that we have no quality time to spend with God;
Church – yes, even church. We can become a slave to the work of the church and exclude our study and worship time with the Lord, for whom we are presumably working;
Family – even though this item is of super importance, if we’re not careful Satan can use this as a tool to keep us away from God. Let’s learn to take our family to church, instead of feeling an obligation to spend quality time with them on our Sabbath. After all, we had other opportunities during the week to spend time with them, but with Satan’s help chose not to. Men/dads this is our responsibility as God’s leader in our homes;
Activities – we all know that the beach is always better on our Sabbath day than any other day of the week, right? But does it fit with God’s command of what we should be doing on our Sabbath?!!;
Sports – why would we consider giving our time to sports on our Sabbath day rather than assembling ourselves together to worship God and to encourage one another?;
Weariness – the toils of the week have left us so worn out that giving one hour of our time to refuel spiritually, and to give God thanks for our jobs, and the good health to do our jobs, seems to be challenging for us – at least until we lose our job or some other crisis comes up, right?;

Friends, I’m not judging, for that is God’s job. I merely listed a few things that may cause us to think about the possible idols that stand in our way of communion with God. May I encourage you to examine your own life and see if there is anything that distracts you in your walk with the Lord? Be honest with God as you consider this, for He knows your heart and your very circumstances, and He is willing to help you tear down those idols, so that you may be drawn closer to Him. Remember, sin must be put away out of the heart, else it is not put away out of God’s sight, for the heart is open before Him. The good news with this whole thing is that others will follow us, and God will bless us! Read verse 2 again! Imagine, your actions might actually revolutionize your world!!

Prayer: Father, You know our hearts and You know our thoughts and our schemes. It is so unfortunate that in spite of Your goodness to us, we allow Satan to feed our thoughts, that often leads us to scheme and find reasons to not find time in the Word, in prayer and even church attendance. Please forgive us for our ingratitude and our unfaithfulness. You sacrificed Your very Son for our salvation, yet we find it challenging to make time to spend with You and/or Your people in corporate worship. Often this is just not a priority in our lives. Please forgive me oh Lord. Please touch the hearts of Your children who will read this devotional today, may they also be made aware of ‘idols’ that have become obstacles in their walk with You. Lord Jesus, we respect You and all that You stand for, however if we are to be true and honest representatives of Yours, we too must be living, walking and talking as You. We can only do this with Your help, direction and wisdom oh Lord, and we humbly seek that today. For this is my humble and gracious plea before You oh God, in the name of Your Son 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!

Our Example

On 2015-02-162015-02-16 By Ed AlgreenIn Love, Patience, SacrificeLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – 2 Thessalonians 3:5): 5 I pray that the Lord will guide you to be as loving as God and as patient as Christ.

THOUGHTS: Although this was a prayer that Paul offered for his church, I am reminded that there is only One that we are to imitate. Only One that we are to follow as our example. Let’s ponder on this for a bit. God loved us so much that, although He created us, yet He allowed us freewill to do our own thing. He saw that it was difficult for us to be good enough to follow the many laws instituted throughout the Old Testament, so He miraculously brought Jesus into the world, proved who He was by giving Him power to perform miracles, then allowed for His crucifixion – all so that we could have a better way into heaven. This is the purest example of love that we could ever imagine or find, friend. So when Paul prayed that his church would love as God did, he was really praying that there would be no flaws or prejudices in their love one for another. I was reminded that I need to be the same way, and by sharing this with you I am suggesting that you also consider becoming a child of the King and love like He did. Then to be as patient as Christ, I think about the patience He showed when, although having the power of God, He allowed the abuse to continue during His trial and on the road to the crucifixion. He allowed evil men, for whom He was sacrificing His life, to beat Him, drive nails through His hands and hang Him on a cruel cross – all for our good friend. Don’t You know that He could have called legions of angels to His rescue, and angelic warriors to fight and destroy the evil ones that were beating and destroying His body? Instead He endured unbelieving patience because He knew it was all necessary for our good and ultimate purpose. So friends, we not only have an example of love and patience to follow, we are reminded that God Almighty went to great extremes to show His love for us and to provide a means for us to one day enter heavens gates to be with Him throughout eternity! For those who are feeling hopeless and unloved, please recognize through this discourse that there is One who loves You enough that He would die for you. There is no greater love, friend. May this be a reminder for our day to love like God did and endure the patience that Christ did

PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for all that You did to show Your love for me and for Your ongoing love towards me every day. When I am feeling unloved, or when I am tempted to love only the lovable, may I be reminded of this short verse today. When I become impatient with those who persecute me, may I be patient and reminded of all that you endured leading up to the cross. Please encourage my friends who will read this devotional today, may they also learn to be more lovable and patient. May we follow Your gracious example. I ask this believing in You for all things, and for Your sake alone, with thanksgiving, AMEN!

Because of God’s Love

On 2015-02-142015-02-14 By Ed AlgreenIn LoveLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (The Message – 2 Thessalonians 2:15-17): ^15–17So, friends, take a firm stand, feet on the ground and head high. Keep a tight grip on what you were taught, whether in personal conversation or by our letter. May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech.

Thoughts: On a day that we celebrate ‘love’, and express our love towards our spouse or sweetheart, I am intrigued that my Bible reading would take me to a passage that encourages me to reflect on my love towards God, and my subsequent reciprocal actions towards God – The One who showed His love for me in a sacrificial way, by openly providing an attainable way to one day join Him in heaven! Not sure about you, but whenever I recognize love being expressed by my wife towards me, I quickly examine my life to see what I might be doing or saying to do the same towards her. If that’s a ‘normal’ reaction, and I believe it is, then I question if we (mankind) are truly and honestly recognizing God’s love towards us each and every day. Because if we were to react in the same manner as we do to our spouse, then this would be a whole different world we would live in. Imagine if only Christians did their part in expressing their love towards Jesus? Imagine if this rubbed off on all those that we come into contact with, and after seeing a better way to live, that they also tried to do better in their relationships? As God’s love fills us to overflowing today, I hope that we can pray as Paul did for his church members: May God, through His deep, unending and unmatched love, put a fresh heart in us, and may He invigorate our work for Him and enliven our speech so that God might be glorified, and others will be encouraged to know the One that we serve, love and adore. God loves us friend, and He wants our lives to be so affected that this evil world around us might be impacted. Take a firm stand today friends, will you?

Prayer: Your love is amazing dear God! Thank You for loving even me! Thank You for Your Word that brings refreshment to my heart and invigorates me in ways that I pray might be a blessing to others. Please enliven my speech so that I might depend on You for the very words that I speak, as my desire is that my life might influence others for my Master. Thank You Jesus for all that You are and all that You mean to me. Please influence the hearts and souls of Your children who will meditate on this devotional today, so that Your love may be very evident to them. May Your actions impress upon them the need to show Your kind of love to all that they come into contact with today. May this ‘lovers’ day, be one where friends will not only be invigorated in their love for their sweetheart, but also for You. I ask all this because of Your love for me, and in the name of 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! 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!

Impossibilities to Man Are Very Possible With God!

On 2015-02-132015-02-13 By Ed AlgreenIn Obedience, SurrenderLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (The Contemporary English Version – Jeremiah 1:4-8): ⁴The Lord said: ⁵“Jeremiah, I am your Creator, and before you were born, I chose you to speak for me to the nations.” ⁶ I replied, “I’m not a good speaker, Lord, and I’m too young.” ⁷ “Don’t say you’re too young,” the Lord answered. “If I tell you to go and speak to someone, then go! And when I tell you what to say, don’t leave out a word! ⁸ I promise to be with you and keep you safe, so don’t be afraid.”

Thoughts: I find it interesting how Moses felt unworthy to be used of God for the awesome job of freeing his people from slavery. Excuses such as unable to even speak properly, much less being used by God to lead a large number of people. Again with Jeremiah as he was told by God that he would go and speak to all the nations, he also found excuses to give God about his inabilities. In the New Testament we are told about tax collectors, fishermen and doctors, to name a few, that were called to share the Word of the Lord with others. As I look closer to our current times, I hear of great pastors and evangelists whose parents, school teachers and/or friends would never have projected their future to be in the ministry of Jesus Christ. In trying to imagine how these men must have felt, I thought that perhaps the reason for their doubt, or initial refusal, may have been their humility. Imagine with me for a moment, that the King of all kings were to visit us and tell us to leave our workplaces, our homes, our friends and our families and head out to a foreign country to speak with their king about all that he is doing wrong. No longer than it took you to read this devotional I bet you would have your bags packed and ready to go, right? I bet that not! But yet that’s how impossible these awesome tasks were to these great men of God when they were first given their orders. Friends, I believe that our takeaway in this scripture today is to note that:

God can, and will, call the unqualified to do a work that must easily be credited to His mighty hand at work in accomplishing the task assigned;
God made us, and if He could make a donkey to speak back to a troubled servant of His, I’m sure He can provide the talent, boldness and means to accomplish the work He assigns to us;
God often chooses the most unlikely servants to do His work. It must always be evident that it is God busy at work, not some smart, talented bold servant that He could choose to do the work;
To decline an invitation given by God is actually disobedience, because He really has the work cut out for YOU to do, not the qualified theologian you feel better able to do the job.

Friends, my take on this is that we are to be so attuned to God each day that we will understand His will and His call on us to do His work, and when He calls, we must be ready to follow through in obedience to Him. Please consider making this a day of tuning your life into alignment with God!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, please prepare us for the work You have in mind for us. Please keep us so aligned with You on a daily basis that we will easily recognize Your voice and Your commands so that we may quickly follow in obedience to Your call. Thank You for considering the most unlikely people, in our minds, to accomplish the great work that You are ready to do in our midst or through our lives. It is my desire to see Your will accomplished, and to welcome opportunities to use my talents and/or availability for Your service. Please tender the hearts of my readers to recognize You as Lord, and to follow in obedience to Your call, should You desire to use us for Your work and Your glory! Bless us again dear Lord, is my humble prayer that I ask in Your glorious and wonderful name, with thanksgiving, AMEN!

Choices Today Determines Future Destiny

On 2015-02-122015-02-12 By Ed AlgreenIn Choice, Forgiveness, GraceLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (The Contemporary English Version – 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10): Our Lord Jesus will punish anyone who doesn’t know God and won’t obey his message. ⁹ Their punishment will be eternal destruction, and they will be kept far from the presence of our Lord and his glorious strength. ¹⁰ This will happen on that day when the Lord returns to be praised and honored by all who have faith in him and belong to him. This includes you, because you believed….

Thoughts: I believe that the topic given to our study today could actually apply to any choice that we make today, but I want to zone in on the choices we make about whether we accept Jesus as Lord or not. First of all, I will break the easy, but worse news. If you make no choice about your salvation, then you are in the first group that Paul refers to in this scripture today. For Jesus will return for those who have made a conscious, clear and definite personal decision to accept Him as Lord. Unfortunately friend, when you decline the invitation to accept Jesus as Lord, you are openly accepting the call of Satan to be his follower, and this will lead to eternal damnation for you – far from the presence of our Lord Jesus. Not pretty. Very unfortunate. I would hate to see this for anyone that I know, care about or had opportunity to witness to. The only ones not fitting into this category, are those who have made a personal commitment to accept and obey Jesus while alive here on planet earth. These precious folk will represent the welcome party for the return of Jesus, for we will be the ones honoring and praising Jesus for returning to earth to take us home to glory with Him! Oh what singing, oh what shouting, on that happy morning! So I believe that it is evident that our choice about our eternal destiny is actually put in place while we are alive. Any idea how long you will be alive friend? Isn’t it astonishing how many young folk die through accidents or illnesses these days? Isn’t it true that we have no idea how much longer we will live here on this old earth? Doesn’t this leave you with a sense of urgency about securing your ultimate destiny while your life here is a sure thing – a current moment thing? Don’t delay friend, I would love to know that you will be among the praising and rejoicing before our Lord Jesus on the day that only His Father knows the details about!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for yet another reminder about decisions that must be made while there is still life in our bodies – today. This is way too important for procrastination. Way too important, with so many unfortunate repercussions to not care about making such a commitment. Thank You for softening my heart to surrender my life to You some 39 years ago. I am concerned about family and friends that I don’t get to spend near enough time with here on earth. I love them enough that I want to see Your very best for them, and I care enough about them that I would never want to see them face eternal destruction in Hell. May I please ask that You soften their hearts, like You did to mine, and lead them to all Truth, all Grace and Your all-sufficient, sacrificial Love, provoking them to a decision to accept You as Lord today? I would be eternally grateful dear Lord. Please provoke Christians meditating on this devotional today to a deep desire to pray for their loved ones also. We want to see You dear Lord, and we badly want our loved ones to be with us on that all important day. Your grace is enough, oh Lord. So I place my faith and trust in You believing that Your ultimate will might be accomplished today, AMEN!

Live In Constant Joy!

On 2015-02-112015-02-11 By Ed AlgreenIn Joy, Thanksgiving2 Comments

The Holy Bible (The Message – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22): ^16–18Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. ^19–22Don’t suppress the Spirit, and don’t stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don’t be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what’s good. Throw out anything tainted with evil.

Thoughts: I know that the subject sounds inviting, but I want us to be reminded that ‘Joy’ results from a happy heart – a heart filled with love for the Lord and from a heart stayed on constant prayer before the Master of this universe. This scripture reminds us to thank God in ALL things, I believe that this will result in an everlasting ‘Joy’ to bless us every day. Friends, I want to encourage you to always find something to thank God for. You may have a broken arm, but praise to the Almighty, you have a healthy arm to enjoy and help you through your day! Just last night I heard a brother praise God for allowing him to serve in the military many years ago. In spite of many who may have been hurt through their service, he was able to find reasons to praise God for his time in the service. May I encourage you to find reasons to praise God every day? Please let there be a word of praise always present on your lips and in your heart, that you are ready to praise God for, and bless another person with! I found it interesting to also note Paul’s explanation that showing a heart of thanksgiving is actually a responsibility of the Christian, in other words, it pleases God! Paul went on to remind us that we are not to quench, or suppress the Holy Spirit. Friends let’s think of the Holy Spirit as being a fire that burns. Paul is telling us to be careful not to throw cold water on that fire. The work of God, and His Holy Spirit is of utmost importance in the life of a Christian. When we feel Him tugging at us to do a certain work, or teach a certain class, or give witness to a certain work that the Spirit has performed in our lives, we wind up quenching the Spirit if we don’t follow through with what we felt He was leading us to do. Now for those of us who are very gullible, Paul teaches that we test and examine what we believe that the Spirit is instructing us to do. My advice is to: 1). Test it against the Word of God. For if it is Biblical, then you can be assured that it is God’s will; 2). If another believer (proven to be genuine over time) shares with you something similar to what you felt God leading you to do, then I believe that God is reaffirming His word to you; and 3). If confirmation comes through a sermon, or a Bible reading, then I believe that this is another indicator from God to reaffirm His word to you. Paul teaches that we are to act on the proven, and throw out the rest. Friends, as we witness God at work in our lives, we can be filled with the joy of the Lord to a degree that others will also be blessed by our words and by our actions, all for the glory of the only Master – Jesus our Lord!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, our eternal Joy and Peace, my heart is filled to overflowing, knowing that in spite of my inadequacies and failures, yet the King of all kings loves me enough to bless me with pure, unadulterated love and joy! I am eternally thankful for this! I pray that as You bless me with these qualities, that I will be a conduit for others to receive that same joy, and that they will search for a closer walk with You. For my family and friends that do not know You, I pray that this everlasting joy in me will be so evident to them that they will have a deep desire to know my Savior. Please use this devotional to bless the hearts of those who struggle to find joy every day, for I believe that it becomes extremely challenging for a non-believer to see Jesus in the life of one who claims Him, but displays no evidence of the joy that relationship brings. Bless us today in ways that will force us to rejoice in You, and express that joy to others who need it! I ask all this in the precious and holy name of Jesus, my Lord, with thanksgiving, AMEN!

Perspective on Who We Are

On 2015-02-102015-02-10 By Ed AlgreenIn Clay, Potter, SurrenderLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (New Living Translation – Isaiah 64:8-9): ⁸And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand. ⁹Don’t be so angry with us, Lord. Please don’t remember our sins forever. Look at us, we pray, and see that we are all your people.

Thoughts: For those of you who have worked with clay, no doubt you have worked endlessly on a project without making the desired progress, then you may have given up, squished it back to a ball of clay and started all over again, right? I’m sure that the clay didn’t speak back at you, or lash back at you for your inabilities or lack of talent to complete the project perfectly! This passage reminded me that God is my designer – my potter. He made me in the image of himself, yet I am much different to any of His other children that He also made. I believe that God will continue to work on me until the day that life leaves my body. Yes, He is God and He could instantly make perfection, however with each bump that He perfects in my sinful life, I learn a lot more about Him and about my shortcomings. In fact, many times these bumps bother me, and I have to call on God, depend on Him, and ask Him to please ease the corrective steps. Because God is my Master, my Provider, my Potter, my Divine Healer and my Friend, I have to be constantly reminded that He deserves my praise, my thanksgiving, my recognition and my obedience. I am acutely aware that in my position as mere clay in His hands, I must be daily looking into His Word for ‘Nuggets’ of Truth and grace that will help me along my road to perfection. I am reminded that because I expect His touch on my life daily, then my obligation to return thanks, to worship and adore my Lord, must be at least daily also. Surely there are many of you out there that are not as weak and sinful as I am, so you may be challenged to understand just what I am feeling in this devotional today. If there are any who feel this way, let me remind you that you would not want God to withdraw His hand from your life, or this world, for just one day. Believe me, it will not be pretty. You would quickly change your line of thinking, just as the Israelites did in this scripture today. Don’t take that chance friend. Know that You are God’s very own, by insuring that You know Jesus as your Lord and personal Savior. Then respect His authority as your ‘Potter’ so that He could continue the great work in you that He has planned for you!

Prayer: What an awesome reminder dear Lord! You created us from just a lump of clay, and no matter how we fight for our independence in smoothing out our imperfections, only You can continue perfecting the clay that You created. Only You know the end result of what You want us to look like. Only You know what we need to look like in order to effectively minister to that brother that need the Lord, or that sister who might be hurt from the evil of this world. I feel like I need to surrender to You all over again today, because although I gave my heart to You, I know that I often get in the way of You molding me into a usable vessel for Your glory. Please forgive me for my interference, and help me to daily surrender my life to You for Your service and usability. Lord, I believe that You can use even me to touch the life of an unsaved person today so that You can get to their heart and deal effectively in their life. I acknowledge that You can do it without me, but in using me I will be encouraged and blessed, and Your work will still be accomplished. I surrender all to You oh Lord. Use me as You will. For all who will be directed to read this devotional today, I pray that Your work in their heart will be evident in the way they live today. I ask all these things in the precious name of Jesus, my Lord, with thanksgiving, AMEN!

Our Security!

On 2015-02-092015-02-09 By Ed AlgreenIn Hope, SecurityLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (The Message – 1 Thessalonians 5:4-8): But friends, you’re not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we’re creatures of Day, let’s act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.

Thoughts: In spite of all that is going on around us and around the world, Christians are not to be sucked in by Satan in his attempts to distract and worry Christ’s followers – for whether we live or die, we are, and will be with the Lord! Friends, I believe that Jesus has us on mission here on earth, until such time that He decides to call us home to be with Him! While most Christians believe that and look forward in great expectation to the day that we sit at Jesus’ feet in worship, praise and adoration, I believe that we often feel detached, lonely and in battle with Satan and his cohorts. Paul is teaching us in these verses that even here on earth we need to stand tall, knowing that we are children of the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. With this confidence, of whom then shall we be afraid? Paul reminds us that if we have accepted Jesus as our personal Savior, and claim Him as our Master, then we should act like it. We should stay attuned with Him and be constantly reminded that our faith in Him is not in vain, instead it is our foundation and our ongoing arm of strength – our support arm. And based on this, we are to live in hope knowing that the King of this universe has us in the palm of His hands, and loves us enough to care for us, protect us and guide us, until the day that He calls us home to be with Him. Sure we will still get discouraged here on this earth, but surer still friend, we are to be comforted to know that Jesus is with us through every day and every trial, because He loves us with such a deep, sacrificial and everlasting love. So I encourage you friend, to not just simply say that you love Jesus, but learn to depend on Him through the good times and the challenging times that seem so overwhelming to us at times. Our security is protected and reassured by the One who created this universe, who hung the stars in space, who created us and sacrificed His very life so that we may have a way into heaven to be with Him throughout eternity. So our security is surer and more secure in Him than in any military on this earth, or any leader that may govern even the strongest nation on earth. This is the God that I serve friend, do you know Him? Are you able to place your faith and trust in Him knowing that He recognizes you as one of His? Please read the ‘Footnote’ for tips on how you might make this a reality today. It is way too important to ignore friend.

Prayer: Father, thank You for Your love, and the hope and security that I find in You! I was acutely reminded of this as I studied Your Word this morning. I sincerely need Your touch, Your hand, Your protection, Your security and Your guidance on my life each and every day, so that I can represent You well here on this earth, and be a light to those struggling in a world filled with darkness and sin. Thank You for sending Jesus so that I might have that hope. Please touch the hearts of those that will pass by and read this devotional today. May they be deeply touched, just as I was. May we be bolder in our experiences today and represent You so fully, that others will want to know the Savior who lives in and through us. May You receive honor and glory as a result of Your Word being shared today, is my humble and sincere pray that I ask in Your name, with thanksgiving, AMEN!

Are You Prepared?

On 2015-02-072015-02-07 By Ed AlgreenIn Salvation, The Return of JesusLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (The Contemporary English Version – 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18): ¹⁴We believe that Jesus died and was raised to life. We also believe that when God brings Jesus back again, he will bring with him all who had faith in Jesus before they died. ¹⁵Our Lord Jesus told us that when he comes, we won’t go up to meet him ahead of his followers who have already died. ¹⁶ With a loud command and with the shout of the chief angel and a blast of God’s trumpet, the Lord will return from heaven. Then those who had faith in Christ before they died will be raised to life. ¹⁷ Next, all of us who are still alive will be taken up into the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the sky. From that time on we will all be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Encourage each other with these words.

Thoughts: To help understand how the decisions we make today impact our future, I want to compare what happens when a natural disaster approaches, versus the decisions we make regarding our relationship with Jesus Christ. For when we evaluate our decisions in either scenario, the result can make the difference between life and eternal death. Here are some choices we have to consider in both scenarios:

When the warnings of an approaching disaster are up – such as a hurricane, or other killer-type natural disaster/storm:

Natural Disaster: We may have time to make some last minute preparations or purchase supplies to help us while we are displaced. But most importantly we must decide if we will obey the evacuation and/or preparation orders;

Spiritually: Again in this scripture today we are given the warning that only those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior will go beyond life as we know it today. In other words, eternal life in heaven. We are either reassured of our impending resurrection with Jesus, or we are stubbornly deciding to continue in the way of this world and accept our destiny in Hell when Jesus comes to take His children home to glory;
During the preparation period:

Natural Disaster: We are warned at the beginning of each hurricane season about the items we should have stashed away for a quick evacuation, should it become necessary. After visiting with a friend up north and seeing his disaster kit in the trunk of his car, I know that in cold areas you are also warned to be prepared should you be forced to remain in your vehicles in extreme winter storms. In both cases, in advance preparation we are able to get quality items and avoid disaster at the stores before the last minute preparers hit the stores. We also stand the chance of getting to the stores and purchasing what we need while there is safety and time to do that. Plus the stress of entering an announced impending disaster period is much reduced when we are ready in advance;

Spiritually: We are warned whenever we read the Bible. We are reminded when we read the newspapers and see all that is going on in our world today. Fellow Christians and/or pastors remind us whenever given the opportunity. As in the case of Natural Disasters, we have a choice to prepare in advance and enjoy the blessings of Christianity even while here on earth. However, of even greater importance, we stand ready to meet God, should sudden death come upon us.
The results of our readiness, or lack thereof:

Natural Disaster: We often hear of deaths resulting from unprepared citizens. They made a choice to be unprepared, and they paid the ultimate price. Even if prepared, the individuals still went through a lot of stress evacuating, and possibly still got caught in some of the fury of the disaster;

Spiritually: Even so Come Lord Jesus, Come! Paul likened it to the greater joy that is to come, compared to the joy that is ours here on earth with our Master at the wheel of our lives. Imagine the sweet, sweet spirit of being in the presence of Jesus, worshiping and glorifying Him for endless days. What a Day that will be! This is the peace and joy that Christians have while here on this earth. We are happy here, but sure that we will be even happier with the Lord!

Please forgive me for writing such a long blog today, but sometimes it may take a side by side analogy to help some folk truly understand the importance of accepting Jesus Christ today, being prepared in advance, and anxious about the day that Jesus calls us home. Are you ready for that friend? See my Footnote for further instruction. Jesus is Coming Soon, let’s be ready to go!

Prayer: Lord, Your Word has displayed a warning light for us again today, for it has reminded us of the need to be ready for that glorious day when You will call us home to glory! I know that this will not be a shining day for some, because they have chosen to ignore the warnings. If they are granted time enough to read this devotional today, I pray that You might graciously soften their hearts and convince them of the need to be prepared, for I believe that Your return is very near. I especially pray for family and friends who have not yet heeded the warnings from You, and I pray earnestly for their salvation. In Your own perfect way Oh Lord, please deal in their lives today, for I want to see them when I join all the saints around Your throne in Heaven. Thank You for drawing me to Yourself some 39 years ago, please continue to use me for Your glory while allowed to remain here on earth. I will praise and honor You for all things Oh Lord, for I ask these things in anticipation of Your perfect will being accomplished, and with thanksgiving, AMEN!

What Precedes the ‘THEN’?

On 2015-02-062015-02-06 By Ed AlgreenIn Roadblock, SinLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (The Contemporary English Version – Isaiah 58:8,14 and 59:1-2): ⁸Then your light will shine like the dawning sun, and you will quickly be healed. Your honesty will protect you as you advance, and the glory of the Lord will defend you from behind.

¹⁴Then you will truly enjoy knowing the Lord.

^59:1The Lord hasn’t lost his powerful strength; he can still hear and answer prayers.
²Your sins are the roadblock between you and your God. That’s why he doesn’t answer your prayers or let you see his face.

Thoughts: This reading in Isaiah really impacted me today, and I would encourage you to read both chapter 58 and 59 so you could see the scope, and the happenings from which Isaiah prophesied. God got my attention to think about the things going on in my life that might need to be attended to before he would bless me with the things after the ‘THEN’ mentioned in verses 8 and 14. Based on this scripture, here’s where I believe God wants to bless those that take care of the sinfulness that comes before the ‘Then’:

The light of Jesus would shine brightly through us to touch the life of another (vs 8);
Quick healing would occur in our physical and/or spiritual lives (vs 8);
Our honesty/integrity would be solidified to impress the lost for Jesus (vs 8);
Our lives would be so filled with Jesus that His glory would overwhelm us and act as our defense (vs 8);
We would truly enjoy knowing the Lord (vs 14)!

Friends, these things are very applicable to each of us. In fact, in 59:1-2 we are told to stop trying to blame God for unanswered prayer, for our sins are the roadblock. I believe that this affirms what precedes the ‘Then’; what needs our attention before we could expect to receive His rich blessings. So friends, as I have been challenged this morning, I will also challenge you. Please talk to God, seek His forgiveness for the hindrances in your life, and then ask Him to speak very clearly and openly to you through these chapters. See what He has to say to You. By using the contact information in the footnote, I would love to hear back from you on how God spoke to you in this passage! Better still, reply to the blog on my website so others may also be blessed by your response. It could be in totally different ways to how He spoke to me, for He knows what each of us need in our lives and will meet our needs! God loves you friend, and He wants to shower you with His blessings so that you may go on to be His loyal and effective representative!

Prayer: Lord, I am constantly amazed by Your Word and how I can find such truth and relevant direction each day for my Christian walk and witness. Thank You for giving us a glimpse of Yourself and Your mighty works! I’m sure that there is much to clean up in my life before I could be purely used by You in Your service/ministry, for a holy and righteous God cannot reside in a sin-infested soul. Father, this requires strength far beyond anything that I am capable of, but in faith I come before You asking for forgiveness of my sin and asking that you replace that ugly void with the sweet aroma of Your grace. I badly want to get beyond the ‘THEN’ and see Your will being fulfilled through me for Your glory and to affect the lives of unbelievers so that they too might follow You. I Need You Every Hour of every day oh Lord. Please impact the readers of this devotional today for a closer walk with You, is my humble and sincere prayer dear Lord, for it is in Your name and for Your sake that I ask, with a thankful heart, AMEN!

Nuggets From God's Word

Month: February 2015