The Reason We Worship

On 2015-08-192015-08-19 By Ed AlgreenIn God alone, WorshipLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Revelation 19:10): ¹⁰ I knelt at the feet of the angel and began to worship him. But the angel said, “Don’t do that! I am a servant, just like you and everyone else who tells about Jesus. Don’t worship anyone but God. Everyone who tells about Jesus does it by the power of the Spirit.”

THOUGHTS: In this particular revelation (vision) John had been shown and told about the Wedding Feast of the Lamb and he was told to put it in writing that everyone is invited to the feast. John was so overwhelmed with joy about this that he dropped to his knees in worship to the angel revealing this. I believe that God particularly got my attention on what John was warned about, because I believe that we are so close to doing the same thing today in various ways. Think about the reason you give to someone you are inviting to church. Do you ever tell about the miraculous work that God is doing in and through the congregation? It seems to me that it’s always more about the beautiful church building that they must come and see, or the wonderful worship leader who provides the best entertainment this side of heaven, or the pastor who really has his act together and can keep your attention with exciting and humorous sermons. Is it any wonder why we hear of folk going to church and leaving empty, unfulfilled and getting absolutely nothing from the service, if they attend for the wrong reason(s)? I heard a young worship leader say that he always prays that he would not be a worship leader, but a leader that worships and others follow suite. I believe that many of our Christian leaders stand before us with similar heart desires. When we invite folk to come and see/worship the qualities of our leaders, then we are showing our leaders that they are totally ‘missing the point’ in their endeavors. I also believe that most unbelievers who hear us brag about anything other than Christ alone, quickly get the point that this is not what they are looking for. A lost person looking to return, or gain a relationship with Christ, wants to hear how open your church is in allowing you access, and leading you, to the Father. They find beautiful buildings around town, and they have leaders who draw attention to themselves at work every day. When the unsaved hear that we have found the King of kings and Lord of lords, and a place that we can connect with Him corporately each week, they want a piece of that because that can’t be found in their workplace or anywhere else that they frequent every day. Please join me in telling others about the joy of the Lord, not the happenings of our church, or the messenger God blessed us with to help point us to Him. Please click on the following link and be led into worship as the song plays and you prepare to address God in prayer: For He (God) alone is worthy of our worship!

PRAYER: You alone are worthy of our worship and praise oh God! May we keep our personal and corporate worship aligned with Your original design for us. May we find You in our worship, and not just a beautiful church building in which to worship, or a wonderful worship leader or pastor that has the ability to lead us into an atmosphere of worship. For it’s You that makes a difference in this world, and it’s You alone who can change a broken and contrite heart to be better aligned with Your original design. Please forgive us for allowing the things of this world to change us, instead of the creator of this world who truly has the power to change us. Please change our concept of how to invite others to corporate worship with us. Constantly remind us that it was You who changed our hardened hearts and not anything, or anyone else. As we are reminded of that, please help us to share the root of our salvation and not the after effect or result of our salvation. People need the Lord, not just another church or human leader. May we always point to You dear God, the author and finisher of our faith. I ask all these things in the name of the One who sacrificed His life for my sin, Jesus the 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 read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, 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 www.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 Triggers Your Praise?

On 2015-08-182015-08-18 By Ed AlgreenIn Faithfulness, Loving-Kindness, WorshipLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Living Bible – Psalm 138:1-3): ¹Lord, with all my heart I thank you. I will sing your praises before the armies of angels. ² I face your Temple as I worship, giving thanks to you for all your loving-kindness and your faithfulness, for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name. ³ When I pray, you answer me and encourage me by giving me the strength I need.

THOUGHTS: In this Psalm we can see where David was touched by, or reminded of the love of God and His undying faithfulness, and it triggered his worship of God. Notice that David said he faced the temple as he worshipped, but he didn’t wait until the next worship service where he could watch the praise team worship or the pastor rejoice over a passage of scripture that God spoke to him about. Friends please don’t get me wrong, each of these things I mentioned are important, but I truly believe that when we recognize the love of our God, when we feel His precious love for us individually and we realize that He is faithful to us in every aspect of our lives, then we will be moved to worship God on a very personal level. When we do that, I believe that our corporate worship services will take on a whole new dimension, for our churches will be filled with worshippers, not just Christians looking for a place to be electrified, or energized by a good worship leader or an awesome praise team. David goes on in these verses to say that he is reminded that all of the promises of God are backed by the honor of His holy name – the name above all names! He is also encouraged that the God of this universe answers his prayers and encourages him by giving him the strength that he needs to go on each day and live a strong and noble life for the Lord. These are all wonderful reminders for us to also worship our God, but this list is not all inclusive. For I think of the wonders of nature that He places before me as I drive to work, the beauty of another sunrise, the blessing of rain, of cows and wildlife playing in the fields and pastures. Most of all, like David, I am amazed that the God of this universe takes time to listen to my prayers and answers/comforts my concerns. Who am I that a Kind should bleed and die for? Yet, I am convinced that He would have sacrificed himself on that old cruel cross if I was the only one in need of a Savior. He loved me that much, and it is no different in the love that my Savior has for each of you today friend. Worship Him! Thank Him! Recognize His goodness and never attribute His careful and deliberate love for you as mere chance or good luck. Make every effort to be a personal, worshipping believer, not just one looking for a place for corporate worship of the Savior who loves you personally so very much.

PRAYER: Father in heaven, You have given us so much reason to worship You from the depth of our heart. Please awaken Your saints from the sleep of laziness, or dependence on others and/or other influences to invoke a heart of worship within us. Please help us to rest from the busyness of this life long enough to reflect on Your goodness, Your love and Your undying faithfulness. The Psalmist has triggered our minds and reminded us of the awesome joy in lifting up praise and worship to You, may this be a day that our eyes will be opened to reflect on Your beauty and Your goodness and may we recommit to a personal relationship with the God of this universe who loves us personally and cares for us intimately. Thank You Father for loving and caring for even me. These things I ask of You in the precious name of Your Son, my Savior and King, Jesus. AMEN!

The Best Employees

On 2015-08-172015-08-17 By Ed AlgreenIn Christian Principles, Honesty, WorkplaceLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Easy-To-Read Version – Colossians 3:22-24): ²² Servants, obey your masters in everything. Obey all the time, even when they can’t see you. Don’t just pretend to work hard so that they will treat you well. No, you must serve your masters honestly because you respect the Lord.²³ In all the work you are given, do the best you can. Work as though you are working for the Lord, not any earthly master. ²⁴ Remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, who will give you what he promised his people. Yes, you are serving Christ. He is your real Master.

THOUGHTS: In searching for the best employees for their place of business, most employers will look for the same principles that the Christian upholds in being a person of the Word and a child of the King. In being the best employee possible, Christians/we are to first follow the principles taught to us by our King in His holy Word. We are to recognize that even though we can get away with certain things because our earthly bosses may not be able to track our locations and/or our work every minute of every day, yet we serve a God who can. If we were living according to ‘code’, and I’m talking about the code set out for us in God’s Word, then I believe that employers will be fighting for their Human Resources folk to hire staff with such high moral and ethical principles. So for those reading this devotional who may not identify with what I am referring to, let me give you just a couple principles that you should find in Christian workers: 1). There should be no worries about stealing, because we are taught by God that we are not to take something that belongs to another person without them offering it to us. Now this will pertain to physical things and such things as time – for if we are expected to work 8 hours per day, our employer should never have to check on us to see if we are giving them an honest 8 hours of work; 2). Honesty – some of this would be reflected in #1, but this characteristic also extends into trusting what we say and what we do. There should never be any doubt as to whether we are totally sincere in what we do or say, that we have the best interest of God at heart and our employer and his/her business. Now, will every Christian be perfect at these things and others that you might relate to the teachings of God’s Word? Probably not perfect, because the only perfect one is Jesus. However, should you recognize imperfection in the character of those claiming Christ as their Savior, may I encourage you to bring this to their attention? Satan has a way of working on Christians hard enough that he tries to make them feel like their wrongs become right if left unchecked long enough. You will help them return to the cross and seek God’s forgiveness for straying from His ideals. Christians, we work as for the Lord, let us be counted worthy by Him in all that we do and say – especially on our jobs.

PRAYER: As representatives of Yours, Oh God, we have our banner of expectations lifted high and we must live our lives pleasing to You not only at church, not only in the presence of other Christians, not only before our employers who might expect us to live differently, but especially before the lost world that we interface with every day, for they are looking to see what is different about us and what impact our proclaimed Savior is having on our lives that might be different to theirs. We don’t want to be hypocritical, but rather totally honest in our dealings with others. Because we know that Satan is rampant and will make every effort to distract us and have us look and live like his, then we must be all the more earnest in seeking Your strength, Your power and Your daily direction to look, live and act like children of God. Please especially help us to be great representatives in our workplace so that our bosses might recognize the differences and rejoice in the difference our God makes in the lives of His children. We need You dear Father to be our constant guide, our reminder and the means by which we can live differently – pleasing to You. I ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, and with thanksgiving and praise, AMEN!

Blessings Based on Priorities

On 2015-08-152015-08-15 By Ed AlgreenIn Appreciation, Giving, ObedienceLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Contemporary English Version – Haggai 1:8-11): ⁸ But first, go to the hills and get wood for my temple, so I can take pride in it and be worshiped there. ⁹ You expected much, but received only a little. And when you brought it home, I made that little disappear. Why have I done this? It’s because you hurry off to build your own houses, while my temple is still in ruins. ¹⁰ That’s also why the dew doesn’t fall and your harvest fails. ¹¹ And so, at my command everything will become barren—your farmland and pastures, your vineyards and olive trees, your animals and you yourselves. All your hard work will be for nothing.

THOUGHTS: I found it interesting how God got His point across to Haggai about why his people were not being blessed. I believe it is obvious that our God is a jealous God, yet we have clearly been forced to think about what a selfish and ungrateful bunch we are. Let’s reflect for a moment on how we act. We were created to worship and serve God. We are blessed beyond compare in the homes that we have and the food that we eat, plus the rich churches and church leaders who welcome us under their care. We enjoy fair health, and many of us enjoy jobs that help us to care for our families. So I believe you might agree with me that God keeps His end of the bargain in our lives. In the case of Haggai’s people, the Israelites, is it any wonder that God became upset when He declared that the people thought so little about Him that they allowed His temple to run into disrepair while their houses were extravagant and plush? In other words, their priority was definitely not on worshipping God and giving of their best to Him in their lives. So now let’s see how this might relate to us today in a comparative scenario. In spite of fairly high levels of unemployment and poverty, I believe that there has never been a people as blessed as we are. Yet we still see folk starving in our world, and we see churches closing their doors because of lack of finances. We make decisions about our church attendance based on the weather – good weather equals beach and/or family time versus bad weather means that since there’s nothing better to do we may as well go to church. Some have enormous incomes while others have only minimal wages, yet some won’t give a tithe because it sounds like way too much to give to the church, while others feel like they can’t afford a tithe, even though God promised to bless the remaining 90% in both scenarios, beyond anything we could imagine. When God orders that we give, do we not trust Him to properly handle the gifts we give, or the remaining portion to meet our needs? Did He really mean for us to put conditions on everything that He ordered for us to do or give? Yet we have become a people that expect everything promised without any conditions being applied to us! John 3:16 says that God loved the world so much that He gave…. No conditions, just that He gave… Can we love Him enough today to just give…. without conditions? Perhaps our blessings are in direct proportion to the heart of our giving, friend!

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for giving unconditionally to us. Please continue to work on us so that we might eventually learn to give in appreciation for all that You give and do for us. May we give of ourselves and in in return for all the ways that You bless us. May we learn to trust You to do all that You have promised, and to properly handle all that we give in response to Your commands. You gave out of love for us, may we learn to love You enough that we will gladly give unconditionally back to You. Please forgive us for our littleness and selfishness, and make us obedient servants willing to do, or give whatever is asked of us by the Master. This I ask in the blessed name of Jesus, my wonderful Savior, AMEN!

God’s Work among the Nations

On 2015-08-142015-08-14 By Ed AlgreenIn Recognize God, SubmissionLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (English Standard Version – Habakkuk 1:5): “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.

THOUGHTS: It is so easy for us to see the ‘bad’ in everything, or the ‘wrong’ in everything, or the ‘hopelessness’ in everything, but very challenging for us to see the positive things. I believe that this happens very often when our expectations are not met, and especially when we don’t try to align our expectations with God’s plan. We have become such an instant world that any action that takes longer than a few seconds we tend to think of as inaction by God. We are told in God’s Word that our ways are not His ways, and His ways are not ours. This means that God is not a puppet set to our agenda, or programmed to act exactly like we may want to program Him! So why then do we whine or complain? It may be the same reason why churches are not running full capacity. It may be lacking folk who feel like God and the church has stopped listening to them and not performing up to their expectations. Friends I believe that we have tried to sit in the ‘driver’s seat’ and, in our weakness and powerlessness, we are trying to ‘run the show’. How ironic that we would then get disappointed or disgusted when we see failure and try to blame God! Habakkuk was told that he would be astounded by the work that was already going on in nations around him. I would dare say that if we would set aside our personal agendas and expectations, that we would see the marvelous work of the Lord also in our day. We can’t change the politicians, so why get worked up over all that we wish they would do differently. Let us refocus on God and His handiwork. Let us stop focusing on the things we feel should be done differently and start praising God for all that He does in and around us. He deserves our glory and praise for even the things that we take for granted, such as the sun, the moon, the air we breathe and the water to drink. Perhaps as He recognizes our thanksgiving in these things then He might open our eyes to other ways that He is already working around us and blessing our nations.

PRAYER: Lord You are awesome, and again this morning I am reminded that You are busy at work in areas that we often forget or overlook. Please help us to keep our eyes focused on You and look for ways to celebrate Your mighty works, rather than picking apart the things that we selfishly feel should be different. Lord may You be the focus of our attention and may You be recognized as God of this universe in every aspect of every day, so that we may praise You as we should at all times, for You alone are worthy. I ask these things in the wonderful name of Jesus and for His sake, AMEN!

God’s Decree

On 2015-08-132015-08-13 By Ed AlgreenIn Prayer, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – Jeremiah 29:11-14): ¹¹I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. ¹² “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. ^13-14 “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. “Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.

THOUGHTS: Generally when we hear of a ‘Decree’ it involves certain actions that a king has ordered. This ‘Decree’ is then given to the king’s law makers to carry out the ‘Decree’ because it has been ordered by the highest law maker of the day – the king, and it generally has no conditions to it. The ‘Decree’ spoken of in today’s scripture is quite different, for God declares His unswerving commitment to His people and then follows with how the people might contribute to the end result of the promise. We are all very aware of how this world came into existence, and how it was almost eradicated at one point by a world-wide flood because of man’s sin. I believe that God wants us to know and understand that He has awesome plans for us to one day join Him in heaven. He has pointed out in various places throughout the Bible that sin cannot enter heaven, so in verse 12 He has assured us that He will listen when we come to Him in prayer. This is reassuring friends, because whenever we wrong someone, we tend to stay away from them in shamefulness, thinking that they will want nothing to do with us. Instead, God tells us that He will listen! Wow! We are also assured that there will be no trouble finding God, especially if we get serious about finding Him. Why do you suppose that God would add ‘when we get serious’ to this point? I believe there are times that we simply go through the motions, and for a quick response back to a person trying to nudge us along, might simply be that we just can’t find what we’re looking for. However, when the thing/person we are searching for is our idea, and we feel it/they will impact our lives, then we exert a whole new effort into the search. We become more determined or serious about our search. Perhaps the Word says it best – when we get so serious about finding God that we want Him more than anything else, then we will find Him. Friends, we can rejoice in knowing that as we exert this extra effort and become serious about our eternal destiny, God assures us that we will not be disappointed. So how is it with you today friend? Have you gotten serious enough about your relationship with God, or about your eternal destiny, that you are ready to seek God’s face in prayer and allow Him to love on you, care for you, listen to you and satisfy your earthly needs with a heavenly peace of mind? Only God can do it, and He will only do it if you let Him into your life. Please read my ‘footnote’ for ways you can get help with this, for this is of super importance.

PRAYER: When we’ve messed up so much that we’re not sure which way is up, then we tend to look to You for help, but Lord God I pray that we will learn to call out to You on a regular basis, because we are so helpless without You. Thank You for Your reassurance today. Thank You for our eternal home with You in heaven. Thank You for being accessible to us in prayer. Please don’t give up on me, for I need You more today than ever before. Please do the same for my readers who are serious in their search for You and willing to surrender their meager abilities to a life of total obedience to You and Your precious Word. Please have Your will and way in our lives today oh Lord, is my simple and profound cry that I ask in the strong name of Jesus, AMEN!

Can We Still Praise Him?

On 2015-08-122015-08-12 By Ed AlgreenIn Always There, CircumstancesLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Century Version – Habakkuk 3:17-19): ¹⁷ Fig trees may not grow figs, and there may be no grapes on the vines. There may be no olives growing and no food growing in the fields. There may be no sheep in the pens and no cattle in the barns. ¹⁸ But I will still be glad in the Lord; I will rejoice in God my Savior. ¹⁹ The Lord God is my strength. He makes me like a deer that does not stumble so I can walk on the steep mountains.

THOUGHTS: How often do we allow the trials of this world to interfere with our worship to our awesome God? That’s right folk, God is still awesome – in spite of what we may have brought on ourselves, or the repercussions of our sin. After all, did He cancel the debt He paid for us on the cross, suddenly couldn’t care less about a situation, and allowed Satan a foothold in our lives? Did God not protect us during a time that we felt like our world was coming to an end – perhaps the loss of a loved one, or a favorite vehicle or even our home? Why then do we first lash out on God for not saving the day for us? He’s still God friend! He still cares for us and would surrender to the cross of Calvary all over again if He felt like it would make a difference for us. In this scripture today, we see where the prophet had lots of reasons to turn away (in verse 17), get in some corner and just feel sorry for himself. In fact some would even have cursed God if they had as much going on as indicated in verse 17. However, in verse 18 we see where Habakkuk proclaimed that in spite of all that was evident around him, he still had a God to praise and nothing would take away his joy in the Lord. For just like us today, the Lord God was his strength – as He is ours today. God gave His prophet a strong footing to see him through challenging times, and I am reassured that He does the same for us today! So friends, can we take the blinders off and not just look at the circumstances that Satan may have pushed in front of us to distract us, but can we widen the scope and also see the amazing blessings that God showers on us every day? Perhaps then we can say like the prophet, “I too will rejoice in God my Savior”! Unbelievers need to see this quality in us friends, for they need to be convinced that this Savior we proclaim, is actually there for us through the good times, but also through the challenging times of our lives.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for being our God every day and in every circumstance. Please help us to understand and be constantly reminded that You are always there for us. Your love for us is way beyond anything we could comprehend, so of course there are things that occur in our lives that we just don’t understand why. Please help us to not just praise You when all is bright and sunny, but also when things seem very dismal for us, for You are with us ALWAYS, You love us ALWAYS and You are ALWAYS looking out for our best interest. You are amazing and such an awesome God! Thank You for being my Savior and Lord. Please encourage those readers who may not feel ‘on top of the world’ today because life circumstances are not where they feel they should be. Please draw them especially close to Your side, shower them with Your love and show them that You care for them and their circumstances. I ask all this in the awesome name of Jesus, Messiah, my Savior and Friend, AMEN!

The Righteous Will Live By Faith

On 2015-08-112015-08-11 By Ed AlgreenIn Forgiveness, RighteousnessLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Living Translation – Habakkuk 2:4): “Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.

THOUGHTS: While meditating on this passage this morning I felt God really draw to my attention the difference between the man who trusts in himself and the man who places his faith solely and squarely in the righteousness of the God of this universe. I reflected on the man who would have been comfortable in his riches, then during times of depressive monetary markets, could have lost everything he had – everything that he had placed his trust and confidence in. I also hear of folk who place their whole lives into their family, and let me be quick to say that I totally love my family and will do the world for them, but sons and daughters move on, and most marriages fail today, so where might that man’s happiness and confidence lie after such loss? Now as to the righteous man, this scripture tells us where we will find true ‘life’ (happiness, confidence, reassurance, stability, hope and eternal expectations). One way that I have found that God confirms a truth to us, is when we find it repeated in scripture. This idea of a righteous man living by faith is found in multiple scriptures, and I feel, affirms or reinforces the message: Romans 1:17(This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” Galatians 3:11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
Hebrews 10:37-38“For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.” I believe that it is very obvious that the Word is pointing us to a life of righteousness friend, for it is a life dedicated to being ‘right with God’. It is obvious that God approves of, and is looking for this type person and takes no pleasure in anyone who decides to the contrary. I would suggest that we examine ourselves and determine if we feel like God is pleased with us. Have you made yourself ‘right with God’ (righteous) by asking Him to forgive you of your sin, and wash you clean through the cleansing power of Jesus Christ? That’s how you replace the ugliness of sin with the cleanliness of Jesus Christ and His righteousness. No other power or cleansing agent will do the job. Please read my ‘Footnote’ for help, or more information on how simple this action is. God loves you and would welcome you into His kingdom, but He wants you to take the necessary action.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I believe it is obvious that an unrighteous person has no part in Your kingdom where righteousness abounds. I surrender myself to You all over again today and ask that You wash me clean of all unrighteousness. I pray that You would then refill me with Your holiness and righteousness so that I may be one with You. In doing this, I pray that You would then use me for Your kingdom work here on this earth so that others that I come into contact with would be influenced for You. Please impact the lives of my readers today as they meditate on this devotional and make decisions about their being ‘right with God’. Reassure the righteous and provoke the unrighteous towards rightness with You. I ask this in the wonderful and righteous name of Jesus, AMEN!

Why You Believe What You Believe

On 2015-08-102015-08-10 By Ed AlgreenIn Sincerity, UnashamedLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Easy To Read Version – 1 Peter 3:15-16):¹⁵ … keep the Lord Christ holy in your hearts. Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have. ¹⁶ But answer them in a gentle way with respect. Keep your conscience clear. Then people will see the good way you live as followers of Christ, and those who say bad things about you will be ashamed of what they said.

THOUGHTS: I believe that it would be amazing to ask, as a survey of those exiting our church buildings over the weekend, “Why do you believe in Jesus Christ?” or “Why do you believe what you believe?” The importance in these questions become very important when we are asked by a coworker first thing Monday morning: “So what did you do over the weekend?” I find that often I will talk about everything else besides the blessing I received at church, or the refueling I received in worshiping with other believers. What about the close call you had in driving down wet roads over the weekend? What do you attribute that to when explaining it to your coworkers? In the case of most of my readers, I believe that it is probably still safe in each of our countries to attribute the blessings just suggested, to the powerful hand of the Master that watches over us, keeps us, protects us and loves us so very much. Why then would we try to avoid giving credit where credit is due? Imagine that most of you are blessed, as I am, to have a wonderful wife. When asked about your happiness, or how well your clothes look, or your packaged lunch looks that you brought from home, do you find every way to avoid giving credit to your wife. What will that say about the great wife that you married, and your relationship with her? What if your wife was in an adjacent room hearing you trying to avoid giving her credit? Further, Paul cautioned us to also keep our attitudes in check. Don’t be obnoxious in the way you respond, for you may win a Brother, or encourage a Sister, if you handle the response humbly and respectfully give credit to Your Savior. Remember, it is only the grace of God why He would bless you in such a rewarding way. Nothing deserving, based on your goodness. The other caution that Paul gave, is that we respond with a clear conscience. I interpret this as meaning that we are totally honest and totally upfront with our response. Don’t respond in a way that you think the inquirer wants to hear, but respond from the depth of a thankful and appreciative heart. It is amazing how folk can see through pretense, but how quickly they feel sincerity and honesty. We have nothing to be ashamed of in our responses friend. Our Savior died so that we might live eternally in the glories of heaven. How can we be anything short of appreciative when talking about our Savior? The scripture says that if we are ashamed of our Savior here on earth, He will be ashamed of us before His Father in heaven. I believe that the opposite is also true, which is that our Savior will boast of His saints before His Father when He sees our obedience and boldness in telling others about His goodness and mercy! You have a choice today friend!

PRAYER: Thank You Jesus for boldly showing Your love for us when You willingly surrendered to the cruelty of the cross. Thank You for Your patience with us as we try to be politically correct in our responses to loved ones and coworkers and find every possible explanation for our blessings, instead of giving You supreme credit. Lord, You are so good to us – every day and through every circumstance of life. We are quick to call on You in times of trouble and despair, please help us to be equally as quick to give You credit for answers to those prayers and so much more, for we are such a blessed people! I believe that people who need the Lord, must be convinced that we have the real thing before they will want to know that One of whom we speak. This should be evident in our speech and in our actions, so oh Lord I ask that You saturate us with Your love and bless us with boldness to proclaim that it’s You we live for and You who bless us daily beyond anything we deserve. I ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, while thanking Him sincerely for all His manifold blessings, AMEN!

Who Is In Charge?

On 2015-08-082015-08-08 By Ed AlgreenIn Power, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Easy-to-Read Version – Romans 6:12-14): ¹² But don’t let sin control your life here on earth. You must not be ruled by the things your sinful self makes you want to do. ¹³ Don’t offer the parts of your body to serve sin. Don’t use your bodies to do evil, but offer yourselves to God, as people who have died and now live. Offer the parts of your body to God to be used for doing good. ¹⁴ Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law. You now live under God’s grace.

THOUGHTS: I believe that the subject question is often asked in life, and quite often it is asked of married couples. I would like to challenge us to think about this question on a more regular basis – to help us evaluate whether we have given full control of our life to God, or whether we still allow sin to filtrate and wrongly impact our lives. I believe it would be a challenging exercise for us to reflect on our day and evaluate whether our actions and our words were God-inspired or sinful. In fact, won’t it be challenging for us to write down throughout our day each of our actions and the overall theme of our conversations, then at the end of the day place an indicator beside each whether it was of God – remembering that if it wasn’t then it could very well have been of our ‘old sinful self’? As Christians, we are to surrender our lives to Christ, and strive to be more like Him in every way. A life not fully surrendered will easily follow what it was – its old sinful self. I believe that since our natural life is swayed so heavily by sin, that the Christian life is a very intentional and surrendered life. We must surrender our own sinful self-will and allow God to take control. It is only then that we will allow Him to be our Master, and to guide us and use us in ways that will be pleasing and honoring to Him. God has ultimate power over every aspect of our lives, including sin, however He will not overstep our personal will and desire. I believe that it is critical for us to quickly recognize when sin is controlling us and even more critical for us to quickly approach the throne and ask God to assume, or resume control of our lives and be our Master and Lord. A fully surrendered life is one that God desires of us – are you there yet?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for being such a strong and awesome God. Thank You for teaching us how to identify sin and how to seek Your help in overcoming and/or avoiding sin. It is so critical that You assume full control of our lives, otherwise we quickly fall back into a life of sin. As Christians, You have already rescued us from that life, so please patiently work on us to fully surrender ourselves to You and to wait on You as You mold us and use us for Your glory. Please give us wisdom and strength to stay focused on You and to stay clear of the sin that once held us captive. For those who have not accepted You as Lord, I pray that again today You might soften their hearts and show them Your power. Only You have the power to help us overcome sin and stay focused on You. We want to do just that today Father, but we can only do that through Your strength and with Your direction and power. All this I ask in the precious name of Jesus, Your Son and my Savior, AMEN!

Nuggets From God's Word

Month: August 2015