May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Psalm 85:4-7
Today’s Bible Text: Now restore us again, O God of our salvation. Put aside your anger against us once more. Will you be angry with us always? Will you prolong your wrath to all generations? Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you? Show us your unfailing love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: Having just read a passage from 1 Chronicles 18, I saw how victorious David had been in battle. In fact, twice in that chapter we are told that God made David victorious in everything he did. Yet I turned to this passage and read about how David pleaded with God for revival. In much the same way, I believe that each of us meditating on this today will acknowledge that we have seen fairly good successes in our marriages, our work, our churches and even in our own lives, yet there are times that we feel like we have reached a plateau and  for some reason we have just stopped moving ahead. Like David, we sometimes stop and question what would it take for us, or our people to rejoice again. Friends, David quickly discovered that it was sin that was holding back the hand of God from continuing to bless His people. For you see, something must have died, or seriously soured, for David to feel the need for God to ‘revive’ he and his people again. Asking God to give us something, means that we never had it. Asking Him to ‘revive us’, means that we had it, but for some reason it is no longer vibrant; or perhaps effective; or perhaps exciting, or perhaps no longer working for us. Do you suppose that’s where our churches are today? Is that why people are comfortable attending church because they could leave without being challenged with the sin in their lives? Friends, if we want our families saved, or our coworkers drawn closer to the Lord, and we don’t seem to be effective in doing that any longer, then we had best follow David’s example and ask God to forgive us of our sin. Oh that God would draw closer to us once again so that He might show His power through us as individuals, and corporately as we join together at our church buildings. Perhaps then, we might become the hands of Jesus outstretched to the poor and needy. Perhaps then, sinners will rejoice and seek forgiveness, because they see a living example of what Jesus truly looks like. Perhaps then Christians will seek the face of Jesus, and not just His hands to meet their needs. Where do you stand friend? Do you need Jesus, or do you need His reviving touch again?

Prayer: Father God, we have become such a needy people, but yet we seem more interested in Your outstretched hand, than we are in drawing closer to Your side and worshipping You in total transparency. You are our creator, and You are the Almighty God, from whom nothing is hidden. Please help us to get honest with ourselves, and stay transparent before You, for I believe that it is only then that our spirits might one with Yours, and that we would constantly seek Your face and not just Your hand. Please forgive us when we become weak and distant from You. Please help us to always seek a reviving touch from You so that we might get downright honest with ourselves and before You. Lord, we want to be just like You, yet it is so obvious that we are stained constantly by the sin in this world. Please draw us close to You so that we might be effective in our witness for You while here on this planet. I ask all this in faith, and in the strong 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. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could 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 to 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, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! 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!

2016