Month: May 2016

Our Awesome God!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Awesome God, Eternal Life, Salvation1 Comment

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: Isaiah 48:11–13
Today’s Bible Text: 11 I will rescue you for my sake – yes, for my own sake! I will not let my reputation be tarnished, and I will not share my glory with idols! 12 “Listen to me, O family of Jacob, Israel my chosen one! I alone am God, the First and the Last. 13 It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth, my right hand that spread out the heavens above. When I call out the stars, they all appear in order.”
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: I believe that God spoke to me on two items in these verses this morning, and I wanted to share this with you friends:

  1. The preceding verses spoke about God purifying His people with fire. Then He said something very powerful in verse 11: “I will not let my reputation be tarnished”. Friends, we may claim the name of ‘Christian’ or ‘follower’ or we may have a desire, and commit to live like Jesus. However, this may sometimes result in no change in our lives. I believe that God will then quickly step in to make sure that His reputation is not tarnished. We hear about Christian leaders being caught in adultery or some other sin, and we may sometimes wonder how did they get caught. Friends, God said that He will not allow His reputation to be tarnished. I believe that this still very much applies today! Christianity is not a ‘pretend’ thing, it’s a lifelong commitment to the very One who sacrificed His life for our salvation. He’s the One who holds our future in His hands, and may I remind you that He will not allow His reputation to be tarnished!
  2. In verses 12 and 13 God reminds us of His awesome power and supremacy. Let’s try to keep in mind that this God that we serve, created the universe that we enjoy today. He is the ONLY God – the Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end. Let’s also note that it is just not the human race that are under the obligation of obeying our Master, but even to the stars that we enjoy looking at – God also made them and they are obedient to His call. When we think of the awesomeness of our God, do we need to go any further than to simply read His Word and savor the awesome descriptions of our Creator? Friends, may I remind you that we serve a strong, awesome God!

Friends, do you know this awesome God of whom I have spoken in this devotional? If you do, please enjoy His presence today and rejoice in the awesome God that He truly is. If you don’t know my God, please allow me to introduce Him to you. There is information in my ‘Footnote’ that might help you, but I would welcome your email asking for my help. It would be my honor to introduce you to the One who will make the difference between eternal life and endless death in the presence of the Evil One – Satan.

Prayer: Praise God, I can rejoice in the joy of my salvation, the Creator of this universe and the One who lives forevermore! Lord, please deal in my heart daily so that I may never misrepresent You or tarnish Your name. Please touch the hearts of my readers today so that they may also commit to a pure, dedicated life that is totally sold out to You – a life that will never sacrifice or tarnish the wonderful name of Jesus. May others see Jesus through our actions and through all areas of our character, for I ask this in the precious and holy 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

Appreciative To God!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Appreciation, Healing, ThankfulnessLeave a comment

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: Luke 17:14–17
Today’s Bible Text: 14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. 15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: We are a very needy people. It seems like there would never be a shortage of things to ask for whenever we go before God in prayer, for He is so worthy, so powerful and so loving in wanting to supply our every need. But this scripture today is a reminder that we are to be a people of thanksgiving and praise even more than a people who constantly ask/plead/beg for God’s grace and favor. Think about it friend, God provides so much more than what we ask for, and His responses to our requests are so much more than we could ever imagine. There is no other God like our God! As I look outside my window this morning I can see sunshine; a beautiful lake with fish jumping from the water; greenery; birds and the accompanying chirping from them. So far I’ve listed several things that I never asked God for this morning, but for which I can give Him thanks. Unfortunately I believe many of our prayer lives are much like the lepers in this story. We are probably quick to run to God with our needs and our wants, but how often do we return to thank Him for His attention and answers? Let’s never forget that there are times that we ask God, but we tend to think that He never heard us if He answers differently to what we told Him. There is much to thank God  for in the ‘no’ responses as well! Friends, may I encourage you today to try and follow in the footsteps of the one leper who gave thanks to Jesus, and not the other nine who took the healing for granted, and were ungrateful in returning to give thanks! God deserves our praise and our thanksgiving!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You bless us so powerfully every day in so many wonderful ways. Please help us to always, always return to give thanks to You for not only hearing our prayers, but responding to them in such divine ways. Please help our times of prayer to always be deeper in praise and thanksgiving than any of the needs that we have to pray about, no matter how severe those needs may appear to us. Leprosy was pretty serious, yet when healed, only one returned to give thanks. May we be a part of that group that will remember, and will return to give thanks, for we are so appreciative of all that You bless us with each and every day. In thanksgiving, I ask these things, all for Your ultimate 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. 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

Confidence In Knowing God Is With Us

On By Ed AlgreenIn Confidence, Knowing Christ, Without doubtLeave a comment

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: Isaiah 43:1-3
Today’s Bible Text: “Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end – Because I am GOD, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you:
The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take Away: God was open in saying that He would punish sin and evil, but in this passage of scripture He was very open in assuring His people that He was with them in every circumstance of life. Friends, this is a message for us today, for I believe that God still hates sin and will still frown on and punish disobedience. As He emphasized right at the end of this scripture, He paid a huge price for our sin, so why should He sit back and smile at our deliberate sin and rejection of His sacrifice. However, the positive side of this scripture comes in the verses where God assures us that for those of us who have claimed Him as Lord and Savior of our lives, and have totally surrendered ourselves to His lordship, we can be assured of the following:

  • He claims us as His very own;
  • He promises to be with us, even when we are in over our heads and feeling overwhelmed;
  • He is ready and willing to rescue us when we feel like we are sinking in life’s troubles and struggles;
  • He will show us a way out when we feel like we have used up every possible option

Best of all friends, all of the above is possible because He is God – our personal God! So I ask you, is there anything too big for our God? I pray that you can confidently respond a resounding ‘no’ to that question. I would encourage you know my Savior today on a very personal way, so that you too may claim His promises.

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for reminding us of Your awesome power and Your unending and limitless love for us. Thank You for assuring us of Your power that You displayed to Israel in the above scripture, and the reassurance that You are still just as powerful and awesome today. Please help my readers to understand that You are not a ‘Santa Claus’, but rather a very relationship based God who not only created this universe and each person, but yet You are very willing to be our Savior and our God – a very personal God who cares about us. Please help us to surrender our lives completely to You and to depend on you each and every day. Thank You from the depths of my heart for the amazing sacrifice that You paid for my sin. I am eternally grateful. I ask these things 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. 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

Don’t Be Afraid – God Is With You!

On By Ed AlgreenIn BoldnessLeave a comment

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: Isaiah 41:10; 13; 20

Today’s Bible Text: 10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.    13 For I hold you by your right hand – I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.    20 I am doing this so all who see this miracle will understand what it means – that it is the Lord who has done this, the Holy One of Israel who created it.

The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: I find it amazing how God points us to scripture that He knows we need, or that someone else could benefit from the ways we share with them! In our scripture today, God was trying to convince the Israelites that because He was available to them and would be with them every step of the way, they were safe to return to their homeland, Jerusalem. After seeing this message hammered twice, then a verse to help understand why God was doing this, I got the message! Friends our human tendencies often lead to question “why me Lord”. In fact, so much so, that a song was written, and it became pretty popular, because it hit on such a powerful mindset of many people. This is therefore a message that we need to stop and think about for a moment. We often feel sorry for ourselves, because we might be going through some circumstances that others are free of, but what if you knew beforehand that God would be lifted up through your scenario? What if you foreknew that a loved one you had been praying for will come to know the Lord because of seeing Him so active in your circumstance? God is not just saying that everything will be OK, but He is telling us to not be afraid, but be encouraged in knowing that your Savior and Lord has taken on your concern and made it His business to be there for you because He wants you to know Him more intimately. In fact, He would even encourage you, strengthen you and hold up a flag of victory for you to be convinced of His presence and concern. Now here’s the piece we might struggle with most, for we want our cares taken care of, our sorrow turned into happiness, our future turned completely around for a promise of happiness and success. However, in verse 20 God tells us that our circumstance may be used for something totally outside of our family or our home, for He may very well use His intervention to convince our world (our family or our friends) that Jesus is alive and that He desires a deep relationship with them. Friends, I would encourage you to always look for ways that God might be using your circumstances for His glory, and I want to invite you to find peace in knowing that God is with you at all times, and that He will offer you assurances of His love and His protection. In all circumstance, let us learn to give thanks to our God, and not be afraid.

Prayer: Lord God, we are such a blessed people. It is hard to fathom that You, the God of this universe; our creator; would use simple man to accomplish Your will for this earth and all that is in it. None of us care for circumstances that cause us to worry, but none of us who care about others want to see them die hopeless and lost either. When we commit to having You use us for Your glory Lord, we may never think that it may be in circumstances such as the way You used Job. We are reminded that You may use us through great things, or perhaps through tough times, but praise to the Lord Almighty, You have promised that You would be with us in every case. Please help us to always find comfort in that, also knowing that Your ministry is reaching way beyond us to touch lives that need a Savior. Thank You for loving me through the good times and the challenging times, may Your kingdom come oh Lord and may Your people rise up to worship and adore You, not just for what You can give us, but for all that You can accomplish through us. I am blessed, and thank You for Your unending love and mercy. 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

How BIG Is Our God?

On By Ed AlgreenIn All-powerful, Almighty, Our Great BIG God1 Comment

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: Isaiah 40:12–14
Today’s Bible Text: 12 Who measured the oceans in the palm of his hand? Who used his hand to measure the sky? Who used a bowl to measure all the dust of the earth? Who used scales to measure the mountains and hills? 13 Who could know the Lord’s mind? Who could be his teacher or give him advice? 14 Did the Lord ask for anyone’s help? Did anyone teach him to be fair? Did anyone teach him knowledge? Did anyone teach him to be wise?
The Bible Translation: Easy-To_Read Version (ERV)

My Take Away: If you were preparing your heart to meet with someone, to encourage them, and to really share the power and the width and the breadth of our God, where would you begin?  When you prepare yourself to kneel at the feet of Jesus and place your petitions before Him, how convinced are you that He could handle your needs? In verse 31 of this same chapter, Isaiah shares the following:

But those who trust in the Lord will become strong again. They will be like eagles that grow new feathers. They will run and not get weak. They will walk and not get tired.

Friends, this scripture today is intended to remind us that no matter how burdened we are about circumstances, or about our needs, or about our finances, or how needy we or our family members really are, we have a great BIG awesome God who has successfully managed to handle a whole lot more than any ‘mountain’ we may be facing! Look at the examples given by Isaiah in verses 12-14 above and convince yourself of the supernatural God who loves you, who cares for you, who ‘goes to bat’ every day for you, and know that there is nothing too big for Him. Furthermore, be reminded that He loves you individually, therefore He wants to help you in every way possible! So don’t hold back friend, take your needs before God and be ready to praise Him as you evidence His hand at work in miraculous ways. He’s just  t h a t  BIG!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we bow before You in adoration of who You are, and for all You have done for us. Though so unworthy, still I’m a child of the King! Praise be to my almighty, all-powerful, ever-loving, incredible great BIG God! Please continue to bless Your kids again today, especially since we have been reminded of your outstanding power and magnitude. We will be eternally grateful dear God, for we ask these things in faith, and through the powerful name of our almighty 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. 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

Will Jesus Know You as His Follower?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, Know and Believe, Know JesusLeave a comment

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: Luke 13:23–25
Today’s Bible Text: A bystander said, “Master, will only a few be saved?” He said, “Whether few or many is none of your business. Put your mind on your life with God. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires your total attention. A lot of you are going to assume that you’ll sit down to God’s salvation banquet just because you’ve been hanging around the neighborhood all your lives. Well, one day you’re going to be banging on the door, wanting to get in, but you’ll find the door locked and the Master saying, ‘Sorry, you’re not on my guest list.’
The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take Away: Ever had someone sneak up behind you and blindfold you to see if you could guess who it is? Ever had a situation that you didn’t recognize the person, even after they revealed themselves to you? Perhaps you were mistaken for someone else they knew. It’s embarrassing when someone strongly believes that they know you, but you don’t recognize them in the slightest, isn’t it? This kind of reminds me of what it is like when someone appears insulted by asking them if they are a believer in Jesus. They may look at you and remind you that they are the one who attended Vacation Bible School with you in the 5th grade, and they have continued their belief in God by attending your church at least three times in the last year! So why would you possibly ask such a question of them? Friends I could go on giving you examples of those, whom I feel, might be surprised on Judgment Day. However, just like this translation indicates: Jesus responds that “this is none of my business”; for this is strictly something that He will work on each day until the time He calls that person out of this world. What God really wants you and I to do, is also in this scripture, for Jesus demands that we concentrate on our own relationship with the Lord. In other words, we have a fulltime job working on our own relationship with God instead of being so caught up in the affairs of others. Let me suggest that we look around and try to identify happily married couples. I believe you will do that by looking at the way they look at each other; the things they say to each other; the unending times that they strive to be together; the things the husband may do for his wife and/or her friends just to prove his love for her. Now, should that be any different when we try to show our love for our Lord? We will want to talk to Him as often as possible (prayer); We will want to be with Him and/or His people as often as possible (church); We will want to study His habits – His likes and dislikes and His desires for us (Bible Study and/or quiet times with the Lord); It will excite us to be around other folk who also love Him and is seeking to serve Him (church gatherings). Friends, these are just outward expressions of love for your Master that your friends will notice. Jesus knows your heart, so He knows what makes you ‘tick’ and why you do what you do. He knows if you’re serious about Him or just trying to impress mama by being in church each Sunday. Bottom line is that you may be successful in fooling all of the people all of the time, but God truly knows the heart of each man and woman. God will open the gates of heaven to you when He is convinced that you are sincerely in love with Him.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we often go through the motions of church attendance because we don’t want to disappoint the pastor, or because we promised mom that we would be in church at least each Sunday morning. It is obvious from this scripture today, that You look a lot deeper than that, for just like we can’t ever expect to sleep in our garage and wake up looking like a car, nor can we expect that church attendance will make us a Christian, or follower of Christ. Lord, please forgive us for our littleness in thinking that because we can impress our friends, that we can also trick You into believing we are a follower by going through the motions the world expects of a Christian. Lord, may Your Word penetrate our hearts and convince us of our sin. May we seek Your forgiveness of that sin, and may we strive daily to live for You, without being distracted about how our neighbor may be handling their lives. You are my all in all Jesus. May my life reflect that in all aspects of my character. 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

Priority–Seek God First

On By Ed AlgreenIn Believe, Priority, Seek God FirstLeave a comment

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: Luke 12:29-31
Today’s Bible Text: 29 “And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. 30 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. 31 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT),

My Take Away: Friends this is a very logical thing, but none the less, Jesus emphasized this with His disciples, to stop worrying as children of the most high God. Let’s think this through: If we are foolish and never seek God for anything in our life, then we are probably unbelievers and feel like we have everything in this life under control. When things fail to materialize, or may not happen the way we want them to, then we start to panic and worry, because we quickly run out of options, resulting in worry over how our needs will be met. On the other hand, when we surrender our lives to our Lord Jesus, we acknowledge before Him that He is most worthy and deserving of our praise. We are convinced from His wonderful book, the Bible, that He is the author of all things and the provider for His precious children. We develop a faith, based on everything that we read about all throughout the Bible. Also, knowing the love promised by our Maker, we develop a confidence that our Master will take care of our every need. This all begins with a relationship with our Savior, friend. As part of this relationship, as sons and daughter of the King of all kings, we develop a strong sense of faith, trust, love and contentment, knowing that He cares for us and that He watches out for His own. Unlike anyone else that we have ever known, our Savior loved us so much that He willingly gave up His life so that we might live eternally with Him. If He loved us enough to do that friend, don’t you know without a doubt that the words of these verses are also true? AS totally surrendered
children of God, we can be assured that He will give us everything we need.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I believe in You. I claim You as my Savior and Lord, because of a decision many years ago when I invited You into my heart. Thank You for the reminder today that You have given to my readers and I, that in knowing You, we can place our faith and trust in You for all things. Please help us to develop such a trust that we will learn to not worry about anything material here on this earth. Please open our hearts to be children of constant praise to our King for Your precious gifts to us on a daily and consistent basis. There is no need to worry when we place our faith and trust in the One who holds the key to all areas of our life. In deepest love and appreciation Lord, I ask these things, AMEN!

Jesus–The ‘Light’ at the end of your dark tunnel

On By Ed AlgreenIn Integrity, Prayer, PurityLeave a comment

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: Job 8:5–7
Today’s Bible Text: 5 But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty, 6 and if you are pure and live with integrity, he will surely rise up and restore your happy home. 7 And though you started with little, you will end with much.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: In reading the encouraging words from Job’s friend, Bildad, I believe that God gave me more wisdom to encourage and help those who have come through the past few years of discouragement due to losses – jobs, homes, families, vehicles, etc. For those who were blessed to keep their jobs, and therefore hang on to those things that are precious to us, it may be challenging for us to identify with these friends and/or family. Praise God, His Word is so applicable for every aspect of life, therefore I thank Him for directing me to this passage today and I am hoping this might especially encourage those folk who may have felt much like Job did, after losing everything. I am also hoping that this might also help those of us that God has chosen to walk alongside these individuals to encourage, and/or lift up, and/or restore, and/or redirect. For those that have, it is easy to say to those who have fallen: “Come on pull your socks up and move on with life” however, unless we can do that from a heart of love, or a heart burdened by God to really help that individual, our intended ‘encouragement’ may not be accepted as we hoped it would. Notice that Bildad pointed Job to God and gave him specific instruction on how to draw closer to God – the source of his help. This applied to Job, and could also apply to our friends seeking to overcome months and months of discouragement with loss of hope for the future. Here are tips given to Job by Bildad that I want you to consider:

  • Pray to God – Though earthly things may seem dismal, there is One who cares about every concern of His children. Pray, pray, pray to God;
  • Seek favor from the Almighty – God knows what you’re going through, but just as Jesus asked the blind man what was he seeking from Jesus, I believe He wants to hear your heart. Plead your case before Him. Ask Him for what you need in your life and the life of your family;
  • Put your purity and integrity in check – Our God is holy and righteous and pure. Please follow His ways and live your life in all purity and with full integrity as a child of God. Don’t let the circumstances of this earth interfere with the relationship you have with your Father. Live in such purity and integrity that the world will have no idea what you are presently going through. Even on the cross, and after suffering much cruelty and hurt, yet Jesus blessed the criminal hanging next to Him. Let that be your example friend.

Like Job, I believe that you too can see happiness restored to your home and your financial worth restored. My God loves you just as much as He loved Job. Let me encourage you to live like Job did, and see how God reacts to your dilemma!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I have no news for You today that You are not already fully aware of. Many of my readers and I have friends and/or family who are hurting because of the results of bad deals dealt to them by today’s society and perhaps bad choices by them. These are Your precious kids that You sacrificed Your life for at Calvary, so I beg You to touch them in a very special way today dear Lord. I dare not ask You how or why, but merely to trust in Your goodness to be the loving and caring God that You are. We will praise You tirelessly for Your goodness to these that we love and care about, 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

The Basics Of Prayer

On By Ed AlgreenIn Forgiveness, Glorify, Prayer, WorshipLeave a comment

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: Luke 11:2–4
Today’s Bible Text: Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this:
‘Father: May your holy name be honored; may your Kingdom come. Give us day by day the food we need. Forgive us our sins, for we forgive everyone who does us wrong. And do not bring us to hard testing.’ ”
The Bible Translation: The Good news Translation (GNT)

My Take Away: There are some basic elements to this lesson from Jesus on how we should pray, that I believe, we should all pay close attention to, and incorporate into our prayer lives:

  • Father – Address the One to whom you are praying. This is not a general prayer to the church where you are asking for volunteers to help you with certain concerns of your life;
  • May Your holy name be honored – Our God is worthy, and is to be honored for the awesome God that He is. In spite of the most serious prayer concerns that we could possibly have for God, yet there is so much that we can recognize in His goodness and mercy towards us. Take time to glorify Him and worship Him;
  • May Your kingdom come – What’s your heart’s condition? Would you be ready to go with Him if His kingdom came today – if He came for you today?
  • Give us…, forgive us…. – Recognize that you are a needy person in desperate need of a most worthy God. Place your needs at His feet and ask His forgiveness for all your failures and shortcomings;
  • Forgive others – Recognize that you are asking God’s forgiveness because you have been faithful in forgiving others;
  • Hard testing – Know that the only thing that separates you from the challenges, trials and testing this world/Satan dishes out, is the grace of God. Ask for God’s strength to properly handle those things and to protect you from them. Remember, He is worthy!

Friends, I believe that many of you may struggle with how to pray. That’s not new, for Jesus responded to the same dilemma that His followers had – as in our subject verses today. I hope that this will help you.

Prayer: Praise God that we serve such an awesome, all-powerful God! Jesus, please touch our hearts again today as we deal with such elementary, yet very powerful, subjects as ‘prayer’. We are a needy people who desperately need an all powerful Savior to hold our hands and direct our thoughts, our actions and our words today. In thanksgiving, I ask these things for my readers and myself dear God, 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