Month: August 2016

A Glimpse of Heaven!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Choices, Heaven, SalvationLeave a comment

Monday, 2016-MM-DD

Scripture

Bible Reference: Revelation 21:21–27

Bible Text: 21 The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass. 22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. 24 The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. 25 Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. 26 And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. 27 Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

Have you ever been told so much about a certain place that you started picturing in your mind what it will look like? Well, let me say that I am so excited about being a child of the Most High, that each day in His presence is sweeter than the day before! But to add to this, I know that God has told me in His Word that He has a place prepared for me, and the rest of His children, and it just excites me to the very limit to know that one day I will be in His presence in, what must be, the most beautiful place that one could ever imagine. When someone tries to describe a beautiful place that they’ve visited, they will often say that no matter how much they try to describe the beauty of the place, you just have to go there for yourself. John tried to do the best he could in this chapter of Revelation, but friends, this is just a glimpse of heaven God gave us through His servant John, and I believe He is knocking at your heart’s door encouraging you to ready yourself for your eternal destination. Notice in verse 27 that entry into this beautiful, but very holy place (heaven) is conditional upon decisions that you make today. If you were taken out of this world today, do you suppose that you would be allowed into heaven? The Bible teaches that there is only One Way to get your name in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and I expanded on that in my previous blog writing. May I encourage you to look back, read that blog, and make sure that you have done this preliminary business with your Lord. All is in vain if you haven’t accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. We have such an awesome Savior to spend eternity with, and having been reminded again today, we also have an awesome heaven to enjoy our eternity with the King of kings and Lord of lords. You could very easily be the next person called out from this world, and your eternal destination will be determined by your spiritual condition. Acceptance of Jesus Christ leads to eternity in heaven. The only alternative takes you to the pit of hell with Satan and his demons. The decision is yours friend!

Prayer

Lord God, we came from You and we very much want to return to You after we leave this earth. It is clear in Your Word that there is only one way to make this happen, and You have given us the advantage of not having to guess, or decode the answer, for You have made it abundantly clear. Just to be in Your gracious presence will be enough, but we are overwhelmed at being reminded of the magnificence of heaven – Your home. Although I can personally sing with the songwriter in the words of ‘What A Day That Will Be’, yet my plea today is that You would work on the hearts of Your children who have not yet accepted Your free gift of eternal life. Please especially humble the hearts of my family and my circle of friends, including those who will read this blog, in their search for a closer walk with You. May this be the day that they will find peace in knowing You personally. You are most worthy oh Lord, and we are most undeserving, and so needy for Your gracious love and miraculous hand upon our life. To God be the 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!

Which Way?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Decisions, direction, Heaven, HellLeave a comment

Saturday, 2016-08-06

Scripture

Bible Reference: Revelation 21:6-8

Bible Text:  6 And He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the one who thirsts I will give [water] from the fountain of the water of life without cost. 7 He who overcomes [the world by adhering faithfully to Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior] will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. 8 But as for the cowards and unbelieving and abominable [who are devoid of character and personal integrity and practice or tolerate immorality], and murderers, and sorcerers [with intoxicating drugs], and idolaters and occultists [who practice and teach false religions], and all the liars [who knowingly deceive and twist truth], their part will be in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Bible Translation: Amplified Bible (AMP)

My Take

I understand that one of the hardest things for a man to do, is to stop driving and ask for directions!!! For he tries to work out in his own mind and intuition ‘Which Way’ to go. Of course, choosing the right way will get you to the right place, in best time, and saving the most in fuel costs. And oh, less embarrassment from the wife!!! Now, I believe we all can conclude that choosing the wrong route will cause all of the opposite effects! I am convinced that occasionally we need to be reminded of what the impact that our decisions today have on our eternity. Our all knowing-God took this into effect when He showed John, the author of Revelation, what the impact would be. Thankfully God had John share this with us, so that we could be better informed of what the outcome will be based on our decisions today. In other words, because we are informed, we will go into eternity knowing whether we will be treated as sons and daughters of the Most High, or instead enter into eternal destruction and torment. Friends, the decisions we make today determines our eternal destination. May I remind you that we are naturally inclined to follow the evil desires of our heart. Further, we live in a world that promotes and encourages us to follow these evil ways. How then shall we get from what is natural, to the One who is supernatural? I love the way that this translation reads on verse 7, for it tells us that we are to adhere to the teachings of Jesus Christ. However, we will only do this if we surrender ourselves to that Teacher. For if our natural desire is to sin, we need supernatural power to help us overcome the natural, therefore we need to surrender ourselves to the supernatural One (Jesus), to be led by Him and directed in our path here on earth. Friends, I would encourage you to examine these verses very carefully, for we are given only One Way to change the design and destination of our life. There are no options for just good behavior; attending church; having a good attorney; having good Christian parents, or the such. ONE WAY friends. Please be sure you are on the right track. Please check out my Footnote for help on directions.

Prayer

Thank You dear God for providing THE WAY for us to prepare today for where we will spend eternity. It’s like an open book for us, so we know what it takes and what affects that decision. Please make us bold in making right decisions today Lord, for our desire is to enjoy the glories of Heaven with our Master throughout all eternity. We need You Lord 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!

God’s Holy Reputation

On By Ed AlgreenIn Holiness, Holy Living, Imitate Jesus, Imitator of Christ, Leadership of the Holy SpiritLeave a comment

Friday, 2016-08-05

Scripture

Bible Reference: Ezekiel 39:25–28

Bible Text: 25 “So now, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: …..; I will have mercy on all Israel, for I jealously guard my holy reputation! 26 They will accept responsibility for their past shame and unfaithfulness after they come home to live in peace in their own land, with no one to bother them. 27 When I bring them home from the lands of their enemies, I will display my holiness among them for all the nations to see. 28 Then my people will know that I am the LORD their God….

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

I believe that often, because of certain acts, or certain actions that lead to a church leader, or member, getting arrested, we might hear about how that person brought shame on the church, or on their family. This frequently happens in workplaces also, when evidence points to the fact that an employee stole from the company, or leaked critical information outside of the company. In fact, this often has such a devastating impact on the company, that it may even damage their  reputation in the eyes of their customers, or their vendors, or government licensing agencies. However, seldom do we hear that such an incident may have damaged God’s reputation. Friends, I want you to think for a moment about the attributes of God. We think of Him being loving; good; kind; caring; unselfish; sacrificial; protective; etc, but also, all of these things to every race and nationality, and to every God-honoring religious affiliation. When we (Christians) go about our day seeking to imitate these characteristics of God, we honor Him and support His reputation. However, how often do we stop and consider the opposite when we fail to live up to God’s standards? Ever stop to think that your damaging words not only hurt a Brother, but because your actions were not pleasing to God, or representative of what His character stands for, you may have damaged His reputation with the folk who witnessed, or were hurt by your actions?  In verse 25 today, God basically said that He had to step in to save His reputation. Friends, when we knowingly, or unknowingly, do things that tear down God’s reputation, we are tearing down the chances of God getting through to those folk that walk away because of our actions. I believe that we should be holy, just as Christ is holy. When we aim towards holiness, and the overall likeness of Jesus, then God will be able to show His holiness through us to all nations, as indicated in verse 27. We have a reputation to maintain friends, a holy reputation. Are you there yet? You certainly can be, with God’s help!

Prayer

Lord Jesus, we want to be just like You. I could go on with the excuses of why we are not succeeding at this, but I truly believe that until You become our primary focus in every aspect of our life, then we will act like those who are receiving too much of our attention. In this world we are bombarded by the attitudes and actions of folk that do not know You, and therefore led by the very likes of Satan himself. Please put us on guard today Lord Jesus. Protect us from the evil one, and give us wisdom, protection and guidance to live in the very likeness of our Lord and Savior, so that others may see, hear, believe and accept the One we call Master, Friend, and Savior of this world, 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!

The Sovereignty of God

On By Ed AlgreenIn God's Not Dead, Guidance, SovereignLeave a comment

Thursday, 2016-08-04

Scripture

Bible Reference: Job 38:12-13

Bible Text:   12 “Since your days began, have you ever commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place, 13  So that light may take hold of the corners of the earth And shake the wickedness out of it?

Bible Translation: Amplified Bible (AMP)

My Take

Isn’t it interesting how we could read the two verses shown above and we expect God to do those things every day, yet without stopping to realize the creativeness in God to think of doing these things, and the majestic power, beauty and usefulness of all that He does each and every day? Even more intriguing, yet disturbing it would be to imagine how impossible it would be to survive without these things – should there be any value at all in what the world (non-Christians) promotes about the non-existence of God. Friends, when we sit back and question the handiwork of God – too hot; too cold; too much rain; enough of the drought now; why a hurricane; or perhaps like Job – where we might question why did we lose this person in our life, or this asset that we saved for so long to purchase; are we not questioning the sovereignty of God and doubting His knowledge of what’s best for us – the very ones that He created in the first place? I believe that God welcomes us to share our feelings and our requests with Him. In fact, there is a Bible story of how He changed His mind on doing something because His servant pleaded his case with God. However, at the end of the day, I believe that only God has the ultimate power to control all aspects of our lives, so it behooves us to take the place of servant, then listen to God and obey His commands. Just like in our homes and schools there are rewards for doing good, I believe that God will be very loyal to His Word in the rewards that are coming for those who have accepted Jesus as Lord, and looking forward to eternity with God. Job was a man considered to be very strong in his faith, yet God had to get in his face to help him snap out of his depressing mood and self-pity. I pray that you will allow the Word to speak to you today and that It may renew a right spirit within you to love and serve God faithfully each day acknowledging the One who guides Your every step and protects you as you step.

Prayer

Lord, may we take our rightful place today and let You be God, just as You have the full capacity to be, as proven in so many instances in Your Word and in the lives of those we know and love. We need You every day dear Lord. May this day renew our hearts to draw on Your presence more and more. I ask these things in the powerful 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!

Meet The One In Charge

On By Ed AlgreenIn Awesome God, Control, CreatorLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2016-08-03

Scripture

Bible Reference: Job 38:4-11

Bible Text:  4 How did I lay the foundation for the earth? Were you there? 5 Doubtless you know who decided its length and width. 6 What supports the foundation? Who placed the cornerstone, 7 while morning stars sang, and angels rejoiced? 8 When the ocean was born, I set its boundaries 9 and wrapped it in blankets of thickest fog. 10 Then I built a wall around it, locked the gates, 11 and said, “Your powerful waves stop here! They can go no farther.”

Bible Translation: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take

God finally had enough of Job’s whining and accusations of wrongdoing by God, so He decided to give Job some perspective on who He really was, and still is today! Friends, I believe that anytime we feel like God has abandoned us, the book of Job would be a good book to reflect on. Further, if there was ever a time when you may have felt like you really had this ‘life’ thing figured out, I believe that this particular chapter, and conversation God had with Job, would be a great reminder of how you need to get a grip on yourself, open your heart and mind to what God has to say and make every effort to surrender the controls to your life back to God. We have excellent reminders here of how God carefully, intricately and powerfully put this planet together, then He created us to enjoy its many blessings. If He loves us that much, won’t He all the more take care of our problems, concerns and difficulties while we live here, if we would only humble ourselves and ask Him to? Let’s always remember how we got here, and how everything around us was created and placed here for our comfort and enjoyment. Let’s learn to honor God for who He is, and then enjoy the blessings as He showers us with His love and His many acts of mercy and grace!

Prayer

Father, You are so awesome, and take such good care of us each day, yet we are so quick to grumble and complain about the way we believe life should be for us. Please forgive us for our littleness Lord, for who are we to question a God like You? Please help us to always strive towards total humility to You and respectful towards everyone that You have created and placed besides us in life. Lord, we want to be just like You, but we have such a long way to go. Please shower us with Your power and Your grace today. We need You every hour and through every step of every day. Please be very evident in our lives today, for I ask these things in the wonderful 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!

Treated Unfairly?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Love of God, The Father's Love, The love of God, Unconditional loveLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2016-08-02

Scripture

Bible Reference: Job 37:23–24

Bible Text:  23–24  “Mighty God! Far beyond our reach! Unsurpassable in power and justice! It’s unthinkable that he’d treat anyone unfairly. So bow to him in deep reverence, one and all! If you’re wise, you’ll most certainly worship him.”

Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take

I believe that way too often we tend to look inward and feel sorry for ourselves. Way too often we tend to look at others, and quickly become envious of all that they have, compared to what we recognize in our gifts, talents and possessions. Then we tend to ponder why we are so undeserving. We identify with how Job was feeling after his ‘world’ was stripped away from him. Throughout this book of Job there are many lessons for us. In today’s verses, I believe it is important that we see that true friends are very honest with us, and they may not just tell us what they think we want to hear. It would have been much easier for Job’s friend to go along with the way that Job was feeling; or to make promises to Job that he may, or may not be capable, or willing to make a reality. Unfortunately, we do this all the time friends. We feel sorry for folk and tell them things like: “Don’t worry, everything’s gonna be alright”; or “I will pray for you”; or “I will come and visit you so we could talk”; or “You look so good that no one would ever imagine that you are serious ill”. However, when we are hurting, we tend to look inward and feel sorry for self. Like the world is against us, and that we are being treated so unfairly. I believe that the best thing a friend can do, is to help us get our eyes refocused on Jesus, and His undeniable love for us. We may never understand, at least at the time, why things are going the way they are, but if we can refocus on the love of God for us, that it is unchangeable, and unshaken by circumstances, and that He made us with great purpose in mind, then we might begin to remember all the ways that God has blessed us, and is continuing to watch over us and care for us. Friends, the adversary (Satan) is doing his very best to distract us from the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ, and the many ways that Jesus loves us. What better way to do this than to tap away at our mind and try to tear down the very blessings that God is showering upon us every day? Jesus loves us more than anyone or anything we could possibly imagine, and this was not just for the period He sacrificed His life for us on the cross, but right straight through eternity. So let us therefore, always fix our eyes on the Author and the Finisher of our faith; the Alpha and the Omega; the beginning and the end; JESUS, the Holy Son of God!

Prayer

Lord, thank You for reminding me that “poor me’ is not a term used by folk who are children of the most high God; the King of all kings; the Savior of this world! We are so blessed and set apart as such a holy people, that we must always keep our eyes fixed on the Author of all these blessings. There is a lot of ‘Light’ at the end of this sometimes ‘dark’ world that we live in – the Light of the world, is Jesus! As our Light; our Savior and our Lord, please help Your humble servants to keep our eyes and our minds fixed on You, and not allow Satan to interfere with our happiness. We need You daily Lord, and we look forward to eternity with You loving Father, 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!

The Consequences for a Watchman

On By Ed AlgreenIn Evangelize, Share God’s WordLeave a comment

Monday, 2016-08-01

Scripture

Bible Reference: Ezekiel 33:7–9

Bible Text:  7 Ezekiel, I have appointed you to stand watch for the people of Israel. So listen to what I say, then warn them for me. 8 When I tell wicked people they will die because of their sins, you must warn them to turn from their sinful ways. But if you refuse to warn them, you are responsible for their death. 9 If you do warn them, and they keep sinning, they will die because of their sins, and you will be innocent.

Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version. (CEV)

My Take

Some translations refer to the responsibility title given to Ezekiel as a ‘Watchman’. Because this position brought with it the responsibility of reinforcing God’s Word to His people, it really reminded me of the positions that today we refer to as pastor, evangelist, revival speaker, elder or other church leader. In fact, even us as Christians we have a responsibility to share the love of Jesus with our lost loves ones. Let me challenge you to look at the job responsibilities laid out by God for Ezekiel and note the similarities. Friends, we would never think of keeping the news inside of an impending hurricane, as we want our friends to seek shelter and avoid danger and possible loss of life. Yet we know of the imminent return of Jesus Christ, and that those who have not prepared themselves for His return, are destined for Hell, and we do nothing, because of our fear of rejection or a hundred other excuses. What if we took the consequences, or options given to Ezekiel and owned them? Realizing that if we fail in our responsibility and the people perish, we will be held responsible by God? Do we really want to continue living foolishly in keeping our knowledge and responsibility bottled up inside, knowing full well that there will be consequences ahead for us?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, You exampled a perfect life for us to follow. A life filled with evangelizing the lost, and correcting and encouraging the saved. As Your followers, and especially after being jolted back into reality with the story of Ezekiel today, Lord may we be found faithful today and every day of our lives. If You allow us to leave our homes and get to work, we WILL find unsaved friends. These are folk that You have placed us as a ‘Watchman’ over, because they need correcting and redirecting. Lord, may we present the gospel to them, which has the power to save them and see them into heaven. How will they know, if we keep it bottled up inside of us? Lord, please work through us today so that Your Holy Spirit might work mightily in the lives of our family and friends. May heaven become richer today because of our obedience to Your call on our lives. 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!