|
Post Date: |
Friday, 2017-03-31 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Matthew 26:47-50 (NLT) |
|
Text: |
47 … Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests and elders of the people. 48 The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.” 49 So Judas came straight to Jesus. “Greetings, Rabbi!” he exclaimed and gave him the kiss. 50 Jesus said, “My friend, go ahead and do what you have come for.” Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, spending His last hours in this world before His Father in earnest prayer. He knew the moment that this event would take place and He knew who would be the instigator. In fact it would be one very close to Him, but He also knew the pain, agony and public disgrace that was in store for Him as the following events took place. I’m sure that Jesus was no different to us, in that His greatest hurt came from the betrayal by one who was close to Him, and not a stranger who had always hated Him and protested His ministry. Can this possibly apply to us?…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| My blog title today is ‘Traitor’, because that’s what Judas is often characterized as. Being specifically called by Jesus to be one of His close followers, who Jesus poured life and ministry into, and who Jesus expected to carry on the ministry after His departure, I believe it is obvious that Jesus had great expectations for Judas and His other disciples. So to see this change in Judas, I’m sure was devastating to Jesus and to the other disciples. In fact, I’m sure that they felt very betrayed by Judas. This part of the Bible is challenging for us to wrap our minds around, isn’t it? In fact, aren’t you glad that the whole event is behind us. Surely there can’t be anyone else around that would do such an awful thing, right? Or is there? Look deeply inside of yourself for a moment. Can you think of a time when you may have been ashamed of something that you said to a friend about the ministry of Christ that you thought was less than godly? Perhaps, instead of calling a prayer meeting to pray for your pastor, or an elder, or a deacon, or another church member, you joined in a conversation intended to bash the individual. Was that showing the same love that Christ offers to you, or do you suppose that you may have betrayed the ministry of Jesus Christ and His mission? Perhaps you’ve had friends praying with you about a personal situation that has really affected your. Were you able to brag with your coworkers about the love of God in answering your prayer, or did you have to ‘mellow’ and tell them what awesome luck came your way? If so, you missed an opportunity to witness to your coworkers about the awesome God who answers even your prayers. You also said to God thanks, but no thanks, for your good luck charm did more good than your prayers to Him. Is that Christ honoring, or is that denying the love and power of the awesome God that You serve? As you reflect on these verses friend, may I encourage you to look inward, instead of beating up on the person and actions of Judas. Don’t be a ‘traitor’ or ‘betrayer’ friend. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord, this is a tough lesson for us, because our eyes are opened to the fact that we still do almost as bad as Judas sometimes. You showed Your love for us publicly on a cross, yet we do our best to keep our relationship with You undercover to the general public, because we don’t want to be rejected just because we are Your follower. Lord, may You rule and reign in our lives, and may we boldly declare Your majesty, love and power to all that we come into contact with. May You receive honor, praise and glory from our actions and never feel betrayed, but Lord we need Your power daily, so that we may remain strong and eternally faithful. Bless us oh Lord, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Month: March 2017
Our Protective Father!
|
Post Date: |
Thursday, 2017-03-30 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Matthew 26:40-41 (GW) |
|
Text: |
40 When he went back to the disciples, he found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you stay awake with me for one hour? 41 Stay awake, and pray that you won’t be tempted. You want to do what’s right, but you’re weak.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| You will recognize this as part of the scene at the Garden of Gethsemane right before the betrayal and arrest of Jesus. Jesus invited a few disciples to join Him for some alone time with the Father. However, I was touched by how unselfish Jesus was even during such a critical time in His life. Notice the words that I bolded and underlined, to see how Jesus was so mindful of His beloved disciples even at a time that He was asking for reprieve from all that He would soon face. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I believe that often we recognize danger for our loved ones much faster than we do for ourselves. I often implore my wife and daughter to be careful whenever they are driving, yet I jump behind the wheel and never give a second thought to the impending danger that we each face each day on the road! Clicking on the scripture link will give you a few surrounding verses to remind you of the situation with Jesus in the context of which these verses were taken. He was about to face beatings, mockery, public crucifixion with much pain to His mother and others who loved Him dearly. However even though we know that Jesus prayed over the agony He knew He would face very soon, yet in these verses He shared His concern for the spiritual welfare of His beloved disciples. I find that immensely humbling and gratifying. In fact, I am reminded of the words of a song that I like “when He was on the cross, I was on His mind” and other included words “He knew me, yet He loved me”. Friends, that gives you an outlook on the love of my Savior for not only me, but for all who call on the name of the Lord, and that includes you! Please don’t think that you are beyond the love of Christ. This same Peter that Jesus was encouraging to pray for strength for his hour of temptation, is the same one that stood nearby and watched a sword be drawn and cut off the ear of one of the soldiers that came to arrest Jesus. He’s the same Peter who denied knowing Jesus, out of fear for his own life. Yet Jesus loved him anyway. Our weakness in caving in to the temptations of Satan is no surprise to God. However, He loves us way too much to see us settle for that. His offer of salvation and eternal security is available to ALL who call on Him as Lord – that includes you Brother, and you Sister. Will you consider surrendering to His invitation today? There are eternal rewards for those who do! Like Jesus, I would also love to see each of you reading this blog today, gain eternal life through inviting Him into your heart and life. Will you do it? | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus thank You for all that You went through, in obedience to Your Father, so that I might have peace of mind and security in knowing where I will spend eternity. Thank You for drawing me to Yourself and using me here on earth to reach and encourage others for Your glory. Lord, I have friends and family that still need to make this most important decision. I pray that they, and each reader of this blog, will receive Your invitation today to surrender their lives totally and completely to You, and that they may be drawn closer than ever to the cross upon which You hung so that we might have eternal life with You and the Father. Have Your will and way in our lives today Lord Jesus, is my humble cry, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Sanctified Tabernacle
|
Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-03-29 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Exodus 29:43-46 (TLB) |
|
Text: |
43 And I will meet with the people of Israel there, and the Tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. 44 Yes, I will sanctify the Tabernacle and the altar and Aaron and his sons who are my ministers, the priests. 45 And I will live among the people of Israel and be their God, 46 and they shall know that I am the Lord their God.… |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Through the instructions given to the Israelites about their tabernacle where they would meet to offer sacrifices and praise to God the Father, they were assured that the tabernacle would be sanctified by the glory of God and that their leaders would be appropriately sanctified also. God also assured them that He would live among them and they would know that He is the Lord their God. Wow, how does that work with us today? | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| What do you suppose would be different about our attendance at church if we knew that a world leader would be in worship with us next weekend? Do you suppose that the sanctuary would fill up quickly and the whole service would be filled with awe over the presence of such a leader sharing in worship with us? Do you suppose that leader might gain a new respect from us after they return to their normal weekly duties? Isn’t it interesting that the Creator of the universe has promised to be in our midst whenever two or three would gather in His name to worship Him, yet some can’t be bothered to get up because its the only day they have to sleep in, or the only day they could go to the beach, or clean house, or….. Friends, when we ignore the opportunity to go and spend time in God’s presence to worship Him with other believers, why on earth should we expect to have Him at our beck and call every time during the week that we have need to call on Him. Would you make more of an effort to attend, and would you act any differently when you walked through the doors of the sanctuary if you knew confidently that God’s presence was overwhelmingly there? Do you suppose that we would find time in our respective services to just savor on His presence and offer up individual praise to our Father? Would we be able to break the man-made flow of the service and just recognize God? Would you be able to ‘turn off’ the worries of the week long enough to give Him your undivided attention and recognition of His awesome presence? If you stop and reflect on the Word of God, you will recall that it assures us that God inhabits the praises of His people. He has promised to be in our presence whenever two or three would meet in His name. This assures me that He IS there patiently waiting for us to stop talking to each other, or looking at our cell phones, or worrying ourselves sick of personal issues. Will we continue to disappoint Him and ignore Him friends? I pray that we will come to our senses every time we have opportunity to meet together to worship our Lord. Will you make an effort to give Him your attention, your honor and your praise? | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus please forgive us for ignoring Your presence, especially in our services where we claim that we are there to worship You. The Israelites were promised that Your glory would fill their tabernacle. You have also promised that You would be present in our midst, and I’m sure that wherever You are, that place is filled with Your glory. Thank You Heavenly Father for meeting in our midst and welcoming our praise. Lord, may we be more mindful of Your presence so that the sincerity of our offerings of praise and worship would be evident to You in very meaningful ways. Lord, You know that we love and appreciate You. Please help us to show that in every aspect of our lives, especially in Your sanctuary. AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Guilty of Betrayal
|
Post Date: |
Tuesday, 2017-03-28 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Matthew 26:14-16 (NIV) |
|
Text: |
14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Perhaps Judas is one of the most talked about disciples of Jesus, because of his betrayal of his Master, and all for just 30 pieces of silver. I wonder if the other disciples were 100% sold out to Jesus and never once betrayed Him. We will look deeper into our stance on Jesus and how sold out we are to the King of the universe, the holy Son of God. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| It is so easy for us to criticize Judas for the bad boy that he was, in betraying his Master, our Lord, the only Son of God. However, I will share with you the meaning of that word ‘B E T R A Y A L’, because I believe that we easily slip into the shoes of Judas more often than we care to admit. The online Free Dictionary gives the following meaning to our ‘word of the day’: To be false or disloyal to: betrayed a cause; betray one’s spouse; | To divulge in a breach of confidence: betray a secret; | To make known unintentionally: Her hollow laugh betrayed her contempt for the idea; | To lead astray: deceive. After reading these meanings, I’m sure that another disciple comes to mind – Peter – when he was ‘disloyal’ to Jesus after His arrest and Peter, for fear of his own life, claimed to have ‘never known The Man’! But I really want us to take time in our meditation with the Lord today and ask Him to point out to us the opportunities that we ‘blow’ when, instead of witnessing about the miracles of the Lord, or boasting on the handiwork of our Maker, we fit into the expectations of those that we are in the company of. In doing this, those witnessing opportunities become times that we wish the person better luck next time, or perhaps ‘fate’ is just not on your side. The miraculous turn of events may become ‘you are one ‘lucky’ person, I wish that I could be that lucky. Another form of betrayal is when we shake the hand of our pastor, or teacher, and tell them how well they did, then another listener pulls us aside and shares how they will start going to another church because they could never get anything from the pastor/teacher’s lessons. Will you always stick to the same compliment you just gave to the leader, or will you betray them and go along with the listener who has a different twist on the lesson? Friends, remember that you will only get as much out of a lesson or sermon as you personally have invested into it. Did you bathe that leader in prayer that they might put self aside and clearly receive a word from the Lord that you and other listeners need to hear from God? Did you give that leader an extra boost of encouragement to let them know you had prayed for them before they taught? Friends, if we’re not careful, we could be doing a whole lot worse than Thomas. May the sincerity of your heart be evident to all those around you, and especially to God, who knows the innermost thoughts, words and deeds of each of us 24/7/365. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Precious Lord, please give us boldness today to declare the Lordship of Jesus Christ in as many ways as possible today. Too often we become like Thomas and change our witness, our story, our ‘colors’ to match that of the crowd that we are caught associating with. Lord, may we be found faithful in all walks of life. In fact, may we become stronger and even more vocal for You as we enter into the world where many do not have a relationship with You. Lord, may we always declare Your glory, Your honor, Your miracles, Your love, Your presence and Your ultimate Lordship over everything, regardless of the biggest, badest, most vocal objector in the crowd. May You never be forced to challenge us on having betrayed the precious Son of God – our Lord and our Savior. Instead, may You always be praised and honored in all walks of our life, each and every day, for Your glory alone. AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Proof That You Know God
|
Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-03-27 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
1 John 4:7-8 (Voice) |
|
Text: |
7 My loved ones, let us devote ourselves to loving one another. Love comes straight from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and truly knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| The first verse details how to know if we know God, while the second explains how we will know when we are not one with the Father, and this all revolves around how well we do with loving one another. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I believe that our first instinct when we read verses like this, is to reflect on how much we love our spouse, children, mother, father, siblings and possibly our friends. However, by comparing our love with the love of God, we must also consider how well we do at loving the person who is not very lovable to us, or the person who always acts like they hate the world, especially Christians. To make a difference in this world, and truly show that the supernatural God of this universe plays a key role in our life, we must strive daily to be more like Him, and to give Him total control of our lives, for I believe that until we are totally submissive to Him, there will be too much of the sinful nature controlling us. Friends, these verses are very clear that this kind of love comes straight from God. They are also clear in telling us that when we fail to love one another, then the evidence shows that we do not know God. Now let that sink in for a moment. Since God is love, and He showed His ultimate love for us by sending His only Son to die on a cross for our sins, then if we claim to be His children, under His control, surely we would automatically strive to love just as He did. So may I encourage you to analyze yourself today as you go about your way? Better still, have a little talk with Jesus and ask Him to make you very aware of when you are not acting like Him, or loving others as He would. If you truly know Jesus as Lord and Savior, then you know the plumb line against which you will compare yourself. Please don’t compare to anyone one else, your ability or willingness to love others. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, thank You for first loving me! For loving me unconditionally – in spite of who I once was, The love that You show each day for Your children here on earth is beyond all description, but it has set a precedence for us to seek Your help and Your guidance so that we might love one another with that same kind of love. Please forgive us when we take things into our own hands and mess up so royally. I am convinced that it is only through the amazing grace of Jesus that we could love the happiest of people and the most miserable unloving, unkind individuals that You will place before us today. May it be easy for us to reflect back on the day and say the it was solely by the grace of God that we showed love even to the most challenging individuals, just as You would have done. Teach us to especially get this particular characteristic in order, so that the world might see Your grace and Your love even through us. AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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 Path to Integrity
|
Post Date: |
Saturday, 2017-03-25 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Proverbs 4:10-15 (Voice) |
|
Text: |
10 Hear my words, my son, and take them in; let them soak in so that you will live a long, full life. 11 I have pointed you in the way of wisdom; I have steered you down the path to integrity. 12 So get going. And as you go, know this: with integrity you will overcome all obstacles; even if you run, you will not stumble. 13 Tighten your grip around wise advice; don’t let it slip away. Protect Wisdom, for without her, life isn’t worth living. 14 Do not start down the road of the wicked— the first step is easy, but it leads to heartache— do not go along the way of evildoers. 15 Stay away from it; don’t even go past it— and if you find yourself anywhere near it, turn your back and run as far as you can in the opposite direction. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Wikipedia gives the following meaning to ‘Integrity’: “Integrity is the qualifications of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. It is generally a personal choice to hold oneself to consistent moral and ethical standards.” That sounds like a pretty close match to what the Proverbs is describing in these focal verses today, I feel! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I believe that many strive to live a life of integrity even if they know nothing about the promises of God to bless us as we strive to live in the wisdom of all that He has taught us. Often this may occur because of the upbringing of the individual, or because of someone that they are looking up to in their life. For the child of God, we have the Word of God to guide our actions, thoughts and principles, and we have the power of God to help us overcome obstacles that may try to hinder our walk to consistent integrity. When we accept Jesus as Lord of our life, He places the Holy Spirit within us to guide us along the right path. He is our Helper and our Guide when puzzled about which path to follow; He is our Comforter and Protector when trouble comes our way; He is our Deliverer when tempted and we call on Him for help. So with that kind of support within us, can you think of any reason why we can’t follow the Word of God and the will of God for our lives? Friends, if ever our employers should find employees of integrity, that they can trust wholeheartedly, or if ever our friends could find and trust people of integrity that they could depend on and trust with sharing their heart, it should be in those who have honestly invited Jesus into our heart and committed ourselves to allow Him full control over our lives. Jesus has always been, and always will be considered a person of integrity, for He is the only Perfect One, so having Him as our Lord and Savior, we too can be people of integrity. It’s your call friend. As for me, I choose to be a man of integrity, God being my helper! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord, in a world that seems filled with strife, backbiting and lack of trust in each other, I reaffirm my desire to be a man of integrity, with the help of Your Holy Spirit. I pray for commitment of this attribute for my readers, my family, my friends and my coworkers. Lord may this lost world see more of You in more of us. May we be known as people of integrity because of whose we are! AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
What You Do for Others is Noticed By God
|
Post Date: |
Friday, 2017-03-24 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Matthew 25:37-40 (NLT) |
|
Text: |
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| In evaluating the people in front of Him, Jesus divided them into two groups: the unrighteous; and the righteous. The righteous were recognized for the heart they demonstrated like that of Jesus Christ. In fact, so much so that Jesus concluded that all the things they did proved their righteousness. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| While I realize that Jesus knows and sees all things, I wonder if we had to evaluate our actions over the past week, would there be enough evidence to convince Jesus that we are among the righteous? There is a saying: from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. I believe that a heart filled with the presence of God’s Holy Spirit, will respond to needs around us like our Savior responded. For there was no respecter of persons in Jesus’ eyes; He is well known as ‘Love’, because of His amazing love towards all mankind; He is Healer; He is our Shepherd; He is the Restorer of our souls; He leads us in the path of righteousness, especially when we are so prone to stray; He set the example for us in all aspects of life – mixing with sinners, standing firm for what He knew was Truth, loving and ministering to sinners at every opportunity; Used the Word of God as His defense – when tempted. Friends, not only has the example been set for us, but our Savior stands ready to bless us, guide us, empower us and embolden us so that we might be His hands, His feet and His love to this lost and dying world in which we live. To do this, Jesus needs our commitment to serve Him no matter what. He needs us to be trusting and pliable, because His ways are not our ways, and if we are truly going to be used by Him, we must totally surrender our will to Him. I would like to challenge you with the question I started with: is there enough evidence in your actions and your words, that Jesus and/or your friends would be convinced that you are among the righteous, and being truly directed by God each day? | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, we come humbly before You today, knowing that we are not capable nor worthy to be looked on as ‘righteous’, especially by the righteous Son of God. However, we are reminded through this teaching today that loved ones, friends, or any one still searching for the Lord, must see and experience enough of Jesus in us, for them to truly know that the Word is true and that You are still alive and powerfully working in your children – Your righteous ones who have committed their lives wholeheartedly to You. Lord, please complete Your work in Your way, for Your kingdom, even through us, Your humble servants, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Personal Prayer to Your God
|
Post Date: |
Thursday, 2017-03-23 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Psalm 22:1-5 (NLT) |
|
Text: |
1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help? 2 Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief. 3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel. 4 Our ancestors trusted in you, and you rescued them. 5 They cried out to you and were saved. They trusted in you and were never disgraced. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| David’s plea to God reminds me of a gospel hymn ‘Take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there’! David recognized that although it appeared like God had abandoned him, yet he knew that God had been supreme to his ancestors and answered their prayers. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| In a given day, I wonder how many folk we come across that may have abandoned God because they were frustrated into thinking that perhaps He doesn’t exist, since He refuses to answer their prayer. However I wonder if there is enough relationship between them and God that He would recognize their voice, and therefore stop to listen? Friends, if you separated yourself from your earthly dad and never supported him or cared enough to call or visit him, how do you think it would go if you asked him to help you make that vacation trip to some beautiful tropical island this year? Your separation may have been to hurt your dad for something he said to you in all honesty, but now that you need something, he’s the only one you could call on. Sounds like your story, or like stories you’ve heard? Unfortunately I believe that many of us treat our heavenly Father in a very similar fashion. Mom had this primitive belief that you should give your heart to the Lord. Her pastor visited to tell you about the joy possible in accepting the free gift of salvation. Your best friend invited you to attend church with them one Sunday. But to each of these messengers from God, you said ‘no’ because you were unwilling to change your priorities and find time for Jesus. However, an unfortunate day came when your son was hit by a car and winds up in hospital with a serious threat of possibly losing his life. Who will you call on? Please don’t misunderstand me that I am suggesting that you accept Jesus and live a life dedicated to Him so you could have that ‘good luck charm’ in your back pocket should your son get hit by a car. No, what I am saying is that I would sincerely recommend that you consider the love of Jesus for even you and I. A love that took Him to the cross of Calvary, just so that you and I could be saved from the pit of Hell and instead be assured the glories of heaven with Jesus and His Father. Knowing Him gives us assurance that whether we live on this earth, or die, there is eternal hope for us to see Jesus face to face where we might glorify Him for ever and ever. Knowing Jesus gives you assurance that when you petition Him in prayer, that you can leave the matter at His feet in confidence knowing that He will answer your prayer. You will quickly learn that since you asked Jesus in earnest, His response could be yes, or no, or I have something much better in store for You, or not at this time dear child. Wont’ you know Him today friend and know that peace that comes from being one with Him? The benefits, contentment, glory and peace that comes from knowing Jesus personally, are simply ‘out of this world’! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, thank You for hearing the prayers of Your children. What a reminder today that even David had times of questioning, because we tend to do that so often. However, I praise You heavenly Father for ALWAYS answering perfectly! Only You know the perfect outcome for our situations, so thank You for hearing our cry, but answering in a way that You know is perfect! May we never lose sight of who You are, and Your awesome power to do all things that fits perfectly into Your will for our lives. To God be the glory! AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
How Long Do I Have?
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Post Date: |
Tuesday, 2017-03-21 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Matthew 24:37-42 (TLB) |
|
Text: |
37-38 “The world will be at ease – banquets and parties and weddings – just as it was in Noah’s time before the sudden coming of the Flood; 39 people wouldn’t believe what was going to happen until the Flood actually arrived and took them all away. So shall my coming be.
40 “Two men will be working together in the fields, and one will be taken, the other left. 41 Two women will be going about their household tasks; one will be taken, the other left. 42 “So be prepared, for you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Jesus took the opportunity to further explain how it will be when He returns to take His church/His children home to glory. Like many serious events in our lifetime here on earth, it won’t be on our timetable. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| At my church there is a group that I shepherd, and back in December we had our Christmas party all planned out, including a few things I wanted to share as part of a devotional. Well guess what, I surprisingly wound up spending that time period in the hospital and the party had to go on without me. In our verses today, there is another such story in the Bible where Noah was commissioned to find the righteous in his area. Finding none, he was ordered to build a boat in the middle of the land. This made as much sense to the people as someone today building an airplane in a high-rise downtown New York city! But Noah was an obedient servant who left the logistics of launching that huge ship up to the God who ordered him to build it. Friends, doctors today have been blessed with such talent, and they have so many technologies available to help them analyze their diagnosis of a patient, yet I believe that most of us head home from a doctor’s visit and research on the internet all side effects of any medications prescribed, or any new diagnosis shared by the doctor. I wonder how many go home from a church service and research more about what their pastor shared in his sermon! I wonder how many go to the main resource for life, the Bible, to see what God says about current world events, or personal issues they are dealing with! I wonder how many see enough of Jesus in Christians that they ask “what is your source of hope, because I need some of that!” I wonder what we will say to Jesus when questioned about a family member or friend that we never warned about the separation that will come when Jesus returns, should they not have heard about or accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior! I believe that doctors have gotten a whole lot better at telling their patients the truth about their evaluation of their remaining life. I hope that my fellow Christians and myself will do a better job of doing the same. The Bible tells us that can be at any time Jesus sees fit. Let’s not ‘sugar-coat’ that news as we glory with those who are ready, or challenge those who are not ready to go. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Come Lord Jesus, even today! Lord, I pray that we, Your children, will be honest in telling the BIG news today, even though for some that will be so challenging that they may reject us. All the same, please help us to be very honest and not tell them what we think they want to hear. Your Word is a light unto our path, and that same Word tells us that Your return is eminent, and could be at any given moment. Praise God for all who are reading this devotional and know that they are ready to see Jesus, now may we all be busy sharing with our family and friends the clear path to eternal life, God being our helper. Thank You Lord Jesus for being the Way, the Truth and the Light for all mankind, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Warning! Be Alert!
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Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-03-20 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Matthew 24:23-28 (MSG) |
|
Text: |
23-25 “If anyone tries to flag you down, calling out, ‘Here’s the Messiah!’ or points, ‘There he is!’ don’t fall for it. Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their impressive credentials and dazzling performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better. But I’ve given you fair warning. 26-28 “So if they say, ‘Run to the country and see him arrive!’ or, ‘Quick, get downtown, see him come!’ don’t give them the time of day. The Arrival of the Son of Man isn’t something you go to see. He comes like swift lightning to you! Whenever you see crowds gathering, think of carrion vultures circling, moving in, hovering over a rotting carcass. You can be quite sure that it’s not the living Son of Man pulling in those crowds. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| In this Scripture it was obvious that Jesus saw clearly how easy it was for the people to be persuaded about the return of the Lord, so He gave some clear signs for children of God to look for, and he gave warnings for things that might sway them towards misrepresentations of the return of Christ. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Unfortunately we still see lots of examples like those Jesus warned of in this passage, for we know of the glamourous attractions of various public ‘ministries’ that easily get the attention of thousands and thousands, who will travel hundreds of miles to be miraculous touched by them. Friends, I hate to burst your bubble, but these ‘men’ or ‘women’ can merely lead you to the cross for healing from the Master himself, and as the Word of God says, it’s because of your faith in God, that will heal you, nothing more, nothing less. We’ve heard the predictions of many about the day of the return of Jesus. Not possible, for the Word of God declares that Jesus Himself doesn’t have that date or hour, only the Father Himself. Do pray tell me why someone would declare that they are closer to the Father than His very own Son! Please don’t misunderstand, as I am not saying that you shouldn’t be encouraged by a public ministry figure. However, should they cross the line and meet the criteria that Jesus is warning us to look out for, please be diligent enough to know that it is time for you to move on. Know also that the only way you will know TRUTH, is to study the Word of God yourself, for if you don’t, then everything will sound right to you that may come from every teacher – true or false. In conclusion, let me assure you that the Word of God is clear that Jesus will return again to take His bride – the church, home to be with He and the Father. ‘The Church’ is made up of born again believers in Jesus Christ, so in some households or churches, one might graduate to heaven while their friend right next to them may have never surrendered their life to the Lord Jesus. When will this occur? Jesus said that He is unaware of the date or the hour, for only the Father in Heaven knows that. Being ready to go now is the only way of assuring you that should He return in the very next minute, or later in the year, or just at a future date, it doesn’t matter, for you will be ‘ready’ to go! I hope that you can share and appreciate the excitement of that return with me friend! When we’re excited about a trip or any future event, we become impatient with delays, oh that Jesus will keep us excited about our journey as we share with others today and every day! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Having just taken a trip, the impatience of delays and disruptions are fresh on my mind, so Lord Jesus I pray that You will be with Your children as we standby for the trumpet sound and the gates opening wide as You return to take us home to glory with You! We can hardly contain ourselves as we think about that! Now may we be bold enough to share that excitement with others, so that they too might catch a glimpse of the day of Your return and accept Your invitation to join the throng as we await Your return. Oh, ‘What a Day That Will Be, when My Jesus I shall See, when I look upon His face….’. Lord, may the excitement of Your return incent your children to witness to others today and every day until You return! AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Nuggets From God's Word 