|
Post Date: |
Thursday, 2017-10-12 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
1 Samuel 16:6-7 (NLT) |
|
Text: |
6 When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| God sent Samuel to pick the next king from the sons of Jesse, but it’s a good thing that God stayed in charge of the choice, as Samuel was very impressed with the very first son presented to him. However the lesson God taught to Samuel that day, still rings through to us as we seek His face for decisions we make today, so let’s examine this closer…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| No doubt we make decisions that we later reflect on and sometimes wonder what on earth were we ever thinking of when we made that kind of decision. Christians sometimes pray over challenging decisions they need to make, because they want to make sure that they follow God’s plan for their lives. Often we can reflect back on those decisions and see how God must have been in control, as we could see how His plans materialized for everyone involved and for His good. I have a personal experience that fits this scenario, that I will briefly share with you. Some thirty years ago my family and I moved to the United States from the Bahamas. We bathed our decision in prayer and felt like God was in control during the whole process. That’s until I went to tell my parents that we were moving away from their country. They were getting on in age by then, and my dad let me know that it seemed strange to him that I would move away at such a time in their lives. Within a year of us moving, I received a call from my sister that dad was not doing well. We jointly made the decision to get him over to Florida for advanced care. In about a month, after my dad had received a heart stint, Dad sat with me and acknowledged that now he could understand what God was doing in getting me moved to the US! In the example with Samuel, he saw in Eliab (the oldest son) all the attributes of what he through a king should look like, and he was convinced to choose him. However, God not only knew the one He had chosen, but He also knew the heart of the other sons and why they were not suitable as His leader for His people. Friends, we could do a little to improve our outward appearance, but often it takes God to help us change the inward appearance. Just a tip… if we alway strive to be like Jesus, and live our lives according to His will for us, then perhaps we will gain the attributes of our loving Lord. This takes surrendering our hearts and lives to Jesus, because only then will we accept His leadership and His guidance. Will you consider doing this today friend? | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Precious Lord, on behalf of all my fellow Christian Brothers and Sisters, we approach Your throne asking that You grace us with Your presence today. May Your wisdom fill our hearts and our minds so that the decisions that we make will align with Your will for our lives. We acknowledge that in our human eyes, we often see things differently than You can when looking deep into the heart and thoughts of people that we deal with. Help us therefore to look to You in all of our decision making so that we will make decisions pleasing to You and aligned with Your will. Only You can do this Lord, so we ask this in Your precious name, and patiently await Your direction. 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: October 2017
Future Prospects
|
Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-10-11 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
John 5:24; 28-30 (NLT) |
|
Text: |
24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. 28 Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, 29 and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment. 30 I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Jesus had done a good job explaining to the Jewish leaders how their lives on earth should exemplify Him, but now He is sharing how their decisions today will impact their eternity. He showed them the effect this would have on the living and on the dead. This acts as a warning to us today, because the rules have not changed. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| All ears were attentive to the radio and television as recent hurricanes headed our way in the southern United States. Homeowners went and bought plywood to protect large windows in their homes, while other owners tied down add-on porches and Florida Rooms. They did all they could to protect their investment and ultimately, their future. Jesus shared in the Bible how we could best protect our own lives, and our future life. Pastors and other Bible scholars have come along and have continued to share the words of Jesus, just in case folk have not read the Bible. In this blog, my aim is to get out the words of Jesus so that we might know, or at least be reminded of what we should be doing in order to protect our future. My deep desire is that all my readers will be as careful to secure their own destiny, as they were about securing their properties during the storms on earth. This requires having a secure connection to the Creator of you and I, and of this earth. God sent His Son so that we might seek Him for the forgiveness of our sin for all eternity. Let me encourage you to seek ye first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness. Ask God’s forgiveness of your sin and to make you right with Him. That sincere request secures His gift of eternal life and unites your unholy and unworthy soul to be one with Him. Praise be to God! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Father God, in our world of temporary and half-hearted gifts it is hard for us to fathom that You would simply forgive us of our sin and give us life eternally with You in heaven! Wow! Oh what a Savior! Blessed be Your holy name forever! Thank You Lord from the bottom of our hearts. Oh that we may be as forgiving, as caring, as loving and as giving as You are. Please help us to keep our eyes fixed on You and Your righteousness until we see You face to face in 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! | |
So That Nothing Worse Will Happen to You
|
Post Date: |
Tuesday, 2017-10-11 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
John 5:14 (NCV) |
|
Text: |
14 Later, Jesus found the man at the Temple and said to him, “See, you are well now. Stop sinning so that something worse does not happen to you.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Jesus had healed a man who had been crippled for 38 years. He went away walking and had an encounter with the town leaders who questioned him about how he became well. The man eventually found his way to the temple, and it is there that This Scripture picks up the encounter Jesus had with him. Jesus didn’t question the man too much but simply said the words recorded in verse 14. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I found this interesting, although it is very much in line with what we find throughout the Bible. For Jesus spoke often about ill coming to those who are evil, or have total disregard for His commands. Friends, I know this in no way implies that Christians don’t encounter health challenges, but at least we have a Master to pray to about our maladies and in whom we could petition for healing. Unbelievers have not acknowledged Jesus enough to accept Him as Lord, therefore they would have no reason to turn to Him when challenges abound. With all my heart, I would humbly plead with unbelievers to seek out the One who loved you so much that He gave His only Son as a sacrifice for our sins, if we surrender our lives to Him. May I encourage you friends to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. Allow Him to control your life and your health. Know that you have a Savior who cares about you and will care for you whether you are well enough to serve Him, or whether you are patiently waiting for His healing touch. To my fellow Christians, be encouraged that we serve such a great big God. Praise Him for who He is and for how He blesses your life everyday. Share that love with others so that they may have a greater desire to know our Savior and allow Him control of their lives. He wants to love, protect and heal them also, if they will let Him. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Precious Lord, please take control of our lives and allow Your healing hand to carefully rest upon our lives. Many are hurting today with many strange illnesses that doctors seem to struggle with understanding, or have the ability to help them. Our biggest illness is that of sin, so we need You to touch our hearts most of all and draw us ever close to You. We need You Lord. May You receive glory and honor from every aspect of Your touch on our lives, and we’ll be ready to praise You. 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 To Handle Your Giant
|
Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-10-09 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
1 Samuel 17:45-47 (NET) |
|
Text: |
45 But David replied to the Philistine, “You are coming against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I am coming against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel’s armies, whom you have defied! 46 This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand! I will strike you down and cut off your head. This day I will give the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land. Then all the land will realize that Israel has a God 47 and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves! For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will deliver you into our hand.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| David’s father sent him to the battlefield to check on his older brothers, or shall I say that God prompted Jesse to send David, because He had a great work for him to do. As a shepherd boy, David had been dependent on God whenever large vicious animals threatened the flock of sheep under his care. To arrive on the battlefield and see an army of trained men standing back from the Philistine giant as he mocked their God, seemed unbearable to David, so he volunteered to take on the giant. Understanding the power of the almighty God that he served. There was absolutely no giant too big for his God! |
|
| APPLICATION: | |
| When facing ‘giants’ in our lives, we often worry because we can’t see how we personally can overcome that ‘giant’. Sometimes we may have faced other ‘giants’ before, so we have some experience to go on. For those of us that have accepted Jesus as our Savior, we may have experienced a test of our faith before so we may start praying that God would ‘do it again’. Perhaps we heard a testimony of another saint who faced similar ‘giants’ to what we are facing, so we might call them for comfort and, knowing that their prayers worked for them, perhaps we might ask them to pray for us. Friends, it is evident that David was very close to God. I believe he had an intimate relationship with God, and through various tests and proven miracles that he witnessed out in the hillsides minding his sheep, he knew that there was nothing too big for his God. One of the quickest ways to get a man upset, is to talk bad about something, or someone that he holds close to his heart. When David arrived on the battle field, this is exactly what he found Goliath doing – obnoxiously bad mouthing the God that David served, revered, trusted, and dearly loved. Today, this happens around our workplaces, restaurants and other meeting places, I wonder if it irritates us into action like David did? In David’s story, look at the number of doubters that tried to discourage David from taking on the giant. Please note that you will face the same, or similar doubters who will try to hold you back from allowing God to perform miracles through or for you, so in addition to taking on your ‘giant’ you may have to also take on the friends, pastors, elders and even praying friends who try to distract your confidence in God to handle your ‘giant’. Let’s always keep in mind that our giants were created by God, or may have been placed in our way to build our strength and our confidence. God might rather build our faith in Him by facing our ‘giants’, rather than eliminating them at our request, without impacting our lives at all. Talk to God about that one ‘giant’ that challenges your walk with the Lord every day, and be ready to learn, trust and obey, for there may be no other way. |
|
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, thank You for satisfying the biggest ‘giant’ in the lives of Your children, the forgiveness of our sin that burdened us more than any giant like Goliath could ever manage to do. Oh what a Savior! Lord, please give us confidence to always trust in You when faced with those ‘giants’ that tend to overwhelm us and unnecessarily overburden us. You are bigger than any giant, so I place my faith and trust in You Lord, and ask that You touch the lives of my readers and I today, to help us to always look to You, regardless of what may come our way – whether a mustard seed, or a huge mountain. You are our Lord, and we love and adore You today 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! | |
Seeing Others as Jesus Does
|
Post Date: |
Saturday, 2017-10-07 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
John 4:42 (NLT) |
|
Text: |
42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe because we have heard him ourselves, not just because of what you told us. He is indeed the Savior of the world.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| The Samaritan woman at the well who was greeted by a kind-hearted Jewish man, who spoke to her as if there was no division at all between the two races. However during the conversation she realized that there was something unique about this man, and began thinking that He must be the Christ that she had been hearing rumors about. I believe this study will make us think about how much we speak about Jesus in our sphere of influence as we study this passage… |
|
| APPLICATION: | |
| Jesus knew that the Samaritans needed to know Him, in spite of the way that His fellow Jews looked down on them and treated them. In this story, it is evident that Jesus treated the Samaritan woman just like He would have treated the person nearest to Him. This is a great lesson for us, because we either stay clear of those we feel like are opposed to our race or beliefs, or we tend to look down on them. We might feel intimated being around these type people, and we often will say as little as possible to avoid an argument. Friends, if we are destined for heaven, don’t you know that there will be folk from every nation and tribe, and that around the feet of Jesus we will all be equal? Just plain old saints of God! Wouldn’t it be great if we started practicing that type unity today, so that we might help and encourage each other while en-route to our final destination? Wouldn’t it be great if God would bless us with eyes to see beyond color, or social or socioeconomic standards, where we, or our ancestors have built up walls of division and, perhaps, even hatred? Let’s not forget that God made us all, and He doesn’t make any ‘junk’, or anyone inferior to another. So whatever we have developed in our minds, comes from Satan in an attempt to divide us. God can correct that, and make us more like Him, if we seek Him and ask Him to. The world needs to see Jesus, not the hypocritical ways of this world and the evil one. Let me encourage you to join me in examining self, then have a little talk with Jesus and make it all right in His perfect sight. Only then will we ever reach the world for Christ, friend! |
|
| PRAYER: | |
| Father, You made us to love like You demonstrated love towards us. Unfortunately we have developed pride and prejudices, after hanging around Satan and his cohorts awhile. Stories and experiences like the one we studied today show us our current weaknesses and shortcomings. Lord, we want to see Your kingdom grow, and we want to be a part of that work. Please cleanse us and make us wholly thine, so that every act, deed or word might be indicative of Your grace and Your all-powerful hand. I ask these things in faith, and all for Your ultimate 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! | |
Consequences For Our Sin
|
Post Date: |
Friday, 2017-10-06 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
1 Samuel 15:27-29 (ERV) |
|
Text: |
27 When Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught Samuel’s robe. The robe tore. 28 Samuel said to Saul, “In this same way the Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today. He has given the kingdom to one of your friends, a man who is a better person than you. 29 The one who lives forever, the God of Israel, does not lie and will not change his mind. He is not like a man who is always changing his mind.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Saul sinned against God, and the very man who crowned him king, had to go and confront him about his sin. In obedience to God, Samuel went to Saul and challenged him on what he had done. There is a great lesson for us in verse 28, for God decided not to accept Saul’s apologies and let him remain king, so I believe that we have a lot to consider in this Scripture today… |
|
| APPLICATION: | |
| I’m sure you have noticed that some people are quick to say they are sorry, and some will even add to their apology, that they will never do the same thing again. While it is exceptional that you would agree to reconcile with another individual, this Scripture is teaching us that a mistake is something that should never happen again. however when we know deep inside that we are disobeying the law or a commitment that we have made to the contrary, then we are deliberately sinning and have no intention of trying to change our ways. In return, wouldn’t it really hurt to hear God say that you have sinned, and although He will forgive you, you cannot serve in the position He ordained you for? Add to that, God has already found someone better than you? Oh my, that would hurt to the innermost parts of your body and soul! Friends, I believe the message in this for us, is that if we claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior and seek to serve Him, we will seek to follow His ways. When we continue to act as we’ve always done and make our own decisions in spite of what we feel God is saying to us, then we need to go back to step one and make sure that we actually accepted Jesus as Lord, or did we just go through the motions. It is unfortunate, but I believe that in the same way we tend to give God orders in our prayer life, we also commit sin with the intent of pleasing friends, and hoping to immediately afterwards tell God you are sorry. Whose side are you on friend? If you claim Jesus as you Lord, then His Holy Spirit will work in your life to prompt you of right and wrong. You won’t just continue sinning and then run back to God on a regular basis asking for His forgiveness for you ‘taking the wheel’ again. Remember, God is not a robot, He wants to have a personal relationship with you and I, so that we might learn His ways and do His will. He wants others to see Jesus when they talk with us, or in response to the way we act with them. How are you doing with this friend? Let me recommend that you concentrate more on ways that you can please Jesus and be more like Him, rather than worry about the consequences for your sin! For as you become more like Jesus, the things of this world will grow strangely dim! |
|
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, we are a work in process. For as long as we are here on this earth, we will be impacted by its evil thoughts and deeds – things that we used to do. Please touch Your children today, starting with me, to have such a glow on our faces that reflect the joy of the Lord in our hearts, that the lost will recognize Jesus in us and want to know Him personally. Help us to not stray from the only way You have paved for us, so that we will not be a stumbling block to others. You are our King, Lord, and as Your humble servants, we want to serve You with everything we have, or can gain from You. Please have Your will and way with us even today, so that You may be glorified, 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! | |
A Test of Obedience
|
Post Date: |
Thursday, 2017-10-05 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
1 Samuel 15:22-23 (MSG) |
|
Text: |
22-23 Then Samuel said,
Do you think all God wants are sacrifices— |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Saul’s excuse for not killing all of the livestock of the Amalekites is that he would use them in his sacrifices to God. Saul also saved the king. Saul disobeyed God and did what he thought was best. How often does this happen to us? Let’s have a look…. |
|
| APPLICATION: | |
| We’ve heard it said after some have attended Sunday morning service: “well I went to church this morning and got that out of the way”. In other words I got that obligation done, so now I can go on to other things for myself. Others might say “Please don’t ask me to attend another service this weekend, because I want to be there Sunday morning to hear Rev. XYZ preach. In other words, don’t let’s overdo this church thing. Since when do we track good honest relationships like that, friends? I also believe that while we do a pretty good job of showing the pastor and other church leaders that we are fairly honest, or obedient to God’s commands, as long as we are around church people, we tend to be much more open to the things of the world when away from home and from our normal crowd of friends. So what does this say about the inner man? Do we have a personal relationship with the Creator, the Savior of the world, the King of all kings? In a true relationship, we can be trusted to please the other party in their presence, or when we are out of their sight. We do things that would please the other person, even though we may cut corners at times, especially when out of their sight. There are things that we must be reminded about our relationship with God. He is everywhere at all times, so He knows when we are disloyal or disobedient. We may hide our actions from the pastor, but God knows what we did, and He knows our heart – therefore the reasons why we did something contrary to His commands. Friends, if we are going to change the world through our actions, then it is vital that we are very transparent in our relationship with God. If we say that we love God, then let’s give it all we have. Let’s not just listen to, or read His commands, but obey them, knowing that God wants to know that we could be trusted to do that in, or out of His perceived presence. The world must see the honest and dedicated Christian, for them to know it’s OK to follow our example. We can’t fool the world either. |
|
| PRAYER: | |
| Thank You Father for placing the example of Saul before us today in this Scripture. This reminds us so much of what we do, or are tempted to do, every day. Lord, please help us to stay steadfast in our walk and our talk so that the world might see Jesus in us, and not mistake us for yet another hypocrite. The world need Jesus. May we influence their need for the Savior, and never be a stumbling block 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! | |
Careful To Keep Christ FIRST
|
Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-10-04 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
John 3:24-26 (MSG) |
|
Text: |
John’s disciples got into an argument with the establishment Jews over the nature of baptism. They came to John and said, “Rabbi, you know the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan? The one you authorized with your witness? Well, he’s now competing with us. He’s baptizing, too, and everyone’s going to him instead of us.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| In spite of John repeatedly saying that he was only the forerunner of Christ, his disciples and followers really got attached to him and trusted his ministry. So much so, that when Jesus came along – the One that John had spoken about often, John’s disciples got a little ‘bent out of shape’ and jealous of the following He was quickly getting. I am convinced that this still happens today, so let’s really examine this scripture….. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I have a friend pastor who received so many compliments over a new suit that he sported one Sunday, that he vowed never to wear it again in the pulpit, because he was convinced that more folk looked intently at what he was wearing than listening intently to what he said! At the time, we thought it was a little comical, but he was dead serious. That story compares to another pastor who posted on his pulpit the words “Oh that they see Jesus”. Friends, I don’t know that we think about this often enough, but the man who stands in front of us each week and shares the Word of God, is merely an instrument of God. We have a dire responsibility to pray for our pastor, that he would set self aside, and be open with unhindered attention to what God would say through him to us. Pastors know a lot about their parishioners, because we place a lot of faith in them and share our hearts and our concerns with them often. However, they have no wisdom or authority to ‘fix’ us. Only God knows the heart of man, and since we are His design, only He can mend a broken heart; open the eyes of the blind; and lead one from the ways of this world to the lifesaving, eternal benefits of eternity with Him in glory. Do we love our pastor? Without a doubt, and with all of our heart, but remember that he is much like John, for he is the forerunner of the soon coming, glorious Son of God, Jesus the Christ. Let us therefore love those that pastor us and teach us the truths of our glorious Savior, but let us really please them by loving their Master, their Savior and their glorious Lord who we must claim for our own so that we may one day join our pastors at the foot of the cross singing praises to our Lord! |
|
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, thank You for blessing us with great pastors, who have a lot of patience with us and show incredible love to us through their respective ministries here on earth. Please help us to honor them by looking to You, the Author and Finisher of our faith, and the One that they have chosen to preach and share every week. They’re our coaches, leading us towards the finish line where we will spend eternity with You, praise to Your wonderful and magnificent name, 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? Or Acquitted?
|
Post Date: |
Tuesday, 2017-10-03 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
John 3:16-18 (MSG) |
|
Text: |
16-18 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Most people who have heard the Bible taught or preached, could probably recite verse 16! But the following verses go on to explain why God sent His Son, and what this whole gift has to do with our eternal destiny. This is of super importance to each of us, because it helps us to understand the whole purpose of the gospel, and how it relates to each of us. So let’s make sure we understand this clearly….. |
|
| APPLICATION: | |
| If a gift was given to everyone at church, you would find where some would cherish it and recognize the value in it. They would appreciate it and cherish it for everything it’s worth. Others may take the gift home, but they may stash it away in a drawer, somewhere so it is not tarnished or broken. However there are some who will leave it in the seat at church, or throw it in the back seat of the car, because they see no value in the gift at all, nor understands why the church would have spent money to give a gift to everyone. Now compare this to the gift that God gave to us in verse 16. What have you done with that gift, anything? In the verses following, we are told that God saw that the sacrificial practices of the Old Testament were just not working, and He wanted to give His children a gift that was extremely costly to Him, but easy for us to accept as our sacrificial gift back to the Master. This Scripture is clear enough that we could know today where we will spend eternity, for we are told in vs 17 and 18 that if we accept the gift of Jesus as our personal Savior, that we are acquitted of our sin and we appear before the Master as a righteous saint of God. Now it also states that unless that step has been taken, we have personally placed ourselves under a death sentence, meaning that we will not live eternally in the beauty of life with Jesus, but instead condemned to death, where our eternity will be with Satan and his demons for eternity. There is only one decision for you today friend, have you truly accepted the free gift of salvation – the precious gift of God’s Son given for all who call on His name to be saved? If the answer is ‘no’, then you have personally decided to take the option of Hell and damnation. Dear friend, I write these blogs every morning hoping that no one who reads them would ever make a decision like the latter one I just explained, for I am so looking forward to rejoicing with each of you in glory one day! Because of the fact that you are reading this blog, this means that you still have a choice. However, today is the day of salvation, for you may not have the next minute or hour to make a change in your decision where you will spend eternity. |
|
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, the Scripture is very clear. The stage has been set for us, and it is up to us to make sensible decisions, especially those that involve our lives after spending our last moments on earth. You have made things abundantly clear. May each reader, and loved one of mine, make a responsible decision today about their post life on earth destiny. I want them to join me in heaven with You, Lord, but I can’t make the decision for them. Tender their hearts today to Your Word and the precious gift that You gave to 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! | |
Blessings From Staying True To God
|
Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-10-02 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
1 Samuel 12:24-25 (TLB) |
|
Text: |
24 “Trust the Lord and sincerely worship him; think of all the tremendous things he has done for you. 25 But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be destroyed.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Samuel was placed in charge of the Israelites as their ‘Judge’. The people loved Samuel, however now that he was aging and ready to surrender leadership to another servant of God, the people threw in their ‘two cents’ in requesting the return of a ‘king’ as their leader. Samuel, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, took the opportunity to tell the people that it is important that they remember what their obligations are as children of God, and that they hold their ‘king’ accountable for the same obligation, otherwise there would be consequences. |
|
| APPLICATION: | |
| As I read this Scripture today, I thought about the times that church leadership would get together and decide that it’s time for a pastor to move along, because they see where church growth – numerically and spiritually, has become stagnant. So, of course, the answer would always be that a new and exciting pastor would be the magical answer to the dilemma. Friends, I wonder if the answer to the dilemma many of our churches and, indeed our respective countries, may have today is to consider the things that God led Samuel to preach to his people. Think about it. There is so much sin and disregard for God, in our country, that when things start deteriorating, or getting bad, we start looking for someone to blame. In our churches, we generally tend to decide that a new pastor would solve all of the issues. In our country, we tend to immediately look at our governmental leaders. However, let me encourage you to read verse 25 again. I was reminded of an old spiritual with the lyrics: It’s me, it’s me oh Lord, Standing in the need of prayer, It’s me, it’s me oh Lord, Standing in the need of prayer. It’s not my brother or my sister but it’s me oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer…. etc. The point is dear friend, that we easily blame someone else for our problems, but are we perfect in God’s sight? What might improve in our influence of family, friends, coworkers, churches, etc, if we participated from a clean and contrite heart? I believe that God will use any of His children who are righteous in His sight, to help accomplish His will for His church and His people. Let’s do our part Brothers and Sisters. |
|
| PRAYER: | |
| Dear God, You’ve placed us here on this earth to be images of You. To live like You and show that example to all that we come into contact with. Please help us to take personal responsibility for our actions and our weaknesses. Direct us to fill ourselves with more of You each and every day, so that the world might be impacted for Your glory. Lord, we want to see our families impacted for You, our churches have a greater impact for You, and in turn, our country be known as a godly nation. Lord, may Your name be lifted high today as You commit these changes to our lives, for it’s in Your precious and holy name that I ask these things, 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 