Month: February 2018

Spontaneous Worship

On By Ed AlgreenIn Praise, Praise-worthy, WorshipLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE  FROM:   Psalm 86:11-12 (ERV)

TEXT:   11 Lord, teach me your ways, and I will live and obey your truths.
Help me make worshiping your name the most important thing in my life.
12 My Lord God, I praise you with all my heart. I will honor your name forever!

OBSERVATION:   David had a knack for speaking honestly to God. But one thing I observed is that if David started a Psalm in deepest concern and honestly sharing his upset mind, before the end of the Psalm he was praising God for who He truly is. I believe the emphasis in our Scripture today, is that David truly wanted to live and obey the truths of God, culminating into the most important thing of life – to worship God. To do this it seems like David realized that he should be saturated with the Word of God. Wow, what a desire!

APPLICATION:   I wonder how many of us make it a priority to seek God’s face before each worship service and ask Him to open our hearts and minds so that we may understand and absorb His teachings! And as He does, do we promise to obey and worship Him sincerely? In fact, we want our worship to God to become the highlight of our day and the most important thing that we do. Notice I didn’t say the highlight of our Saturday or Sunday, but of every day! Can’t you imagine friends, that if we were led by the Holy Spirit each day during our time with the Lord, and we took time to just praise the Almighty and worship the Creator and King of this universe, then imagine what a time of rejoicing that will be when we lock arms with several others at our weekend church services? Oh my, I don’t believe that the four walls of our sanctuary would contain us! But isn’t that how true worship truly works? If you don’t learn to worship God each day in response to His Word, or His presence, or His handiwork, or in return for all that He has done for us, then you honestly feel like at our corporate services you will respond to a pastor or worship leader simply saying ‘OK, let us stand and worship God’? Is that the way you acted when you saw your fiancee only on the weekends? Can’t you see why so many worship services are dry and dull and often meaningless to so many? Let’s be sure to remember that we arrive at weekend services, after enjoying a daily, living and meaningful relationship with the One who loved us enough to send His one and only Son to die on a cross, just so that we would know that we now have the means of getting to heaven, through the Son, Jesus Christ. David concluded these verses by saying that he would praise God from the bottom of his heart, and that he would honor Him eternally. I believe that we can honestly boast of the same, if only we did better on our daily relationship with this wonderful Savior of ours! Ask Him to help you attain this worthy goal, friend!

PRAYER:   To God be the glory, great things He has done! Lord we acknowledge that this is our daily cry of worship and praise, in response to all that You do for us daily. Please teach us Your Word, Your ways and Your will. Remind us of Your love for us and Your daily provisions that You provide for us, just like You do with the birds of teh air and the wild animals all over the world. As we worship You today Lord, may that effort be multiplied 10 times over on Sunday as we worship You with other believers who are also met to worship. You deserve our worship and our praise dear Lord. May we be obedient and bring our praises to You each and every day. 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 Sebring, 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!

 

Make Up Your Mind

On By Ed AlgreenIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Short and sweet today…..

You have a choice. Your mind has to listen to you. God didn’t give you just a mind; he gave you a will! The best time to win the battle with temptation is before it begins.

“I have made up my mind to obey your laws forever, no matter what” (Psalm 119:112 CEV).

Always Let Your LIGHT Shine

On By Ed AlgreenIn Committed, Light, Totally committed, Unconditional commitmentLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE  FROM:   Acts 16:27-31 (TLB)

TEXT:  27 The jailer wakened to see the prison doors wide open, and assuming the prisoners had escaped, he drew his sword to kill himself.     28 But Paul yelled to him, “Don’t do it! We are all here!”     29 Trembling with fear, the jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 He brought them out and begged them, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”     31 They replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, and your entire household.”

OBSERVATION:   In order to quiet the witness of Paul and Silas, they were thrown into prison and the guards were ordered to take extra precaution in securing them. The mouths of Paul and Silas were left unbound, so in the darkness of the night they serenaded other prisoners with their sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to their Heavenly Father. God saw the need for salvation among those in that prison, so He sent an earthquake. The effects of the ‘quake opened the prison doors and broke the chains that bound God’s men there in that prison. Being accustomed to prisoners looking for every opportunity to escape, the guard was about to take his own life – until Paul spoke up in the darkness of that prison. Of course this had an enormous impact on that prison guard. Are you having a similar impact on those who witness your actions and your speech?

APPLICATION:   I believe that the very times that we feel shy about witnessing, or feel like we are incapable of sharing the Word of God with anyone, it is then that the Holy Spirit ‘kicks in’ and says, ‘OK, now I can do the work of Him who sent me in this weakened vessel’. Friends, we are taught how to be comfortable in witnessing, yet we become timid in speaking up for our beliefs; we fear the evil one, instead of fearing the God of this universe; we are too quick to conclude that only ministers of the gospel could share Christ with others, for we tend to believe that it was surely a miracle that God saved us, so let’s not push our luck in believing that God could possibly use us to witness to a friend or family member. Friends, these myths are straight from the devil, for you won’t find in Scripture where God says to call your pastor or elder to go into all the world and share Christ. God ordained that all of His children should ‘go’ and ‘share as we go’, because He allows others to see Himself in our actions and through our character and speech. Friends, I believe that we should also question ourselves when we realize that we are not having a godly impact on others. For we should then strive to draw closer to God than ever before, through reading His Word – a message to us from God Himself; and commune with Him in prayer – open communication with our Father. We have nothing to be ashamed of, for the Kingdom of God is accessible to us! We have nothing to be ashamed of – for there is only one God, and we have personal contact with Him, through His Son, Jesus! – and God is the author and creator of all things. You talk about having a relationship and a connection with important people! WOW, this is THE Almighty God of this world!

PRAYER:   Lord Jesus, people recognize when we’re happy in life’s circumstances, and they notice when we are happy being around family and good friends. Oh that they may see the glow of You living in and through us as are obedient to You and sow love to You and them. To repeat what I saw taped on a previous pastor’s pulpit: ‘Oh that they see Jesus’. That is my prayer today Lord! Have Your perfect will and way in directing me, and in the lives of those that will encounter You through me. Oh that they see Jesus! 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 Sebring, 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!

 

Protect Your Heart

On By Ed AlgreenIn Clean Heart, Heart, Protection, SurrenderLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE  FROM:   Proverbs 4:23-27 (MSG)

TEXT:  23-27 Keep vigilant watch over your heart;
    that’s where life starts.
Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth;
    avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.
Keep your eyes straight ahead;
    ignore all sideshow distractions.
Watch your step,
    and the road will stretch out smooth before you.
Look neither right nor left;
    leave evil in the dust.

OBSERVATION:   When we guard our heart, I believe that we are looking at our mind; thoughts; will; and our affections. For out of these things we will see the issues of life that lead to the effectual cause of all men’s actions. It is from our heart that others will see our spiritual condition; our happiness; our decisions that make us a good person in someone else’ eyes, or a bad person. On the contrary, others might also see our deceit; our evil actions; or our mean actions as well. Guarding, or protecting our heart, is leading us to filter what aspects of the above is welcomed into our heart to determine the type person that we want to be known as.

APPLICATION:   The subject sounds like something my cardiologist might say to me, for without a good functioning heart there would be little chance of my survival here on earth. He would therefore give me exercises, or a certain diet to help me stay heart-healthy. Got created our heart, even the one we are speaking of here today, and I believe it is super important to Him that we keep our heart in sweet communion with Him, so that we may worship and praise Him eternally – as He originally intended. Unfortunately, sin came into this world, and in the effort of humans to always look around the corner for whatever seems most enticing, this divided the hearts and minds of people like you and I. This will often result in a life filled with worldliness, or in many cases a life trying to live for Jesus but being pulled back by the things of this world that we fall in love with. Friends, it is important that we stay away from sin, if we expect to have a noble spiritual life, where the Father has His will and way with us (Isaiah 59:2).  For the natural man, I believe that our heart is susceptible to wanting the best things for us to enjoy here on earth. However when the Holy Spirit begins to work in our lives and draws us unto Himself, we have a decision to make – we either say yes to Jesus, which automatically results in us saying no the the world, or vice versa. There is no combo deal in the offer, it’s one or the other. A married couple will leave old boyfriends and girlfriends behind as they commit their lives unconditionally to each other. So it is with God, friends! When a spouse enters into marriage without having severed a relationship with an old ‘flame’, divorce will quickly follow, because there is mixed allegiance by that spouse. Similarly, our God is a jealous God and He will not settle for a ‘mixed allegiance’. Decide this day, my friend, whom you will serve, and then stay true to that commitment until death makes that commitment impossible. As a child of the King, I have heaven on my mind, and I want to live my life here on earth in total obedience to my Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit. My wish for the day, is that you will do the same Brother and/or Sister!

PRAYER:   Lord Jesus, thank You for making a way for us to one day see You in glory. Thank You for allowing us to enjoy Your presence while we wait here on earth, even among the many temptations of Satan. Please continue to protect our hearts dear Lord, so that we may stay true to You. Please touch hearts of those that may have made decisions just for grandma or grandpa, but never understood or totally committed their lives to You. These ones may think that they know You personally, but really have never personally sought Your face. Lord, we stand in awe of You, and we await Your return in deep anticipation! We want to see Jesus, the One who died for all! Glory to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, 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 Sebring, 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!

 

Overwhelmed by God!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Heaven, Praise, Praise-worthy, Thanksgiving, WorshipLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE  FROM:   1 Chronicles 17:16-18 (CEV)

TEXT:  16 David went into the tent he had set up for the sacred chest. He sat there and prayed: Lord God, my family and I don’t deserve what you have already done for us, 17 and yet you have promised to do even more for my descendants. You are treating me as if I am a very important person. 18 I am your servant, and you know my thoughts. What else can I say, except that you have honored me?

OBSERVATION:   In response to David’s idea of building a house for the Ark of God to permanently reside in, God shared with him some of the things that He had in store for David and his family in the future, and part of that plan included one of David’s sons building a temple. Hearing what God had in store for his family, combined with all that God had already done for, and through David, just took him ‘over the top’ in being reminded once again how awesome his God truly was. This forced David into the presence of God, where He shared the excitement of his heart and the thanksgiving of a grateful, but undeserving man.

APPLICATION:   I once attended a prayer meeting, where the first thing the pastor asked us to do was to pray offering up praise and thanksgiving to God. It was amazing how quickly our prayers turned into asking, complaining, or griping about health issues. It was much harder than I would ever have imagined to just humble ourselves before an overwhelmingly awesome God, recognize His blessings on us and thank Him for those blessings. Some of this may have resulted from the habits learned and practiced, where we bring our petitions before God. But I truly feel like for every answer to prayer, we should return to the Father and give Him praise and thanksgiving. The other thing that I have learned from corporate prayer times, is that, when we seek God’s face, recognize Him for who He is and thank Him for all that He has provided for us, then we realize that we have no where near as much to ask Him for. Think about yourself with a broken finger. If you concentrate on the nine healthy fingers in your time of thanksgiving, and the importance of each one to your daily needs, plus you remember the young man that you saw in the grocery store that had lost his hand, I wonder how much you will labor in prayer when it comes time to pray for that one broken finger you have? Friends, we have much to praise God for, and we could very easily become overwhelmed in our praises as we recognize our many blessings before the God who showered them upon us. Just learn to praise Him, instead of building a wish list to present every time you bend the knee in prayer. We serve an awesome God, and there’s no need to act like beggars every time we speak to Him. Try instead to concentrate on these keywords: praise; thanksgiving; worship; recognition; blessings; rejoice; miracles; healing; omnipotent Father; Holiness; protection; unconditional love; etc.

PRAYER:   Precious Lord, You are so awesome in all that You have done for us, all that You have prepared for us; and all that You proactively do for us each day. How can we but praise You loving, and all-sufficient Lord! You often make a way for us, when the path seems so impossible, based on our abilities, means and insight. Thank You Jesus, thank You Holy Spirit and thank You Father God. From the very beginning of time, You were. Today You opened my eyes, blessed me with strength to stand up and realize how blessed I am to have a roof over my head and a comfortable bed to lie in. This tells me that You are still God and still blessing, even me. In accepting Jesus as my Savior, I am assured of a glorious place, called heaven, where I will live forever and ever at the feet of my Savior and our Father, God, singing praises for all eternity. This reminds me that You are also God of an eternal future, praise the loving name of Jesus! You deserve our praise oh God, and I lift up Your name on high today – praise the wonderful God that I love and adore! Bless my readers with honor and praise for their God today. 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 Sebring, 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!

 

Where Would You Rather Be?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Honest, Honest Relationship, Honesty, Relationship, Relationships, WorshipLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE  FROM:   Psalm 84:10-12 (TLB)

TEXT:  10 A single day spent in your Temple is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a doorman of the Temple of my God than live in palaces of wickedness. 11 For Jehovah God is our Light and our Protector. He gives us grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold from those who walk along his paths. 12 O Lord of the armies of heaven, blessed are those who trust in you.

OBSERVATION:   It seems like the Psalmist was either relieved to be in God’s house, or he was tired of the hustle and bustle of life and longed for the peace and comfort of being with the Lord in His sanctuary. I can identify with that, and I could only imagine that many of you would, at many times, would wish for the same!

APPLICATION:   My local church recently joined with several churches in our community to collectively pray for the spiritual needs of our community, our churches, the unsaved and for each other. We met strategically in places near to our homes, and it was so awesome to see walls of denominationalism and differences broken down, so that the people of God could get together and pray over common concerns, to the same Father. What a sweet, Holy Spirit filled time that was for the 21 days as we met and prayed! David was similarly filled with awe and expectation from this same Father, and I believe he longed to be in God’s house (temple) as often as he could, also. I’m afraid that many people, who attend church once a week when they could meld into a large crowd, often miss the intimacy of being in God’s awesome presence as He enjoys the praise, worship, prayers and gifts from His children. Would it be great to see worshipers jump to their feet and shout for joy when they feel God’s presence and see His mighty works, like they do when they see a millionaire running after a ball on the ball-field? Wouldn’t it be rewarding to hear a husband say that the extra 45 minutes in church last Sunday was nowhere near the uncomfortable feeling of sitting in his boat for 4 hours and not catching a fish? Friends, let’s be reminded that we serve an awesome and gracious God. He blesses us in so many ways and therefore the time that we have in His presence is worthy of our full attention, overfilled with worship and praise, and a longing heart to be in His presence forever. May every reader experience this mighty presence of God and have a hunger and thirst for opportunities to express their heartfelt praise and worship.

PRAYER:   Like the Psalmist, I can join in with my gracious offering of worship and praise because of who You are, and how awesome You are in loving and caring for Your people. Thank You Lord Jesus! There are many that don’t know You as Lord, and therefore fight the thought of attending a church service to offer praise and worship to a stranger. Please draw them unto Yourself Lord. You created them, and You show Your blessings all around them. Please help them to know the Maker of heaven and earth themselves, and all things that were made by You. And Lord, please help Your own children to not become complacent in all that they know about you. May they also be refilled with a desire to be in Your house and find reason and hope in worshiping You in all sincerity. 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 Sebring, 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 Road To Zion

On By Ed AlgreenIn Empowered, God's Power, Power of God, Power of Prayer, Submission, The power of GodLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE  FROM:   Psalm 84:5-7 (TLB)

TEXT:  5 Happy are those who are strong in the Lord, who want above all else to follow your steps. 6 When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of springs where pools of blessing and refreshment collect after rains! 7 They will grow constantly in strength, and each of them is invited to meet with the Lord in Zion.

OBSERVATION:   I read these verses and their context in other versions, and I would encourage you to do the same, but it is obvious that the Psalmist was encouraged as he reflected on the various walks of life that he travels, and in each case he not only finds God there, but God also encourages him along to the final road that leads to Zion, where he will one day be standing with outstretched arms to welcome us home! Praise to the majesty of our Living God!!

APPLICATION:   It seems like as we reflect on our day, or on the past week, month or year, we sometimes look to God and ask “Why did I travel down that road, precious Lord?” Sometimes these reasons become evident to us, but at other times we tend to question things like: the days I spent in hospital; the loss of a loved one; the challenges I face on the job; or the spit in my church. Friends, I believe it is important for the Christian to stop and remind ourselves that after salvation, all roads lead to Zion where we will meet with Jesus and His Father for eternity! As we look intently at our end goal, life becomes very much like a soccer game, for there are lots of obstructions along the way, and so are there distractions, setbacks, restarts, etc. The way that we handle each of these will either bring glory to God, or perhaps disappointment if we tried to do life without Him. Remember, at our conversion, He sends His Holy Spirit to live within us to direct and lead us in life here on earth. For us to ignore that gift and still do life in our fashion, in our own weakness, and under continued pressure from the evil one, would totally disappoint our Savior who sacrificed His own dear life, so that we might be over-comers in these very things. Friends, we can expect bumps in the road as we live in the light of heaven, but let’s always remember that there is nothing that our God cannot handle, if we are humble enough to ask Him and let Him.

PRAYER:   Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that only You can fight the evil of this world and the adversary – Satan. Please help me to acknowledge that daily, so that I might be reminded to always seek Your face and ask for the blessings from Your hand. Thank You for sending the Comforter to be my guide, my protector and my encourager in this challenging life here on earth. Please help me to use all available resources from You, instead of trying to do life alone. With Your help, I can live in peace. In my own power, I will live under immense stress and constantly battling with the evil one. Lord, I’m pretty sure that I’m not alone in all that I’ve asked, so I plead with You to also bless my readers in this way as well. Lord, we want to be more like You, and we can only do that in submission to Your will, Your power and the direction of Your sweet Holy Spirit. We submit to You all over again 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 Sebring, 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!