Month: May 2022

Only Then Will We Be Saved

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Saved, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Sunday, 2022-05-15
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Psalm 80:3; 7; 18-19
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 3 Turn us again to yourself, O God. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.
7 Turn us again to yourself, O God of Heaven’s Armies. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.
18 …. Revive us so we can call on your name once more. 19 Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.

APPLICATION: It’s always a glorious time when churches are filled and people can’t seem to wait for the next opportunity to get together with God’s people to worship the King of all ages. But when obstacles come our way, and people start to neglect their times of worshiping together with other believers, pastors, church leaders and members become gloomy and disappointed to the extent that they lose their enthusiasm to truly express praise, and worship from grateful and happy hearts. Now I am confident that only God knows exactly what He is putting us through at this time, and what light lies at the end of this apparent tunnel, but here are my thoughts and concerns:
THE PROBLEM – Way too many Christians – ones who have placed their faith and trust in the King of all ages and the Healer of all diseases, these same ‘Christians’ have sadly allowed a world event to affect their relationship with the Creator, and God of this universe. Now, before you accuse me of being judgmental and tell me how you could worship from your back porch, or in your bedroom, please first of all settle it with God whether you are actually doing that while not attending church services. Please be reminded that our God knows every word, action and thought, so unless you are totally honest with Him, you are really incriminating yourself before God.
THE SOLUTION – Only God has the solution, but I sincerely believe that He has placed this Scripture before us today to learn from Asaph. Ever notice how deeply we can pray and for as long as others will pray with us, when there’s an emergency in our family? Well, how bad will the situation have to get before God’s people drop to our knees in prayer for the wellbeing of our Brothers and Sisters who show signs of separation from us, the church and perhaps God? I believe that Asaph’s heart was aching for his people, so he pleaded with God to make His face to shine on his people so that they may return to Him and be revived in their spirit towards their holy God. Out of love for our family and friends, shouldn’t we feel just as empathetic towards their need to draw closer to God?
Seek the Lord while He may be found! Stay close to God and He will stay close to you. Today is the day of salvation. Your words, your actions and your thoughts will reflect the content of your heart – with Jesus on board, or not. What does the evidence show, dear friend?

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Only God has the power to ‘SAVE’ us! Only God holds the keys to eternal life in heaven thru His precious Son Jesus!

PRAYER: Lord, please turn our eyes towards heaven where our Almighty God resides, and where He has prepared a home for us to spend eternity with He and His Son, Jesus. Please forgive us Lord for our trifling and careless ways here on earth, where we allow obstacles of any kind to interfere in our commitment to You. Unfortunately, I’m sure that the world must have difficult times trying to identify the true child of God, based on our lifestyle and all that comes from our heart. Lord, we want to join with Asaph in asking that You turn us again towards You. Make Your face to shine on us Lord, so that we might be drawn to You again and be saved. Oh Lord, please make Your love and Your way to shine through us every day so that the world might see, know and believe in the one true God. 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 might 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 subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Promises Fulfilled & He’ll Do It Again!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Promise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Friday, 2022-05-13
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Joshua 21:43-45
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 43 So the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. 44 And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies. 45 Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.

APPLICATION: Often divorces are the result of broken promises; children disappear, and remain separated, from parents because they feel like mom and/or dad never kept their promises. Unfortunately, some may wander away from God because they feel like His promises were not fulfilled the instant they insisted on receiving results. If you ever read the books, chapters and verses preceding today’s focal verses, you will know that the promises God made to Abraham and the forefathers of the Israelites could easily have come under the heading ‘Unanswered Promises’, for many years had passed since God first vocalized His promises. Do you suppose that’s where we tend to quickly jump to conclusions about unanswered promised? Funny how Satan is always there to promote negativity in our minds, especially when it comes to something that God has in store for our good. However, this comes as no surprise to God, for He knows our heart and our intentions. He blessed the Israelites in so many ways. He put one of their own in the king’s court, so that when the famine came, Joseph would influence the king into helping his family stay alive. God saw their suffering as slaves to the king in Egypt, so He raise up a spiritual giant to lead them away from their deprivation and into a land He had prepared for them. Through Moses and Joshua, God led them across the desert and provided for their every need, even though they often turned aside to idol worship and other sins. But God had made a promise, and He wasn’t about to turn His back on that. At the time of Joshua’s writing of our focal verses, he was able to see with human eyes that God had indeed fulfilled his promises – every promise that God gave to the Israelite fathers! In our world today, Christians are mum about how they might respond to their unsaved friends or coworkers. Often this is because they lack knowledge, understanding, and familiarization with the Word of God. But even of more importance in bragging about our God to others, is our personal testimony of what God has done for us, it’s first-hand, non-refutable, evidence of the impact that God has been in our life! Of course, we can support our personal experience with Bible stories that stand out as we reflect on the Word of God. About the Israelites, and how God parted the waters for them to cross; how He worked miracle after miracle through His servant Moses; how His Son was miraculously conceived; How Jesus performed miracle after miracle, including His choosing 12 simple laymen to work and minister alongside Him; how He was crucified, yet He rose from the dead 3 days later just as He had prophesied hundreds of years early through His prophets of old; and in like fashion to what He did for the Israelites in providing a Promised Land of peace and bounty, He also promised us an eternal home of unequaled beauty with the Father and the Son for evermore! Dear friends, a pastoral degree is not necessary to share what you know; what has happened in your life; and the bright future that you are looking forward to enjoying when your time on earth as ended. These are all exciting promises, just like those that Joshua witnessed! Our friends need to know what has impacted our life, so they could decide for themselves if they are ready to stop the train taking them to the pit of Hell. As cruel as it sounds, if they have not invited Jesus into their heart, then they have indeed chosen to continue following Satan on a path to his kingdom – Hell. May the promises of God have an everlasting impact on you, and your friends as you lovingly share the blessings of God in your life with them!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: God’s promises are true and He will fulfill what He promised! Encourage each other towards a relationship with the King of all kings, as you confidently share His promises, knowing that He will always fulfill what He has promised!

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for reminding us that if You promised us something, You will fulfill it, just as You did for the Israelites! In spite of the ‘instant’ world that we live in – with microwaves, high speed cars, rail and jets, please help us to rest easy, but reassured, that Your promises are alway fulfilled in perfect timing. There’s no need for timers, or timely reminders, if You said it, we can ‘go to the bank’ with that, for it is true and will happen just like You said it would! Lord, we anxiously await fulfillment of a huge promise You made that one day soon, those who are Yours will leave this hardened, cruel and tumultuous world, and enter into our heavenly home. that You have prepared for us, as we take up our eternal residence with the Father and the Son for evermore! Oh, what a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see! Please Lord, place us in situations where we could share that promise with others who need You as Lord and Savior. 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 might 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 subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

May We Do It For YOUR Glory, God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, For His Glory, gifts, Glory of God, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Thursday, 2022-05-12
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Psalm 79:19
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 9 Help us, O God of our salvation!
    Help us for the glory of your name.
Save us and forgive our sins
    for the honor of your name.

APPLICATION: I believe that as I read this solitary verse, God spoke to me and asked what might it take for me to offer such a prayer. I know of a pastor who bargained with God for His protection in war, and he promised God that in return he would serve Him faithfully when he returned home, for the rest of his life. Praise God, that young man who prayed, returned home safely and became a pastor. He was able to retire fairly recently after many years of doing exactly what he promised God there in that bunker. For those who know the Lord, I believe we tend to follow in the footsteps of that pastor more times than not. But if we truly love the Lord and want to give Him the glory that He deserves, wouldn’t we seek to do everything with God in mind? In other words, wouldn’t we recognize and promote praise to God, rather than to ourselves? For loving us enough to provide for our every need each and every day? For blessing us for the people He has placed in our life? Wouldn’t we awake each day with a goal in mind to make someone’s life special without looking for any recognition or thanks for ourselves, but to make it known that God alone deserves the praise? I believe that anytime we could strive to see the name of Jesus lifted up by others, without looking for what’s in it for us, then we may come closer to aligning with the prayer of Asaph. Perhaps our prayer should always be: Lord, ease our pain, so that others will see our freedom, know that our release could only have come for You, so that they would raise a sweet hallelujah for the blessing of seeing You miraculously at work. Dear friends, look around you, mankind has become excessively greedy and self centered. This has caused us to almost lose hope in humanity. May we consciously stop to think of all that God unselfishly provides for us every day – especially those things that are beyond man’s ability to help us with – sunshine that provides much needed vitamins for our bodies; fish that has been proven to be one of the best meats for the body; rain that does more for our plant-life than any amount of running water we could pour on to them; good health that allows us to hold a job, earn money, and provide for our families; etc. As we count our blessings for all that God does for us voluntarily out of love, may we boldly bless others with much of what we have, so that they may also lift up holy hands and voices as they express praise and adoration to the Father for all that He provides for them!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: As we give to others from unselfish hearts filled with the love of God, may recipients always look up with thanksgiving and praise to the Almighty God, not to the one physically filling the hand that is reaching out to us.

PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, You gave to us from a heart just like God. For those who have invited You into their hearts, may they realize today that they are but a channel for those blessings. That means, that they will realize that they are but a conduit that is filled with blessings by You, en route to others in need that they come into contact with each day! Teach us to never take on the attributes of the Dead Sea where everything remains locked up inside, and never passed along. May we freely give of everything we have, so that others may see the origin of those gifts being from Jesus alone. May they then glorify You, oh Lord for all that You are to them. 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 might 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 subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Your Temple Belongs To God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Wednesday, 2022-05-11
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
TRANSLATION: GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

BIBLE TEXT: 18 Stay away from sexual sins. Other sins that people commit don’t affect their bodies the same way sexual sins do. People who sin sexually sin against their own bodies. 19 Don’t you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, whom you received from God, lives in you. You don’t belong to yourselves. 20 You were bought for a price. So bring glory to God in the way you use your body.

APPLICATION: It is shocking to observe the environments designed and put in place for almost every lifestyle one decides on, especially here in the USA. Just drive down the highways and glance at the billboards, you will be amazed that our business people have gone to such extremes to attract men and women of every lifestyle, belief, desire and frame of mind. In dealing with the church at Corinth, I believe that Paul must have seen evidence of them living in wicked ways similar to what we looked at above. One of the primary differences that I see between Paul’s address to the Corinthian church and our churches today, is that Paul was deliberate about pleasing God in speaking truth to his congregants about their evil deeds. However, to keep the doors of our churches opened today, it appears like messengers have reduced the message to something that is pleasing to the ears of all attendees and in most cases will not ‘rock the boat’. Now before you start beating up on your pastor, let me suggest that most Christians today tend to do the same thing, and that’s probably a sermon for another day, because I want us to truly get a good understanding of what God led Paul to preach and teach in our lesson today. For those who question their understanding of the Bible, let me try to explain in simple terms what Paul is challenging us on today. When a sinner accepts Jesus into their heart and life, it means that you have accepted the special provision God gave to us as our means for forgiveness of sin, and providing the way for us to enter into the holiness of God, and our eternal home that He has prepared for us. When this action is taken, God sends His Holy Spirit – part of the trinity, to live inside of us to be our helper while still here on earth. Help with what, you might ask? In every aspect of life, we are often picked on when we try to be different to the crowd that we normally hang out with. Being a Christian is no different, for you made a 180 degree change in living like the world and its leader, Satan, to living like your new Master, Jesus Christ. God knew that we would need help with such a drastic change, so He ordered the Holy Spirit to come and dwell inside of us to be our helper, comforter, protector, encourager, friend and guide to all things pleasing to God. So, considering the type places I referred to above, can you even imagine how God must feel when we ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit (God Himself) and ignore His very presence inside of us, and still enter into the wickedness of this world? When we got married, we had to start thinking, acting and being mindful for two. When the Holy Spirit comes alongside to help us stay true to our new Master, we should always think about the places we go and the things we expose our eyes and mind to, for we are now exposing Him to the same thing. Paul taught that prostitution is one of the worse sins, for you expose the Holy Spirit to something in which you are becoming one with that person. I believe from my above explanation, you can see where this also happens when we enter into sin of any kind as well. Friends, because the Holy Spirit dwells inside of the believer, God calls our bodies ‘The temple of God’. Just as we would never think of allowing sin into our church buildings, that some call ‘The Temple’, let’s be just as careful to keep our ‘Temple’ (our bodies and lives) holy for the Holy Spirit to reside in.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Although it seems overwhelming to live according to God’s perfect plan with wickedness bombarding us from every angle, we have been given a powerful helper to see us through the struggles and temptations of this old world – the Holy Spirit!

PRAYER: Thank You Jesus for seeing to it that we receive the necessary help to overcome the powers of evil here on this earth. Please embolden us with this reminder day after day so that we might never lose hope, or become disappointed at the fear of possible failure. Help us to always surrender to Your will, Your desires, Your commands and Your teachings that You provided for our guidance. Teach us Lord to be a mirror of You in everything we do and say, so that the lost will see through our efforts and see the real truth of the matter – that it’s You in control of 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 might 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 subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Waiting on God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Follow Christ, Follower of Christ, Godly lives, Holy Living, How to Live, Righteous LivingLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Tuesday, 2022-05-10
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

Bible Reference: Psalm 25:4-5
Translation: The Voice (VOICE)

Bible Text: 
4 DEMONSTRATE Your ways, O Eternal One.
    Teach me to understand so I can follow.
5 EASE me down the path of Your truth.
    FEED me Your word
    because You are the True God who has saved me.
    I wait all day long, hoping, trusting in You.

APPLICATION: We could learn a lot from David, for we are so quick to beat up on ourselves, or seek help from every other source, before finally conceding to the One who could lead us to all truth, knowledge and understanding so that we could obediently follow the ways of our Lord and His written Word. There are a few keywords in these two verses that I wanted to expand on, hoping that we might better understand the heart of this humble servant of God. David knew that there was only One who could possibly help him, so he pleaded before his God:

  • Demonstrate – Lord, please help me to understand by showing me through real-life examples;
  • Teach – Assume that I know nothing and simply open up my mind to a full understanding of what You would have me to do, oh Lord;
  • Ease – Understanding my weaknesses and inadequacies, please go easy on me as I am slow to learn, but know that I sincerely desire to know more about Your ways and Your Word;
  • Feed – Pour knowledge and understanding into me like one would poor water into the beak of a very thirsty bird. Fill me with Your Word so that I may constantly live in obedience to all that You desire of me;
  • Wait – I am willing to wait for as long as You desire, Lord, for following Your will is just that important to me.

When all else fails, make it known to God that there is nothing more important than to obey His Word, and honor Him in everything that you do and say. Allow Him to work miraculously through you to reach the lost in your circle of influence for His glory. God referred to David as a man after His own heart, so I believe that as we apply this prayer of David’s in all sincerity, and follow the Master in all that He demands of us, we will begin to reflect the true image of God in our lives, so that we may become effect witnesses for Him. May this be your heart’s cry today precious friends, for God loves You more than you could ever comprehend!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, we want to be just like You! However we have so much that separates us in that quest. There is so much that we need to surrender to You so that we might be filled with Your Holy Spirit completely and therefore be led in total surrender to Your will and Your way for us. Lord, this wicked world needs to see more of You in those who claim You as Lord. Begin with me Lord. Allow me to be so filled with Your grace and Your mercy that those in my realm of influence might desire to know the One who influences my life every day. Thank You for the lessons taught through Your servant David, May all who read this blog be encouraged to follow in the steps of David – towards being recognized by You as a person after Your own heart. May You be glorified in and through Your precious children today, is my prayer, in deepest humility, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org 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 or listening to this devotional, please go to 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. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

I Want To Know, Who Is Jesus?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Know and Believe, Know Jesus, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Monday, 2022-05-09
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Mark 8:27-29
TRANSLATION: The Message (MSG)

BIBLE TEXT: 27 Jesus and his disciples headed out for the villages around Caesarea Philippi. As they walked, he asked, “Who do the people say I am?” 28 “Some say ‘John the Baptizer,’” they said. “Others say ‘Elijah.’ Still others say ‘one of the prophets.’” 29 He then asked, “And you—what are you saying about me? Who am I?” Peter gave the answer: “You are the Christ, the Messiah.”

APPLICATION: We tend to be more guarded in what we say outside of the home; more general when in the presence of work associates; and we tend to use more church, or Bible, lingo when at church. But think for a moment with me today as we ponder what we might say in response to a question posed to us by the One who knows our innermost thoughts; has seen our every action/deed; and who not only knows every intricate detail about us, but is also responsible for designing and putting us altogether. To respond to this question today, I would suggest that we not respond with what the Bible says about Jesus, or what our pastor said about Jesus, or what we heard our mentor – Christian Brother or Sister say about Jesus, but to actually respond directly, personally, and intimately about who is Jesus to you. For those who are married, think about how you would respond if asked a similar question about your spouse! How would you respond if asked about your parents? Friends, I believe that this question by Jesus really boils down to the kind of relationship that you have with Him. Your response changes from who ‘they’ say Jesus is, to who is my Savior to me! As a husband, I love to hear my wife say who she feels like I am. Don’t you think that Jesus would consider it praiseworthy to hear us openly express our feelings about the value of who He truly is to us? I’ve always been taught that it is right to praise and adore Jesus for who He is to me, before asking Him for any needs that may exist in my life. I don’t know that I do enough of that, do you? Will you consider joining me in committing to take every opportunity to praise God for who He is to us, and to never be bashful in sharing with everyone who knows us, the awesome news about who Jesus is to us?

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Jesus Is All The Word To Me!

PRAYER: Lord, You are my Creator and therefore You know every little thing about me. Thank you for putting me together, placing me with a wonderful wife, blessing me with an awesome daughter, providing me the best employment opportunity for 32 years of my life, challenging me with ministry opportunities in and through my church, and deliberately placing friends in my life that love, care and pray for me on a regular basis. I am totally blessed, and I thank You from the very bottom of my heart. You are amazing, and beyond comprehension in Your ability to love sinners – even me. Thank You for claiming me as Your son! Please challenge my readers with an inward look at who You are to them. No matter what they might read in this devotional, what they may have heard from the Bible, or what their pastor may have drilled into them, may they walk away today having shared with You about Your place in their heart. May this be evident to everyone we come into contact with each day, precious 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 might 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 subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Pass Along The Message of Hope

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Hope, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Share, Share God’s Word, Teach, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Sunday, 2022-05-08
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Psalm 78:2-8
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT: 2-3 … I will show you lessons from our history, stories handed down to us from former generations. 4 I will reveal these truths to you so that you can describe these glorious deeds of Jehovah to your children and tell them about the mighty miracles he did. 5 For he gave his laws to Israel and commanded our fathers to teach them to their children, 6 so that they in turn could teach their children too. Thus his laws pass down from generation to generation. 7 In this way each generation has been able to obey his laws and to set its hope anew on God and not forget his glorious miracles. 8 Thus they did not need to be as their fathers were—stubborn, rebellious, unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.

APPLICATION: Take a moment to consider the sort of messages that are passed along to our kids? I distinctly remember a few messages my daughter received first hand while in my house: 1). I arrived home from work one day and my daughter asked permission to share something with me that she had learned. She proceeded to recite the ABC’s! I was excited, but as I looked over to my wife, she clarified the question that was obviously written across my face, ‘she heard it repeated so much by ‘Barney’ on TV that she picked it up’! I was thankful, but I was ready to punish myself for not teaching her myself! 2). I was playing ball with her one day, and she wanted me to pitch. After about 2 missed strikes, she turned around and spit, then positioned herself for the next pitch. I asked what that was all about? My young daughter reported ‘that’s the way the players get to hit the ball on TV’! It soon became evident that my daughter was learning more from TV than from her mom and I. But are we unique in that? I wonder if you sat down each Sunday and analyzed what your child(ren) learned from you over the past week, what might that list look like? Did they see you read your Bible? Did they overhear your prayer? Did you drop them to church and showed them that learning about Jesus is for kids, but adults could indulge in anything they want? Has your dinner table discussion been more about the fights you are having with relatives, Facebook updates, and TV shows, than about how God was evident in your life that day? Notice from our Scripture today that Asaph had the privilege of sharing from the history of what his ancestors did. The lives of many were punished and often lost because they ignored the awesome works and power of God, and they became even more reprobate in their every-day life. The miracles performed by God was not discussed, so the younger generation knew nothing of His power and therefore saw no need to call on Him. With a sorrowful heart today, I’m most afraid that this might be the issue with our children today. They are seeing way too much of our disobedience, our hatred, our selfish desires, our refusal to love one another – especially those who should be closest to us, and hardly anything of our miraculous God. Are we really teaching our kids and grandkids to repeat our mistakes, our bad decisions, our hatred for mankind, and our lack of faith? Many of you reading or listening may have gone through a dedication service for your child, or been a part of one for your grandchild. Have you stayed true to the promises you made that day? I firmly believe that if you stop your busy day long enough to refresh yourself on what you promised to God in that baby dedication, you may sincerely seek the powerful hand of Jesus upon your life to make your promises true. Let’s be diligent about seeking God’s favor, and let’s never forget to pass along His blessings to our children. That’s our responsibility! Since they have a similar responsibility, let’s be sure that they pass along the good stuff that God has done for us because of our faithfulness to Him. Like the Israelites, their very lives may depend on it.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Children will learn from our actions what we know in our heart. Fill our hearts with God, then our kids will come to know our Savior, and our Lord. They lives may be dependent on the role God plays in their life.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for reminding us through Your Word today the importance of recognizing the key role You play in our lives, and the importance of us setting an example of whose we are. The Israelites lost battles, and lost lives because they refused to recognize Your power available to them. Lord, may we always share Jesus through our example and in our teaching so that our children, and theirs, will know first hand about You and about Your powerful hand. Others are always watching us, Lord. May they always see Jesus in me, for this is my honest and sincere plea. 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 might 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 subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Things That Are Totally Despicable To God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Obedience, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Friday, 2022-05-06
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Proverbs 6:16-19
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT: 16 There are six evils God truly hates
and a seventh that is an abomination to him:
17 Putting others down while considering yourself superior,
spreading lies and rumors,
spilling the blood of the innocent,
18 plotting evil in your heart toward another,
gloating over doing what’s plainly wrong,
19 spouting lies in false testimony,
and stirring up strife between friends.
These are entirely despicable to God!

APPLICATION: Whether things are going extremely well for us, or beyond challenging for us, I can’t imagine that anyone would possibly think about doing some of the ugly things mentioned in Solomon’s warning. However, my God knows the good, the bad and the ugly about His children that He created in His image. But friends, we have heard about more extreme and weird crimes than we ever imagined. So yes, I believe that God knew about our need for reminders about the things that He hates. When sin entered this world (that thing that causes us to perform certain acts, and say things that are contrary to God’s design, and in contrast to His teachings) Satan had the goal of redirecting our hearts and our minds away from God’s original design. He chose to redirect, steal, and misguide God’s children away from Him. Satan’s lies and deception causes us to think that there is a better way – one where we might be more powerful and better off at the end of the day. Unfortunately, when we become subservient to Satan, we often do the things that God abhors, and that He teaches against and tries to steer us away from. Our God will not be lifted up, magnified, glorified or praised by folk under the influence of the evil one. God inspired Solomon to forewarn us about the things that God really despises, because he didn’t want us to find ourselves headed in a direction away from God, that may be extremely challenging for us to reverse. I realize that each one could read the Scripture verses for themselves, but I want to add a few comments to each of the seven things, based on my studies. Here are the things we are warned about by Solomon, that God hates:
1) Haughty, or proud eyes, belonging to one who lifts up self, at the expense of others. Jesus practiced humility to an extreme, and He wants us to do the same;
2) Being untruthful, for we will never gain the trust of our fellow man. Plus we tend to falsely accuse others through our lies;
3) Killing innocent people. I know, you’re not a murderer, right? But are you a participant or promoter of abortion. Or are you one to do everything in your power to promote ‘life’ as God has given it to us?
4) Plotting evil towards another – the Word explains that this is devising wicked schemes in our heart. Perhaps it is best to quickly seek help, as it could lead to disastrous actions;
5) Gloating over the evil you’ve done – instead of placing your head between your knees in sorrow, shame and regret over what you’ve done;
6) False Testimony – being an untrusted witness – in court, or if questioned by authorities; and
7) Stirring up strife between others – This might be friends, family or coworkers, where you have chosen to help divide, instead of bringing peace between the affected parties.
Friends, no doubt you could see yourself in one or more of these seven things. Let me suggest that you speak with the God of this universe, and ask for His help, strength and guidance in overcoming the temptations of the evil one. Please join me in a desire to be more like Jesus and to follow His teachings and His will for our lives. Jesus went about doing good in every walk of life, and so should we, God being our helper!

PRAYER: Precious Lord Jesus, we your children, have allowed the world to sway our minds and lead us into actions that You despise. As Your child, I am embarrassed and sorrowful that You are having to look on the mess we have made of the perfect people that You placed here on earth. On behalf of my readers and listeners, I humbly ask that You forgive us and give us extra strength to overcome the evil one, while doing our utmost to please You and obey You while here on earth. Please guide us into all truth, and remind us often of the One to whom we belong, and help us to live boldly in the light of Your teachings and Your example, so that others may see and believe in the God we serve. Please speak firmly to the unsaved today, so that they may surrender their lives to You and become one with 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 might 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 subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Jesus ‘Hangs Out’ With Sinners

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Sinner, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Thursday, 2022-05-05
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Mark 2:15-17
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?” When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

APPLICATION: Christians tend to hang out with other Christians – because we have so much in common, and we feel comfortable that no one will question us, if seen associating with folk of the same belief. Praise God, Jesus was different in this respect. He shows us that if we are to reach the unsaved, and if we are to truly show God’s love to all people, then we had better build a rapport with everyone, especially those who need Him. When we look down our noses at folk, we must remember that they have a very hard time looking up to us and accepting anything that we may have to say to them. Jesus came so that sinners might have the means for forgiveness of sin, and in recognizing their need for such forgiveness, they would accept Him as Lord and Savior. For Christians who are meditating on this devotional, let’s remember that we are to be Christ followers and therefore follow the lead that He displayed while here on this earth, for people around us need the Lord now, more than ever before. How do you feel like you are doing, my friend? Are you able to show love to the sometimes unlovable? Are you humble enough to sit and listen to the deep struggles and concerns of someone that may be deep in sin? Unless we do this, how will they know Jesus?

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Jesus is still willing to hang with sinners to meet their needs right where they are!

PRAYER: Father, I pray that You will open my heart today and make me aware of those around me that need You as Savior. Make me very aware that although they may not look like me, or they may not follow the same guidelines of living that I follow, and they may not even attend, or perhaps never attended, church, please help me to see them as You see them. Please allow me to present myself in ways that others will see Your love, Your acceptance and Your willingness to listen to their shortcomings. Lord, please show them the way, the truth of Your Word, so that they may see Jesus, and come to know You in a very personal and intimate way. Oh that You may shine through Your children/Your representatives today! Help us to never forget that You reached far down to lift us up from our sin, and in our deepest time of need. There is none like You Heavenly Father. Please help me be obedient to Your will in doing Your work, so that others may know and believe. 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 might 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 subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Oh What A Relief It Is

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Forgiven, Forgiveness, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Wednesday, 2022-05-04
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Psalm 32:1-5
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: 1 Our Lord, you bless everyone whose sins you forgive and wipe away. 2 You bless them by saying, “You told me your sins, without trying to hide them, and now I forgive you.” 3 Before I confessed my sins, my bones felt limp, and I groaned all day long. 4 Night and day your hand weighed heavily on me, and my strength was gone as in the summer heat. 5 So I confessed my sins and told them all to you. I said, “I’ll tell the Lord each one of my sins.” Then you forgave me and took away my guilt.

APPLICATION: I’m certainly not trained to deal professionally with how one should handle the stress in their lives (that’s my legal disclosure!!!!). However, I can share with you the best solution, based on a word from our Maker, Designer, Creator and Almighty God! For knowing full well how our generation would handle stress, God gave to His servant David resolution for his personal stresses, and inspired him to share that with us from his first-hand experience. David had his share of weaknesses, challenges, sin; forgiveness and happiness. Today David is challenging us to consider not doing the easiest thing by trying to cover up our sin and pretend it doesn’t exist. For it only makes us miserable when we go around pretending that all is well. Friends, I believe that is the first inhibitor for stress – when we know something is going on in our lives, but we pretend to those around us that all is well. Unfortunately I believe that we unconsciously show our pretense to God also, for we follow our own desires, knowing that these things are almost always contrary to the Word of God, and to what He desires of us. But we go on about our day pretending that all is well anyway. In my opinion this is the source of stress, for we are covering up something that we know should be done, said or acted upon differently. But praise be to God, the Psalmist showed us that there was excellent results for him when he followed the normal pattern designed by God. God has set this pattern for His children so that they might be pleasing to Him in every way. However, in all of our wisdom, we somehow figured that we could go our own way and do our own thing, and God would be just as happy with us. But God, in His wisdom, placed an uneasiness in us, that some may call ‘stress’, while others may call it a conscience, because He wanted us to know when we are doing something that isn’t right. Let me encourage you to re-read the last part of our focal verses today, and I believe that like me, you too might notice the loud sigh of relief by David when he concluded that God heard his cry for forgiveness and He forgave him. I pray that our goal today might be that we live as an open book before God – nothing to be worried about, holding nothing back, exposing everything to God that bothers us in the very least. Recognizing that God knows all about us and our inadequacies, and He knows what we may be covering up. But I believe that He longs to see us reconcile our faults before Him, and seek His forgiveness, so that we may be one with Him. Consider making this the day that you relieve yourself of the stress in your life. Seek God while He may be found. Expose your heart to Him, so that He might cleanse it and make you whole. Be one with your Maker my friend, and experience the relief He gives through forgiveness of your sin.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: I don’t know that we could find a story in the Bible where God did not forgive one of His children who sought His forgiveness. Praise God, He is still waiting, willing and ready to forgive us of our sins and shortcomings also!

PRAYER: Precious Lord Jesus, we approach You as Your loving children that are broken and filled with stress over trying to do ‘life’ on our own. Please speak directly to our innermost person today and help us to acknowledge our shortcomings, and our inability to handle this complex world on our own while thinking that we could still please You. Without You we are broken without any hope of repair. Please humble our hearts so that we might surrender our all to You and give You full reign in every aspect of our being, so that You may be honored and praised by all who we may encounter. 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 might 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 subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!