Need Help With Your Praying?

On 2016-11-22 By Ed AlgreenIn Holy Spirit, Leadership of the Holy Spirit, Power of Prayer, Prayer, SalvationLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2016-11-22

Scripture

Bible Reference: Romans 8:26-28

Bible Text: ²⁶A similar thing happens when we pray. We are weak and do not know how to pray, so the Spirit steps in and articulates prayers for us with groaning too profound for words. ²⁷Don’t you know that He who pursues and explores the human heart intimately knows the Spirit’s mind because He pleads to God for His saints to align their lives with the will of God? ²⁸We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan.

Bible Translation: The Voice Translation (VOICE)

My Take

Very often we are sitting around a family gathering and a spouse may start to share a story, but very soon the partner spouse, or perhaps a son or daughter, steps in and helps share the story, especially if they see the individual struggling to remember all of the facts, or properly articulate the story at the time. Ever felt sometimes that you have so much on your mind to speak with God about, but you just can’t put your words together to properly speak with God about it in prayer? Ever stopped to imagine that not only does God know the depth of your heart on the matter before you open your mouth to try and express your heart, but that the Holy Spirit who came to reside in you the day your surrendered your heart to Jesus, is already muttering prayers to God on your behalf? Further, one of the translations that I looked into on this passage indicated that while you might pray to God from a human perspective, the Holy Spirit is praying the will of God before the Master on your behalf! Wow! Can you comprehend that friend! How awesome is that? I believe this helps us avoid one of the huge obstacles for Christians in their prayer life – the excuse that you don’t know how to pray, or that you don’t know the right words to say. Friends, I believe we are reminded here that it is just super important that we pray – have conversation with our Creator; our Master; our Savior; and our everlasting Father. In the cases where we fall short, or we feel lacking in what to say, let’s always remember that we have an advocate that is every present and who speaks with the Father on our behalf. Now some of you reading this may question if this is for every church-goer, or for the whole family (sons and daughters; mothers and fathers). Please read carefully the very last sentence in our scripture today: for those who love Jesus, and accept His invitation to live according to His plan, the Word says that God will orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful. Friends, this wonderful expression of love by God is yours, if you have surrendered your life to the lordship of His Son Jesus, who sacrificed His life on a cross at Calvary, so that you may have forgiveness of your sin, and it opens the door for you to have eternal life in heaven with God. Do you know Him friend? Without Him you can do nothing of any kingdom value, nor do you have any hope in eternity. With Him you will not only have eternal life, but He will orchestrate everything to work towards something good and beautiful for you! I believe the choice is obvious. Read my Footnote for tips on how to make this change in your life, otherwise drop me a note so that I may pray with you about your life concerns.

Prayer

Lord, who are we that a King should live and die for? Who are we that a representative of the King of kings should take up residence in our hearts and lives just to ensure that we stay on course, and have ongoing assurance of the awesome power of our awesome God? Lord, I am convinced that it could only be a result of the love You have for your children, that You do so much for us. Thank You for Jesus, Heavenly Father! Thank You for the Holy Spirit – our comforter; our Joy; our Protector; our Guide and our Advocate. Lord, in You we place our trust, and in You we look for daily guidance to live a life worthy of Your calling, and the powerful delivery from the evil one. Thank You Holy Spirit for speaking with the Master on our behalf, for we are so unworthy and so incapable. Lord, we commend ourselves into Your keeping and Your care, for it’s You alone that we adore and seek to serve every day. AMEN!

Footnote

If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Of One Heart and Mind

On 2016-11-21 By Ed AlgreenIn Love others, Others first, Prayer, Unity, UnselfishLeave a comment

Monday, 2016-11-21

Scripture

Bible Reference: John 17:20-22

Bible Text: ²⁰“I am not praying for these alone but also for the future believers who will come to me because of the testimony of these. ²¹My prayer for all of them is that they will be of one heart and mind, just as you and I are, Father—that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me. ²²“I have given them the glory you gave me—the glorious unity of being one, as we are

Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take

I believe that if 5 families left my city in Florida to head to Atlanta, Georgia, there would probably be several different routes taken because we all have our own ideas about what will be the fastest route, or the most scenic, or the most enjoyable due to attractions along the way that we would like to visit. However, we will all probably wind up at our final destination in Atlanta, Georgia at some point. I believe it was extremely evident to Jesus that this would be the case with His children in many walks of life, even in religious circles where we have the ultimate goal of coming face-to-face with Jesus in heaven when we pass on from this old world. I was reminded in a very bold and obvious way in our scripture today that Jesus knew right from the very beginning that this would pose a challenge for His children. I was able to see where Jesus approached the Father in much the same way as I would, if I was leaving the state of Florida on an extended retirement trip throughout the rest of the United States. There would be concerns for ministries I am involved in at my church, and there would also be concerns that my relatives would be OK with me out of the picture for an extended period of time. Now, I must quickly acknowledge that I have nothing to worry about with any of these things falling apart, because I am not the glue that holds all these things together. However, we do worry about things that mean a lot to us, if we’re not around to do our part. Friends, Jesus came to this earth for one intended purpose, to save mankind from eternal damnation. To achieve this, He showed Himself in some very bold ways – through miracles, through loving the unlovable, through sacrificing Himself so that we might not have to sacrifice anything in order to be saved from our wretched sin. However, in spite of all that He did, we went back to the Father and prayed about His concerns for the wellbeing of His church – His children here on earth. I believe that anyone meditating on this devotional today will agree that the concerns of Jesus were right on target, just like the rest of His life and ministry were. For we have such a problem here on earth in that we segregate ourselves from other believers who are headed for the same destination. In my example above, if we come across one of our friends on that long trip to Atlanta who had chosen a different route than we did, we may tease and poke a little fun at each other, but we would still welcome them and celebrate with them at the destination point. In religion, it seems like we have become so secure in our understanding of the Word of God and/or other ancillary books given to us from our respective denominations, that we erect walls between ourselves that non-Christians probably look at and wonder how many destination points are there, because obviously we are not headed to the same one! Friends, I know that this may seem like I am picking on religious denominationalism, and perhaps I am, but I believe that Jesus has shared the concern with us to ponder, that He shared with His Father when He returned to Him. What can we do about it? Jesus wants us to be ‘one’ just as He and the Father are ‘one’. We know that the trinity represents three persons all in one, meaning that they have the same attributes and same power and are the same in the eyes of the Almighty God. For us to appease Jesus in His wish for us, we must be willing to tear down the walls of hatred and separation, and love one another as we love ourselves (according to the commandment of God). Great walls separate men and women, yet they are ‘one’ in marriage. Can we please set our goals on unity in the only thing in common, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? I get the distinct impression from our scripture that this would please Jesus beyond anything else we may attempt today. Please don’t wait for your church to adopt a philosophy to do this, I believe Jesus wants this to begin with you and I. Let’s personally commit to this wish of our Lord, and love one another unconditionally.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, You saw this coming and You prayed for this scenario ever since the beginning of time. I don’t know that things have gotten any better, so I want to commit myself to You today asking that You open my eyes to any injustices that may occur between myself and other believers in Jesus Christ. I don’t have all of the answers, but I do know that regardless of what part of the world one might be from, or the color of their skin or their financial status, we all have the same channel to travel through in order to one day see You and the Father in heaven. Please help my readers and I to live today in a way pleasing to You, and in a way that we intend to live when we sit around your feet in heaven as one body of believers. Lord, may we practice today what we expect to do ‘tomorrow’ when You call us home to glory! I ask these things in the only One who can change our hearts and our minds, and the One who set the example for us while here on earth. AMEN!

Footnote

Prayer In Anticipation of What’s To Come

On 2016-11-20 By Ed AlgreenIn Holy, Persistence, Power of Prayer, Prayer, PureLeave a comment

Sunday, 2016-11-20

Scripture

Bible Reference: John 17:13-17

Bible Text: ¹³“And now I am coming to you. I have told them many things while I was with them so that they would be filled with my joy. ¹⁴I have given them your commands. And the world hates them because they don’t fit in with it, just as I don’t. ¹⁵I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from Satan’s power. ¹⁶They are not part of this world any more than I am. ¹⁷Make them pure and holy through teaching them your words of truth.

Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take

Jesus was about to leave this world and return to His Father. While on earth He touched the hearts of many and saw them come to a saving knowledge of the Father. However, He knew that there was great opposition to the stand His followers took as children of God, as compared to the rest of the world being led by the evil one. So while Jesus was happy to return to His Father, He dreaded the idea of leaving His children among the likes of Satan and his earthly tempters. I believe that is most admirable of our blessed Savior, don’t you? So I believe that the question for us today is that knowing what our Lord did for us, how concerned are we for those we love? Can we honestly stand before God and say that we have prayed in all sincerity for our lost ones, or that we have shared the Word of God with them? I believe that we are prepared to pray that they be shielded from the evil one, because we would never want to see anything bad brought to them, but how often do we in all sincerity pray for that? As a child of the King, and aiming to be more like Jesus every day, I believe that God would rather see us imitate the example of our Lord and Savior, more than anything else that may seem somewhat important to us. Friends, let us be reminded that we have only one life to live here on this earth, and only what’s done for Jesus will last. Oh that we will start each day determined to live a life pleasing to God, and that our relatives, friends and loved ones might come to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, based on the reality of what they see lived out in us. This is so important, especially knowing that one day soon we will stand before the throne of God and answer for our choices that we have made here on earth. My determination is that God might look intently into my eyes and share His pleasure with the choices that I have made and the life I have chosen to live here on this earth. May I count on you to do the same friend? If there is anything I can do to help you insure your eternal destination, or anything I can help you pray for regarding a loved one you fear is still without Christ, please drop me a note and allow me to pray with you. Jesus knew that we who are left on this earth would suffer through the temptations of this world and its leader, but He also knew that for the joy of what lies ahead of us, we may stand strong and joyful in the fact that greater is he that is in us than he that is in this world! Friends, we are assured that joy lies ahead for those of us that have the eternal hope of being with Jesus on that great resurrection morning! Based on the word of God, I can be confident in that fact that joy will come in the morning for me, I pray that you can do the same!

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for all that You have done for me and Your other children who have accepted You as Lord and Savior. We may struggle in our circumstances today, but praise be to the God of this universe, I know what the future holds for me and I know who holds the key to that future hope. You provided the way, and through Your Word You have shown us the way to eternal hope in You oh Lord. Please help us keep our eyes of faith focused on You and a burden for the souls of those that we love and care for, as we should be most concerned about their current decisions in preparation for their eternal hope. Please burden us with an urgent heart for the eternal destination of our family and friends so that together we may look full into the wonderfrul face of Jesus on that judgment day and sing praises to the King of Glory, together with our loved ones. AMEN and AMEN!

Footnote

Ask for anything in My name

On 2016-11-19 By Ed AlgreenIn In Christ, Integrity, Miracles, Prayer, SubmissionLeave a comment

Saturday, 2016-11-19

Scripture

Bible Reference: John 14:12-14

Bible Text: ¹²I tell you the truth: whoever believes in Me will be able to do what I have done, but they will do even greater things, because I will return to be with the Father. ¹³Whatever you ask for in My name, I will do it so that the Father will get glory from the Son. ¹⁴Let Me say it again: if you ask for anything in My name, I will do it.

Bible Translation: The Voice Translation (Voice)

My Take

Ever noticed that your son may go and ask a friend of equal age to do something that both he and you feel is the best thing to do, but it may have little relevance to the friend, until he brings down the power by saying that my dad asked that we do this right away? Bringing the dad’s name into the equation always adds power to the instructions being given. Ever noticed also that as a son, you may tell your buddies to do something that sounds different to what they know your dad has always preached, and they will give you a funny look and wonder where are you coming from with those instructions? Jesus had just introduced the Comforter to His disciples as He (Jesus) prepared Himself to go and be with the Father. Jesus assured His disciples, as He still assures us today, that He will be sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding for us, and that He will receive glory from the Father as His children carries on His work here on earth with the help of the Comforter, or the Holy Spirit. Notice that great emphasis is directed to the fact that even though we stand to do things even greater than He (Jesus) did while here on earth, we must never lose sight of who we are representing, and whose power resides with us to enable the work. Remember that in Acts 19:13-16 there were some who went around trying to cast out demons in Jesus’ name, but even the demons recognized that they were not of Jesus and not speaking on His behalf. Friends, it is safe to say, based on the Word of God, that if any miraculous work is to be done, it will be the power, and the work of Jesus Christ portrayed through us to do the work, with the results being totally for His glory. I believe that there are two important things to remember about being blessed with the power of Jesus working through us: (1) That doing the work of the Lord, demonstrates our love for Him, and not what we might be able to brag on, or benefit from personally; and (2) Miracles are performed in order to bring people to a full knowledge of Jesus Christ. Not for any gain of ourselves, and not for the purpose of relieving our friends from some earthly burden, but that they might know Jesus as their Lord and personal Savior. Please note that there is nothing mentioned about the obedient servant who God uses to stand in His stead and allow His miracle to be transmitted through. But I can assure you that for those who will do this, we will be blessed beyond anything words can describe. To God be the glory for all the great things He can do through even us who believe in Him, and are willing to be used by Him!

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I believe that we, Your children, in our meager faith tend go from one extreme to another way too often. For I believe we recognize our powerlessness and know that we can do nothing miraculous by ourselves. However, I also believe that there are times that our ego steps in at times and we want so badly to see our friends overcome obstacles that we tend to jump in there and pray peace and/or healing over them so they could return to a sense of normalcy. I was recently reminded by a pastor when He said that we could very easily step in the way of You actually disciplining someone, by trying to humanly help them correct or overcome their situation. This scripture has once again opened my eyes to the fact that we must be so driven by the Spirit of God that the things we say and the things we do, are very much aligned with His will and His purpose. I also believe that if the Holy Spirit leads us to a miraculous scenario with our friends that will demonstrate the love of God for them and bring them to a full knowledge of Jesus Christ, then we must, in obedience, seek your leadership and carry out Your work, particularly among the unsaved. Lord, I am concerned that there are so many in each of our circle of friends that don’t know You as their Lord and personal Savior. If it takes a miracle to convince them of Your love and power today, I pray that Your will may be done. Please speak clearly to Your children today so that we may in obedience do Your perfect will. AMEN!

Footnote

Persistent Faith

On 2016-11-18 By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Perseverance, Persistence, PrayerLeave a comment

Friday, 2016-11-17

Scripture

Bible Reference: Luke 18:6-8

Bible Text: Then the Master said, “Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?”

Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take

Yesterday we looked at a passage of scripture that spoke to persistence in prayer. Our study today looks at an example of a widow persistently petitioning before a court judge to the point that he felt battered and forced to give in to the widow for his own peace of mind. Sounds pretty similar, especially for Jesus to use this example to remind us that when we are persistent in prayer to our Judge – who performs justice on us, we can be assured that He (Jesus) will also answer our prayers. However, in verse 8 Jesus took this to a deeper, and even more sobering point for us to consider. We hear a lot of people say they will pray for us, and a lot of people who ask us to pray for them, but in verse 8 Jesus may have been saddened when He questioned, or pondered how many will the Son of Man (Jesus) find with persistent faith when He returns. Friends, only Jesus knows the heart of man, but I believe the evidence shows that persistent prayers on earth only lasts as long as there are persistent needs. This would leave one to conclude that our prayers are more need-based than relational. What would happen in your home if you only spoke to your spouse or relatives when there’s a need that you have? Probably won’t be much of a relationship there. This is also the case with prayer, for based on our faith in God and our relationship with His Son, we would naturally find multiple reasons throughout our day to worship Him in prayer; praise Him for His glorious love and peace that belong to us who know Him personally; and of course, share with Him about our earthly concerns. I would highly recommend that you spend more time in your prayer life seeking the face of Jesus; worshipping and adoring Him and thanking Him for all that He has done for you and for those you love. Oh, and if there is time, share with Him the things that concern you most here on this earth and ask for His guidance, boldness and likeness of Himself as you minister among His people today. Please don’t waste your prayer time with Jesus on just a list of needs and/or petitions. Savor in His goodness first, then ask, if you must. Without faith, one would never take the recommended steps that I suggested because they’re only after getting answers for their specific needs. Be reminded friends, that our Lord and Savior is not a santa clause or a magician that some might call on for specific items, He wants a personal relationship with you and he wants to help you build faith in the Master of this universe. If Jesus returned today, will He be pleased with the relationship you have developed with Him? Please note that nowhere in scripture does it tell us the day or the hour when our Lord will return to take us home with himself. He just wants us to be prepared each and every day! Please read the suggestions in my Footnote to help you determine if you are scripturally saved and ready for the return of Jesus Christ! It will be a most wonderful day, if you’re ready!

Prayer

Lord, we are reminded again of Your return and the importance of our persistent faith in You, that makes a persistent prayer life possible. Please speak to the hearts and minds of all who might read this devotional today. If they know you, then I pray that they will work towards a persistent prayer life with You. If they are unsure of their faith in You, or if they know for sure that they have never accepted You as Lord, then I humbly pray that today will be the day of salvation for at least one. Please have Your perfect will in the lives of each of us today is my humble prayer oh Lord, AMEN!

Footnote

If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to http://www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Persistent Praying

On 2016-11-17 By Ed AlgreenIn Perseverance, Persistence, Prayer, Seeking GodLeave a comment

Thursday, 2016-11-17

Scripture

Bible Reference: Luke 11:9-13

Bible Text: 9 So I say to you, Ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a loaf of bread, will give him a stone; or if he asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts [gifts that are to their advantage] to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him!

Bible Translation: The Amplified Bible (AMP)

My Take

At one time I asked a young man how did he land a waiter job at such a distinguished restaurant. He said he attributed it to the fact that he was persistent. He felt it was not enough to just complete an application online, but he kept checking with the restaurant manager to see if his application was reviewed and if he could have the job. Now friends, take a moment to consider that compared to the multitude of folk that apply so they could tell their loved one that they had filled out ‘x’ number of applications that day. The restaurant manager knew that the young man in my story wanted the job and would probably be just as persistent in being at work every day. In our story today, Jesus tells us just the opposite of what I have heard taught by man, for here we are taught to keep on asking, keep on seeking and keep on knocking. Do we think for a moment that God didn’t hear us the first time? No, but I believe God helps us to understand that if our need is important enough, we will continue asking. It really shows our heart’s deepest desire as opposed to just asking for something on a whim. In verse 13 we are told that we could ask for a deep indwelling of the Holy Spirit and God would be no less of a giver than our earthly dad, He would give the Holy Spirit to those of us that would ask. Now many of you may stop and ask like I did, how we thought that the Holy Spirit was given to us at new birth – when we invited Jesus to save us from our sin. Yes, Romans 8:9 confirms our belief about this. So I did some additional study on this and found that even after the promised Holy Spirit was promised to us, it was not an automatic indwelling with everyone as indicated in Acts 2:33; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4. The point that Jesus aimed to get across to His audience was that His Father will give of the very best that could be offered to His children when we ask. Friends I don’t believe that anything has changed in that last statement, for Jesus loves us with such a passion that He stood in our place at Calvary. He sacrificed His very life as the greatest gift to mankind, for His shed blood became the sacrifice necessary for us to be accepted into heaven to spend eternity with He and His Father. You need only to ask Jesus into your heart friend. Will you do that today?

Prayer

Father God, we give to our children, and we think at times that we even sacrifice for their well-being. However, You loved us enough to show us what the ultimate sacrifice could look like. Thank You for the precious gift of Your Son, Jesus, and thank you immensely for the gift of Your Holy Spirit, our comforter and our guide in life. Lord teach us to love like You demonstrated love to us. I feel like this is required for us to present ourselves to a lost world as being your representative. Please have Your way in our lives this day oh Lord. May You be honored in every way through our character today. AMEN

Footnote

Be Diligent in Prayer

On 2016-11-16 By Ed AlgreenIn Persistence, Prayer, TemptationLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2016-11-16

Scripture

Bible Reference: Mark 14:38

Bible Text: ³⁸Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. Your spirit wants to do what is right, but your body is weak.”

Bible Translation: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

My Take

Jesus had been around His disciples long enough that He knew their weaknesses, just like He knows yours and mine friend. However, He took a few of His closest disciples with Him to experience His agony; how He dealt with it (through desperate prayer before His Father); and how He wanted His disciples to be persistent in prayer at important times such as this particular time in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus also taught them to be very careful in saying things that they were not prepared to back up through their actions. This was particularly true with Simon Peter who vowed to stick it out with Jesus through good times and bad, yet when asked to keep watch and pray for just one hour, he failed. Friends, when we accept Jesus as Lord; when we are on a high because of a revival in our souls; and when we are around Christian friends, we sometimes feel like we could conquer the world for Jesus, and many times we promise Him to be a very consistent witness before the lost and needy. However, may I encourage you to examine yourself closely for the consistency in which you have lived up to your promises? In the presence of Jesus and the safety of like-minded friends it is easy to feel like, and promise to be the hands and feet of Jesus, but how often do we back down from that when faced with challenging individuals, or when we feel like we are on the’ battlefield’ of life all alone? Jesus coached His disciples, and I believe that His plea is just as sincere today for His followers like you and I, to be diligent in our prayer lives, because even though we may feel secure in our commitment to live noble lives before God and to be His witnesses everywhere we go and with whomever we meet, yet we live in this old sinful world that is ruled by the prince of darkness, Satan himself. Remember, our goal may be to stand firm in our faith, but Satan’s goal is to trip us up at every possible opportunity. So let’s trust God and obey Him when He pleads with us to pray diligently so that we may stand firm against the evil one. Satan is lurking around the corner to get at us, but only if we let him, for greater is He that is in us than he (Satan) that is in the world!

Prayer

Lord Jesus thank You for Your Word, and for Your encouragement and prompting to pray always. I’m sure that each of us face challenging times as we partake in this world in which we live, but as we were reminded in this scripture Lord, please help us to keep our eyes; our hearts and our very beings fixed on You. The source of our strength and the protection that we need from temptation is founded in You Lord. We need You daily to protect us and watch over us so that we may be living testimonies for You Lord. Please keep Your hand upon us today, so that as we go, our friends will witness the love of God in every way, and desire more and more to want to know You as their Savior. I ask these things in the name of the true and living Savior, Jesus Christ. AMEN!

Footnote

Prayer – Faith, Believe, Receive

On 2016-11-15 By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, PrayerLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2016-11-15

Scripture

Bible Reference: Matthew 21:20–22

Bible Text: 20 The disciples were shocked when they saw how quickly the tree had dried up. 21 But Jesus said to them, “If you have faith and don’t doubt, I promise that you can do what I did to this tree. And you will be able to do even more. You can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. 22 If you have faith when you pray, you will be given whatever you ask for.”

Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take

I believe that when we can’t explain an action we call it ‘magic’. From this scripture, I believe many may call what Jesus did with the fig tree ‘magic’, but as we read this passage carefully we see where this action, and indeed what Jesus assures us we can do, boils down to the faith we have in the One who can do all things, and the fact that we must believe in Him wholeheartedly if we expect to receive from Him. Friends, here are a few things that jumped out off the page at me. I believe we must follow these things if we expect to receive from God:

Faith – there is a passage of scripture where Jesus tell us that without ‘faith’ we can do nothing. As an example, we may admire a beautiful boat anchored on the lake, and because we have always been told that we could use a boat to cross the body of water over to the other side, then we tend to believe that. However unless we have faith enough to step into the boat and let it takes us across the lake, we will remain stay put and only wave at our friends who are safely on the other side. Likewise, having ‘faith’ in the One to whom we are praying, helps us to pray that His will and ours are in sync;
Don’t Doubt – I believe you will find it extremely challenging to pray in faith, and totally believe in the One to whom you are praying, if you have doubt in His existence and His power. Please try to never approach God thinking that you are presenting an impossible situation to Him, because that gives clear evidence that you have doubts about Him being able to satisfy your prayer request about that need;
Believe – Unless you believe in the awesome power of the One to whom you are praying, why bother to pray to Him? Our belief system is developed based on the facts we have already learned about the One to whom we are praying. So don’t be afraid to include an example of answered prayer along the lines of what you are praying about. For example, when praying about a blind person, be sure to reflect on the fact that Jesus actually gave sight to the blind, as it helps you pray in faith and confidence that Jesus is still very capable of answering your prayer concern about your blind friend;
Purpose – We should always pray with the end in mind. I have studied under a wonderful teacher who helped me include a ‘so that’ in my prayers. Example, Father God, please give my blind friend the determination and boldness to fight the battles that Satan will throw his way about his blindness, so that my friend may succeed in life in spite of his disability. This is intended only to help us seek God’s will with purpose, and helps us think about the purpose behind our request. This becomes a lot more specific than just simply asking God to bless my blind friend. Try this with your prayer requests friends!
Expectation – Those that pray, expecting God to respond, are praying with all of the above in mind. They are exercising their ‘faith’ ‘without doubting’, ‘believing’ that the God who created this whole universe could easily answer their prayer request, ‘so that’ their loved one may be restored

Friends, praying faithfully to our awesome God, knowing that He can do all things, if only we will trust Him, is what a believer in Jesus Christ does. How’s your prayer life friend?

Prayer

Father, I believe that You have built into each of us the warning signs of not attempting to do things that we are incapable of, in order to save ourselves from injury. I also believe that way too often we apply that principle to our prayer life without consciously recognizing that we are really praying to the God that CAN do ALL things. In our scripture verses today You have shown us five things that we must keep in mind as we pray. Thank You Lord for taking us to a whole new level, recognizing that with God all things are possible. This requires faith, determination and dependency on You oh Lord. Please grant us the boldness and faith needed to let go and let God. You are awesome oh Lord, and I just want to thank You for drawing me to Yourself. May I seek to serve You all the days of my life, and may You be honored and praised in every way, through every thing that I do or say. Please also meet the needs of my readers today. Draw them to You and remind them of Your awesome power. May You be glorified today in everything, because of our faith in You. AMEN!

Footnote

Prayer – A Connection Between You and God

On 2016-11-14 By Ed AlgreenIn Blessings, Giving, PrayerLeave a comment

Monday, 2016-11-14

Scripture

Bible Reference: Matthew 6:14–15

Bible Text: “In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.

Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take

I believe that most of us may have considered the idea of our conversation, or prayer, with God being a major connection point with God. However, Jesus reminds us in this passage today that it really makes no sense in us asking God for blessings that we are not willing ourselves to bless others with. The particular point mentioned in this scripture is ‘forgiveness’. We should not expect to receive God’s forgiveness, if we are unwilling to forgive others. Wow! Ever stopped to think about that before? After all, of what purpose would it serve for God to continue blessing, or forgiving us, if we bottle that up inside and never use that act of forgiveness, as humility and strength to help us forgive others? There is also similar scripture that reminds us about the act of giving. That scripture reminds us that our blessings received will be in proportion to our giving. In other words, don’t expect God to continue giving if you are stingy in what you give to His work and to His children in need. God is not a get-rich scheme,where all you have to do is ask, and He will pile it on for you. He blesses us so that we may, in turn, bless others. I believe that in verse 15, Jesus clearly reminds us that as we refuse to forgive others, or as we choose not to give of our earthly means to others, we create a division between God and ourselves. In other words, we cut ourselves off from the part that God would have blessed us with, if we were truly His hands and feet here on earth. May I encourage you to examine yourselves friends and see if there is something in your life that separates you from the love, and the gifts of our holy God? I’m sure that we all love to receive God’s richest blessings. To do so, we should be willing to shower those blessings, or pass them on to others!

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, You were such an example for us to follow, for You forgave the very ones that beat You, and crucified You. How much more than should we be forgiving to others in obedience to Your words to us? Lord, the words in our text this morning are quotes from what You instructed us to do. Important for us to realize today, is that the world knows what to expect from us as followers of Christ, a whole lot better than we ourselves would care to acknowledge. Holy Spirit, please open our hearts and our eyes to the things of God at every turn today. This short scripture is just one reminder of what it means to be a true warrior and imitator of Jesus Christ. Oh Lord, may the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, our Rock, our Redeemer and our soon coming King! AMEN!

Footnote

Found ‘GUILTY’ of Praying?

On 2016-11-132016-11-13 By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, Dedication, Determined, PrayerLeave a comment

Sunday, 2016-11-13

Scripture

Bible Reference: Daniel 6:10-11

Bible Text: ¹⁰When Daniel learned that the decree had been signed and posted, he continued to pray just as he had always done. His house had windows in the upstairs that opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he knelt there in prayer, thanking and praising his God. ¹¹The conspirators came and found him praying, asking God for help.

Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take

Many of us meditating on this scripture today probably don’t have any state laws prohibiting us from any religious activities, but I wonder when last we could have possibly been found guilty of ‘praying’? Over in Philippians 4:6 we are told to not fret or worry about anything, but instead ‘pray’ about everything, yet in a country where we are free to pray and worship the God of this universe, we ‘worry’ so much that our doctors probably deal more with depression and anxiety than anything else. Daniel shows us that in spite of man’s efforts to hinder his relationship with his God, that nothing would separate him from the love of his Lord. I would encourage each of us to take particular note of this, because it doesn’t take much to hinder us in our prayer life. Of course I could only speak to our corporate prayer life, but it is sad that our midweek prayer and Bible study is attended by only a very small percentage of our congregation. In fact, so poorly attended that I am reminded by the words of a pastor in my younger life, who said that it looks like the church at large has voted to cancel the service, for the absence of the vast majority speaks volumes about how they feel about corporate prayer meetings. In fact, I wonder how God must feel when He looks at our corporate prayer meeting attendance, for He said through His servant in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 ‘Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.’ So friends I would challenge you to seriously consider and declare who you are claiming as your King; your Lord; and your Master. Have you personally accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? God’s Word tells us that if you have, then you would have a desire to ‘pray all the time’. If your ‘love-for-God’ meter is measured by your prayer life, are you proud of the love you show to God every day? How about your concern for the church as a whole, do you attend corporate prayer enough to pray for its survival and its outreach for your community? Is your pastor empowered because of your prayers for him? Daniel maintained his prayer life in spite of a new law being enacted that he knew could have led to his imprisonment. How valid do you feel your excuses are for not attending your corporate prayer services, compared to Daniel’s commitment in the circumstances he was under?

Prayer

Lord God, we are a sorry bunch considering all the gracious gifts that You bless us with every day, compared to the uncaring attitude we take in returning thanks to You. Friends are dying every day without Jesus, and ashamedly we acknowledge that our prayers and our influence in their lives could have made a difference. We have read, heard and seen the power of prayer, yet many have chosen to ignore its power through their attendance and commitment to pray corporately. Please forgive us Lord. I feel like we are witnessing the greatest need for revival probably in the life of Your church here on earth. Only those who have actually accepted you as Lord can be ‘revived’, so Lord, please begin a great work in the life of Your church – Your people. May Your children be reminded of the power of prayer, and their obligation to converse with their Master. We need you heavenly Father, revive Your church again, I pray. AMEN!