Author: Ed Algreen

One of God's kids expressing his understanding of God's Word and sharing how it is affecting his life! May those who read it be blessed, encouraged, and drawn closer to the Lord!

Give As An Indication of Whose You Are

On By Ed AlgreenIn GivingLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

25 Lazy people who refuse to work are only killing themselves; 26all they do is think about what they would like to have. The righteous, however, can give, and give generously.

(Bible Translation and Location: The Good News Translation – Proverbs 21:25-26)

Thoughts:

I have found wisdom in the book of Proverbs, but found it challenging to find something in them to share in these devotionals. However, God challenged me in these two verses that we are centering on today. For I believe that in today’s society, even Christians have obligated themselves financially to a state that they have to be totally, and perhaps even overly committed to earning the next dollar instead of relaxing in the peace of God’s love. In fact, I am convinced that most of us are working such stressful jobs and extended hours, and we are so tired when we finally get home, that several things are impacted:

  • Family structure – Look at how the family is so stressed that there is little time for love, devotion, sharing and worship? Divorce rates are at an all-time high. Kids are leaving homes often to do ‘their worldly thing’ that often excludes churchgoing, but often includes criminal mischief.
  • Daily time with the Lord – Often due to stress and tiredness, our family and friends are spending more time in bed and excluding time with the Lord. One of the most important things that we should do, yet it is getting neglected.
  • Biblical Practices – You can’t teach what you don’t practice yourself – Imagine trying to encourage your child to pray, when they never see you on your knees. Or force your child to attend church, but it is evident that church attendance is at the very bottom of your priority list. Or to read their Bible for their godly instruction, but you’re having trouble finding yours because you hardly ever use it.

These things that I mentioned are just a few of the things that show evidence of whose we are friends. The Bible says in Luke 12:27 that we should be as free to worship, and to give and spend time with the Lord as the lilies. What have we done to ourselves friends? Could Satan be getting too deep into our lives through things we have, or would like to have, that he is pushing out our desire to spend the necessary time with God? Remember, God is the giver of all good things in our lives, but He is a jealous God. Let’s not expects His gracious gifts but give our allegiance to Satan and all of his tactics to distract us. Let’s re-learn the art of giving to God, both of ourselves and of our gifts that He has blessed us with.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I come humbly before You today guilty of much of the above. You have blessed me immensely, however there are parts of my life that indicate my total allegiance might be a bit skewed. Please help me to get back on track, to re-learn the art of total allegiance to You and not to be so attached to this world that brings nothing but stress and heartaches. Please touch the hearts of my readers today that they too might be inspired to examine their lives and to give of themselves and their finances unreservedly to You and Your causes. Lord, I believe that our churches should be the one thing that survives all financial stresses, as You continue to go to give liberally to us even through earthly financial depressions. Oh that this might be evident in our lives and in the life of our churches today, is my humble prayer that I ask in the name of Jesus, my 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 so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely 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, Sebring, FL!

The Passion of Ministry

On By Ed AlgreenIn WitnessingLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

10 As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, no one in all of Greece will ever stop me from boasting about this.

(Bible Translation and Location: The New Living Translation – 2 Corinthians 11:10)

Thoughts:

I hope that no one will be turned off from the subject of today’s devotional, thinking that ‘Ministry’ is reserved only for your pastor, priest or congregational leader. For I believe that God’s Word is clear in designating each of His faithful children as His ministers, or imitators, or promoters, or believers responsible for sharing what we know about God. About the reason for our Joy, our Hope and our Eternal Destination! What really caught my attention in this short verse, is the point Paul made about not allowing anyone to stop him in what he was doing! Wow, do you realize how little the interruption might be that stops us from simply attending church? Can you recall how simple the reason was that prevented us from witnessing to that friend who was hurting and needing our Savior in their life? Isn’t it amazing how we tend to stay clear of those in a crowd who tend to openly witness? We hardly want to be seen associating with such a ‘freak’ or fanatic. Sad isn’t it? Interesting how we would probably place ourselves in harm’s way to protect a friend from danger, yet we would just as soon see them die and go to eternity in Hell with Satan and his cohorts, rather than simply sharing the joy in our hearts because of Jesus. Friends, time is short. Jesus could come today! That friend you’ve always felt God pointing you to share His salvation with, could go for his/her last drive or flight today and die in route to their destination. Please don’t let an opportunity pass by to share God’s love with them before it’s too late. Like Paul, don’t let anything or anyone stop you from sharing your passion, your ministry, your love for the Lord, with someone that God leads you to on this day!

Prayer:

Dear Father, You allowed Your very own Son to bear the shame of crucifixion as a sign of Your love for us, and as a sacrifice for us that enables us to one day be with You in glory! What amazing love! You sent men of passion to share Your Word with a world undeserving of the sacrifice they made, yet they did it because of Your love for them, and their dedication to, and love for, You. In spite of all that, today You have given us the choice to openly share the joy of our salvation with unbelieving family, friends and coworkers with a passion like that of Paul, or to simply hide the light and source of our happiness, and allow these ones to go on thinking that we are just that ‘good’ or ‘holy’. Please forgive us Lord. Please place a new boldness and passion in us that would ignite a new fire of desire and passion to openly share the source of our joy with all that we might come into contact with. Lord, may others have a desire to know You today, because of the change You will make in our lives. It’s all about You oh Lord, not us. I humbly ask this in the wonderful name of Jesus, 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 so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely 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, Sebring, FL!

Things to Do While We Wait

On By Ed AlgreenIn Disciplined, ReadinessLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

7 The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. 8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.

(Bible Translation and Location: The New Living Translation – 1 Peter 4:7-9)

Thoughts:

Living in a hurricane prone area of the world, we know how to be prepared for the often short notice about an approaching hurricane. However, when warned, we quickly hit the streets and pay a visit to our grocery stores and possibly to hardware stores for last minute items to make sure we are fully ready for eventual power cuts or breaks in deliveries to our local stores. Similarly, living in this world and having taken the first step of readiness for God’s eminent return, God, through Peter, is warning us of some last minute things we should really be doing to avoid any regrets when we stand before Him. Here are some things that we should be doing right now friends:

  • Be earnest and disciplined in our prayers – A Christian living in a world stained by sin, and where sin abounds, must stay close to God and constantly seek His guiding and protective hand to help us to stay on track and not be distracted by the sin that initially entrapped us and kept us at bay from God. “Being earnest and disciplined at it” gives me the impression that we are to make this a priority even when we don’t feel like it, but like vitamins and food itself, do it because we are told to, and because we know that we need it;
  • Show deep love one for another – Generally we will exude what’s inside of us. If God has filled us with His love, then we should have no trouble showing love for one another. However, I believe that just how a perfect God chose to love imperfect people like us, God wants us to love even those who might otherwise be unlovable. Ones we despise because they believe different to us, or act in ways that we have overcome (with God’s help). Ones that have hurt us, or who we may have hurt, because the Word says that this kind of love will be greater than the hurt, and also help us to overcome the hurt. Loving those who are different to us is much like what God was faced with when He looked down on us – sinners, yet He loved us anyway. Praise the name of the Lord!
  • Freely share your home and your food – Who blessed us with what we have, friends? Therefore, because all that we have, became possible because of our loving God, we should therefore pass the blessing along and bless others with it! Let’s truly be an example of the Savior that we worship and adore!

Friends, we are God’s very own and He has blessed us way more than we could ever imagine or deserve. As He has blessed us, let us therefore bless others! Let’s learn to pass along the blessings and not just hog them up to ourselves.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, I thank you for giving me Your Word to plainly tell me what I should be doing right now. As I was obedient in Your call upon my life to accept You as my Lord and Savior, please continue to nudge me along with reminders to live according to Your book of instructions so that I might do what You require of me on a daily basis. These verses today are excellent reminders of what I should be doing as I wait for Your return. Please give me strength today, and a willing and obedient heart as I strive to obey You and do Your will. Please allow Your Word to make an indelible imprint on the minds of Christians that read this today so that they also might be realigned to obedience. For others that You may point to this devotional today, please work a miracle in their life so that as they see the need to surrender their life to You, they may also catch a glimpse of Your expectations after their initial decision. Thank You for being so gracious to even me dear Lord. May I now be gracious and obedient in response to You. I am asking this in Your awesome, powerful and loving name, Jesus my 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 so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely 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, Sebring, FL!

For No Selfish Gain, Just Glorify God

On By Ed AlgreenIn HumilityLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

17 As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”(Jer. 9:24)

18 When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them.

(Bible Translation and Location: The New Living Translation – 2 Corinthians 10:17-18)

Thoughts:

Here Paul is defending himself against a bunch of ‘super apostles’, who couldn’t stand seeing someone not from their group come in to share the gospel with their people. Do we have these type folk in our churches today? In my opinion, yes we do, and they are usually the troublemakers, much like Paul encountered in the early church. However what I feel like Paul was trying to clear up for us, is that Christians are to be loyal to God and always striving to please Him. If we please others along the way, then glory to God for whom the pleasing was intended! We should never have to boast on ourselves, after all it is God who created us; God who provides life each day; God who fills us with His love and the knowledge necessary to discern His Word and be able to share it with others. We are therefore just servants of the Master Designer and therefore He who should receive honor and glory from everything accomplished by Him through us. Friends, we are to be careful to pass the praises on to our Lord and Savior, and not soak them up in selfish pride with the assumption that it was due to anything we may have done. We are merely empty vessels with the love and power of God working in and through us as we open our mouths and or work any good deed. Please let us continue to please our Lord, and then worship Him together with others as we are blessed by Him. Don’t let our selfish pride get in the middle of this, for we are nothing without You.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, in all humility I come before You today asking that You might continue to receive glory for any and everything that You might accomplish through my efforts. Thank You for even considering using me to help others and to represent You. May I fade into the backdrop as You maintain prominence and receive praise for working in the lives of your people. Please keep me volunteering to help where You know that You can use me to receive glory, especially through people surrendering their lives to You. Please make me very aware of the times that I may be less than humble, as my desire and wish is to see people won to You, and only You can perform such a miracle. Please soften the hearts of Your messengers who may be less than obedient, or less than humble before an awesome and perfect God. May this be a day that we all learn to pass the praises up to You while continuing to seek Your face and Your perfect will for our lives as we serve You. Lord I ask these things humbly in Your name, 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 so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely 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, Sebring, FL!

Accountability for Gifts Given to Us by God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Spiritual GiftsLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

7 The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. 8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. 10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

(Bible Translation and Location: The New Living Translation – ! Peter 4:7-11)

Thoughts:

I believe that the easiest way for us to explain gifts from God, is to explain the attributes of one another, or at least those of a saint that we look up to and admire. However, I believe that the Holy Spirit, through Paul, is seriously wanting us to internalize the fact that God has blessed us each with a divine gift that we should seriously strive to use for Him every day. When we, individually, can be accountable for our own gift, don’t you suppose that we might be less apt to find fault with the other person’s use of their gift? Think about the way that we grill our children when we pick them up from school, on how good they were that day or how pleased the teacher was that day with their behavior or scholastic achievements. Wouldn’t it be interesting for us, as adults, to grill each other on how we may have blessed someone that day because of the wonderful, and undeserved gifts we have been blessed with? Do you suppose that way too often we hide those talents in order not to be teased by our fellow workers or friends? Or do you suppose that way too often we undervalue the power of God and consider ourselves unworthy of any special gifts that God could really have blessed us with? In verse 11, Paul gives two examples of God’s gifts, and how they might be used for His glory. May I challenge you today to look inside at all that God may have blessed you with, and be determined to use your gift(s) as an instrument of blessing to someone that you may come into contact with? Let’s learn to acknowledge God’s power and gifts, even through us, so that He may be praised and glorified by someone today, because of our obedience! Our God is holy, loving and caring, and deserves all of our praise! Let us bring glory to God today because of His gracious gifts to us!

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, I have so much to be thankful for, and I praise You with all my heart today! Thank You for giving me hope for a future with You in heaven! Thank You for considering me worthy of the gifts that You have blessed me with. Please forgive me for the times that I sit back and think that I have no gifts, and would just as soon see someone more gifted do the work that You have set forth for me to do. Please redirect my thoughts and my praise to You for all that You have given me, and for all that you have used me to do. Lord, I humbly ask that You bless me each day with Your power, and the encouragement to reach out and touch You, so that Your divine power might be evident in and through me. I believe that I may not be alone in finding excuses not to fully serve You with all of my heart and blessed by Your awesome hand. Therefore, I ask that You would bless all who might meditate on this devotional today, so that we each might be renewed in our trust and understanding of Your gifts that are so prevalent in our lives, and that we might freely allow those gifts to pass through us to be a blessing to all that we might come into contact with. People Need the Lord, but how will they know Him if we hide His divine nature from them. Please bless us with Your power, is my humble prayer today that I ask in the precious, and all powerful name of Jesus, my 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 so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely 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, Sebring, FL!

With Thanksgiving – One for Another

On By Ed AlgreenIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

(Bible Translation and Location: New Living Translation – Philippians 1:3-6)

Thoughts:

With the Thanksgiving holiday quickly approaching, those of us in America focus our hearts and minds on ‘thanksgiving’. I believe that we primarily think of giving thanks to God for all that He has blessed us with, which is the right thing to do, when we consider that ALL things come from God, and through blessing us each and every day, we go on to bless others. However Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, also saw the need to encourage us to look around us and thank those who, like us, are striving to reach the world for Jesus. In our country we have designated a month of the year to especially thank our pastors for their services. This is good, but what about the other 11 months of the year? And what about the other lay leaders/workers of the church, do they deserve a word of appreciation also? Our pastor recently reminded us that most folk come to know the Lord though the laypeople of the church, not through the preaching and/or teaching at the church. I believe you would see great encouragement among the members of our churches if we were to find something to thank each one for as we greet them at our worship services, or anywhere else we see them! Paul considered each of us as ‘partners’ in the ministry. In other scripture we, the people, are referred to as a ‘body’ with various parts, all of which are important. So friend, what is your area of ministry in the church? Think about it, in addition to the obvious ones like preaching and teaching, some are constantly offering prayers one for another, others might be encouraging a Brother or Sister who might be feeling despondent, while another might call to check on someone who didn’t make church service to make sure they are not ill. There are numerous other ways that we each may minister, but together we complete the circle of ministry ordained by God. Because we are reaching for the same goal and working for, and in the name of, the same Master, then we are partners in the ministry as indicated by Paul in the captioned verses. Be ready with an answer for a partner when they ask you about your area of ministry! Let’s be diligent in praying one for another, so that the work of the Lord might prevail and flourish!

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank You for all you did for us, and for what You continue to do for us each and every day. Thank You for those who partner with us in ministry, as together we strive to reach the world for You. Bless us with courage, stamina and a deep desire to serve You through everything that we do. May we always bless those that we come into contact with, because of You! Lord You are good, and Your mercies endure each and every day! Thank You Lord Jesus. These things I ask in You wonderful and precious name, 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 so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely 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, Sebring, FL!

The Rewards of Giving

On By Ed AlgreenIn Giving, Rewards, SatisfactionLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.

(Bible Translation and Location: The Message – 2 Corinthians 9:10-11)

Thoughts:

Over the past two days we have learned that God expects us to give out of what we receive, and to give with the right attitude. In today’s scripture we learn how God rewards us for our giving. I’m sure that many who meditated on the last two lessons may have questioned how they could possibly afford to give from the little they earn, especially considering the large amounts they owe. Friends, God answers that question in today’s scripture by reassuring you that He gives not only enough for ourselves, but also the where-with-all to supply the needs of others. In faith, we must show the reality of our subjection to the gospel, by works of giving. Remember this will be a reward to our faithfulness, and to bring praise and glory to God by others who are touched by our giving. Please also note that Paul was not just drumming up this idea of rewards to induce the giving he was asking his followers to do. For back in Matthew 10:42, Jesus told His followers that if they only give a cup of water to one of His, they would certainly be rewarded. In Hosea 10:12 we are told that if we plant righteousness (right-ness with God) we will reap a blessing! In Matthew 5:6 we are told that God will satisfy those whose greatest desire is to please Him. By now you are probably thinking that this is probably the way to go to bring you riches. To a certain degree I will agree with you, because there is nothing like building up the pleasure of our God with our obedience to His Word. Absolutely nothing like seeing those in need find reason to praise God for His wonderful gifts, knowing that we may have had a role to play in those gifts because of our obedience. I find way more delight in hearing that others are pleased with and/or blessed by something that I may have contributed to, rather than the richest dude on earth handing out $100 bills for everything they notice that I may have done. For you see, my actions are in response to God’s commands and for His glory, not for man’s attention or his returned praises to me. I would rather go unnoticed in my giving of finances or time. I am much more rewarded by hearing someone giving praise to God for answering their prayers about their needs. If God used something that I may have contributed to Him, then it is truly His to give away to a person in need. He’s the one that deserves the praise and glory. Give from a heart of obedience friend, and give it to the Lord, who gave it to you in the first place. Be ready to praise Him for the ability to give, and for the glory it might bring to a child of God in need, for your rewards are ‘out of this world’!!

Prayer:

Jesus, thank You for showing us how to give, by first giving of everything You had to us. Thank You for accepting that bitter cup You mentioned in the garden, so that I might enjoy the sweet cup of fellowship with You as my Lord and Savior. Thank You for blessing us daily with the love, assurances and resources that we might pass along blessings to others in need. I pray that my reader friends might, like me, gain a daily appreciation for Your goodness towards us, so that we may freely share with others and give liberally to You and Your work in response. I pray that through recognizing, and being reminded of the source of our blessings, we might be encouraged to give all the more. I so appreciate the rewards You have prepared for me, thank You Father! May we be reminded of those rewards daily so that our giving might be all the more joyful! All this I ask for You dear Lord, in Your precious and worthy name, 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 so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely 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, Sebring, FL!

Attitude More Important Than Sacrifice

On By Ed AlgreenIn Attitude, Giving, SacrificeLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

10 Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. 11 Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. 12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.

(Bible Translation and Location: New Living Translation – 2 Corinthians 8:10-12)

Thoughts:

In my previous devotional I addressed the idea of giving to God, as we are blessed. In today’s scripture I am reminded of the New Testament story of the ‘Widow’s Mite’ where Jesus highlighted the penny offering dropped in by a widow. Because it was given from the heart and represented everything the widow had to give, Jesus was overjoyed with her gift. Personally in growing up, a quarter was a frequent offering given to me to place in the offering plate. Later while still at home, I remember that increased to a dollar. When I started working and was taught about the biblical standards for giving, it almost killed me to know that I was actually giving one hundred dollars to the church at one time! It wasn’t until I recognized that God was blessing me beyond measure with the 90% I had left to meet my bills with, and spend recreationally, that I understood that I had no reason to judge what the church might do with all this extra money I was giving. Rather, I learned to praise God for all His many riches that He blessed me with each day, and in return, for allowing me to give a portion back to Him for His continued work here on earth. I am a firm believer in church members giving freely of their tithes and offering to the Lord. I am also a firm believer that, based on my personal experience, God will open the doors of heaven and bless you with more than enough to still meet your earthly financial obligations. Let me encourage you to look at your income in this way: If you earn $1,000 gross pay, $200 of that may be taken out in taxes – so you can’t bank on the $1,000 as your spendable income, you can only count on $800. If you are a follower of Christ, then you can’t bank on the $800, because $100 of that gross income belongs to God as your tithe, so you can only bank on actual spendable income of $700. Now for those who are new to this principle, there is no economic class that will teach you how God can help you meet $800 worth of bills with only $700, but friend let me be quick to remind you that no professor can tell you how the Red Sea was parted for God’s chosen people to cross safely across to the other side either. Nor how Lazarus, who had already begun to decompose in his grave, yet he was brought back to life by Jesus! Remember, if we could figure the acts of Jesus out in our minds, then it is, or was not an act of Jesus. The one thing I can encourage you with this morning, based on personal experiences, is that when you place your faith and trust in Jesus, then you must do what He says, in expectation and assurance that He will do what He said He would do for you! His love never changes, and He’s still God, friend!

Prayer:

When I consider the beauty around me today: the ocean and all that it brings forth for us to survive on and enjoy; the plants and all the vegetables and fruit that plays such a vital part in my health; the wonderful family, friends and even strangers that I meet who enrich my life; who am I to question You oh God about working out Your will and way in my life? I just celebrated my 44th year at work, when some stay only a very short time before moving on to ‘greener grasses’. I will be celebrating my 39th wedding anniversary tomorrow (God willing) to the same lovely lady, while I look at statistics that more than 50% of marriages end in divorce. I can thank my God from the bottom of my heart that He’s still God in every way, especially in my life. With all that reassurance Lord, I humbly ask that You will continue to bless me, and Your other servants who has Your heart to give in support of Your work here on earth. May our hearts always be appreciative of Your many gifts that You provide for us, as incentive to continue giving from hearts of love. May Your work flourish in our churches and in our communities. May we continue to willingly and gladly serve You in and through everything we do and say everyday, so that those who may not have accepted You as Lord yet, will see Your hand at work in us and have a stronger desire and intent to know You more today than ever considered before in their life.

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 so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely 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, Sebring, FL!

The Precursor To Unreserved Giving

On By Ed AlgreenIn GivingLeave a comment

The Holy Bible Says….

    They gave offerings of whatever they could—far more than they could afford!—pleading for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians. This was totally spontaneous, entirely their own idea, and caught us completely off guard. What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives.

(Bible Translation and Location: The Message – 2 Corinthians 8:3-5)

Thoughts:

During the recession we are just now coming out of, we saw many banks fail and we saw many churches close their doors, but the reasons for failure may be different for each of these. For banks I believe that greed and lack of proper management got them in trouble. Fortunately in the US there was a big brother (FDIC) looking over the shoulders of financial institutions, with financial support to avoid loss to their depositors. In the case of the churches, I’m afraid that through lack of commitment, lack of continued outreach into the community, and subsequent lack of financial support by their members, they had insufficient resources to continue operation, so they died. Throughout my years of growing up in the church, and even as an adult, I remember the church always begging members to give more so that the church could be the church in local communities and throughout the world. I believe Paul’s explanation on what enabled the church in Macedonia to give so generously, might have a lot to do with failing vs successful churches today. The church ministered to by Paul gave generously from their hearts because they had first given themselves unreservedly to God. Now, for churches that are still failing today, could you see the correlation in their members vs what Paul witnessed in the Macedonian church? There may very well be a strong need for our members today to first give themselves unreservedly to God before we could once again see vibrant outreach, missions, teaching, making a difference in our communities, attendance and commitment from all age groups in the church, before we could see members getting their eyes off self and their worldly worth, and instead focus on the needs of the world to know Christ in a very personal and committed way. Friends, in God’s Word we are commanded to give generously from the heart (a heart committed to God and His work here on earth), and a guideline of at least 10% of our gross income is given to us. In these verses nothing is directed of the church leaders to use the funds in a way pleasing to you, so please don’t use that as an excuse not to give as commanded. Our church leaders are held accountable by God to use His resources wisely for the ongoing work of the church. Let’s answer to God in response to what is demanded of us, and let our church leaders be accountable to God for their responsibilities. Satan is the chief of all sinners and of all lies. He will temp you with every reason not to be obedient to God and His precious Word. Plant your faith firmly in God friend, listen to His voice and His commands through His Word, and allow these things to guide you in your living and in your giving. Just as God has dealt in your life to give, He will also deal in the lives of those with the fiduciary right to use those funds in a way pleasing to God. They are accountable to God, just like you are, so don’t let Satan prompt you into not giving as God commanded you to do. First of all, give yourself unreservedly to God, all else will fall into place after that!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, please touch the hearts of Your children today, for we have allowed Satan free reign in our lives that are supposedly given wholeheartedly to You. Please help us to realize our sinfulness, and to seek Your face and Your perfect will for our lives. Please teach us about commitment, because I believe that as we commit ourselves unreservedly to You, not only will we see our giving realigned to Your perfect will, but also our lives will become an open book reflecting You before our lost family and friends. Please work on us daily so that we never lose ground in our faith, our beliefs, and most of all in our unreserved commitment to You. Lord, You are worthy, and deserving of all of us. May we constantly strive to have all of You in our lives so that all of You will naturally flow from us in words and actions. Thank You Jesus! I am asking all of this in Your wonderful and powerful name, 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 so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely 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, Sebring, FL!

Godly Sorrow????

On By Ed AlgreenIn ForgivenessLeave a comment

The Holy Bible Says…..

10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.

11 Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.

(Bible Translation and Location: New Living Translation – 2 Corinthians 7:10-11)

Thoughts:

I believe that most of us go to church to be uplifted, to renew our strength in the Lord, to be filled with enough joy to last us all week around family, friends and coworkers who can often get on our very last nerve, right? So, of course God got my attention in verse 11 when Paul spoke of this ‘godly sorrow’! Please allow me to bring this into perspective today, so that we might reap the benefits that the Corinthian church gained. I have a four year old nephew, and anytime I threaten to, or actually, snatch away his favorite toy, there’s a time of unhappiness! If we go to church and God didn’t challenge us on one character flaw in our life that should be changed or enhanced for His glory, then what else might we have gained from the service? When we are challenged by God’s Word to get rid of certain behaviors that actually defy the truth, or intention, of His Word in our witness for Him, that’s often a sad time. After all, we are acknowledging that under our own strength, we really screwed things up. Friends, please know that there is good that results from this kind of surrender and forgiveness. Paul explains in verse 11, that because of the people’s godly sorrow, he actually saw some very positive character and godly changes in their lives, and I would like to see us apply these to our lives. Here they are: earnestness (a carefulness to make peace with our God because of our breach of His laws, and to preserve peace by avoiding similar breaches in the future); clear ourselves (purging ourselves of the guilt of self, and/or the church, and by dealing with issues in a Godly fashion); indignation (displeasure with self-directed successes); alarm/fear (an attention to the fact that certain temptations might easily cause us to fall back into the same sin, or separation from God); zeal (a zeal for our Christian duty – not that of the qualified or most holy or younger); readiness to recognize and punish sin (acts of discipline, denying self to avoid sin to self or against others); and of course just overall peace with God and man as we attempt to live God-directed lives that are pleasing to Him in every way. So to think godly sorrow may at the surface seem like a play on words, it really is more of a mind sobering time where God straightens us out about our weaknesses and waywardness. Friends, let’s learn to place close attention to God’s Word, whether in our daily devotions or through teaching and/or preaching at our churches, and let’s apply it to ourselves. Let God deal with that person besides you or behind you that you are convinced needs to hear the topic a lot more than you. Let God speak to you privately and personally, so that you may be aware of the things requiring attention in your life. It is only then that we can be a true, honest, servant for Him in ministering to others.

Prayer:

My Lord and Savior, please forgive me for the times I am stubborn, and pay so little attention to the sorrow and disappointment that I must bring to You when I fail and/or don’t persevere in my obedience to Your Word. Thank You for providing a path to righteousness, and eternity in heaven with You. Thank You for not giving up on me, but continuing to mold me and guide me into all truth so that I might have everything I need to leave the things that dishonor You behind, and to reach for the positive and glorious future that You have in store for me. Lord, I pray that I might become more useful in Your earthly kingdom so that others who need You will witness Your peace and glory in everything that I do or say. May the ‘old’ and forgiven things that once filled my life, remain just that. May I always be prompted by Your Holy Spirit to live according to Your Word, for Your sake, and ultimate kingdom. May others who meditate on this devotional today also be inclined to honor You in this way today, is my humble prayer, that I ask in Your precious name, 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 so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely 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, Sebring, FL!