Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

2 Corinthians 5:14-17 (NLT)

14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.

15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

As I sit here reading the Word of God this morning dealing with pain in my arm, worried about the huge day of responsibilities that lie ahead of me, concerned about family members encountering rough times, and I suppose I can go on and on, but Praise to my Glorious God, in reading His Word I am reminded that all of this is only temporary and that one day I will only have time for kneeling at the feet of Jesus and praising Him! Now in this same chapter, I also found the verses above, and it reminds me that these things that I am concerned about should really be surrendered to Christ then the burden will be lifted from me. For in my old life (before accepting Jesus), I bore these types of concerns all alone, however since becoming a child of the King, He will gladly carry these burdens for me and handle them in accordance with His perfect will, if only I would be smart enough to surrender them over to Him. I wish I could draw out a table of two columns where, in the left column I could list all of the concerns, attitudes and priorities of the non-Christian, and in the right column list the equivalent of the Christian – Love God; Surrender all to Him; Praise God; Place your cares upon Him for He cares for you; Receive His limitless love; Look for His daily blessings; etc, etc. I believe that as you reflect on the attributes of a Christian, you will see that as children of God, we have a loving provider who cares for us like no other can. Are you tired of dealing with life’s concerns all by yourself? Are you ready to surrender your life and all of your concerns to my Savior, my Friend, my Lord and my King? Please contact me if you would like further help with this decision. It will be the most important decision you could ever make! Jesus loves you right where you are at today!

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Thank You Lord Jesus for Your unlimited love, care and concern for Your children, and especially this child of Yours. Please help me to show that love to others today, and please speak to the hearts of all those that may read this devotional. May they seek, and find that peace of which I shared in this devotional, in Jesus name I pray. Amen.

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NLT)

16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.

17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

God’s Word is filled with ‘nuggets’ that serve to encourage us and/or guide us through every circumstance of life. In these verses we see where Paul was sharing with his church at Corinth the reason why he was not letting the troubles that faced the Corinthian church get to him and affect his joy. Basically Paul shared that no matter how deep the troubles seemed at the time, there was a much greater joy that helped him to go on. What a reminder for us today! There is so much going on in our families, amongst our friends and yes, even in our churches, that might easily give reason for us to throw up our hands and go hide in some corner somewhere. However, just as in the case of Paul, Christians today have a greater hope that outshines the troubles that may tend to beset us or discourage us. A song says it this way, “Hold on my child, for Joy Comes in the Morning“. My encouragement today comes not from the temporary things that may tend to discourage me today, but from the joy in knowing my future prospects of eternal happiness with my Master, the King of all kings, the Lord of all lords, the Creator of this universe, the One who gave up His very life so that I may have eternal life in heaven – this is the source of my joy that I can grasp hold of and look forward to. While I may be happy or even sad today, I have a hope and a joy in knowing that real joy comes when I am called out of this world and into the real joys of heaven with Jesus. If you are having difficulty grasping hold of that eternal joy today, then I encourage you to accept my Lord as your Lord, look to His Word daily for ‘nuggets’ that will encourage, strengthen and grow you in the faith, for there truly is an awesome ‘JOY’ that we can all look forward to! Please contact me, if there is anything that I might pray with you about or be of encouragement to you in your Christian walk.

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

What a joy in serving You, Lord Jesus! When I consider that this world may be harsh to Your children and may take advantage of us and beat up on us with cruel words or actions, yet deep inside we can still rejoice in knowing that we have a Savior who loves us with a perfect love and has therefore made provisions for us, even after we pass on from this world. Thank You for going through each day with me, for keeping Your hand upon me each day, for guiding me through each day with an attitude exampled by You. You know the challenges that I face in doing this life in spite of the temptations and all that Satan may place before me, so You know that I need You more today than I did yesterday and that each day is a new challenge. But praise be to God I can walk through each day with a smile, with Your hand in mine. Praise the eternal name of Jesus!

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: Psalm 66.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 66:18-20 (NLT)

18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

19 But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer.

20 Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

I read through several Psalms this morning and there were so many nuggets that I hardly knew which one to choose, however these particular verses really caught my attention. I believe that we have become such a two-faced people, where we talk to someone, perhaps someone very close to us, and in spite of telling them how sincere we are in what we are saying, yet we withhold our true feelings, or the whole truth of the matter. I believe that this has become so prevalent in our lives that we often go before God in a similar fashion. The difference is that God really knows the whole truth of the matter before we ever go before Him. I could only imagine how He must shake His head sometime, hoping that we would be totally open with Him and share our true feelings and our sincere desires. That we sincerely ask for His forgiveness for the way we may have treated a brother, or a sister, or perhaps the things that we may have thought or said under our breath while they were sharing their heart with us. I believe that we should take David’s words and rearrange the scenario a little. When we feel like God is not hearing us, when we feel like our prayers are hitting a block wall, let’s stop and reexamine ourselves, our motives, our thoughts towards God, our friends or even life itself and be sure that we are being totally honest. When we go before our all-knowing God, the ultimate in holiness, we can only be assured of His attention and answers when we open ourselves up, seek His forgiveness for all those thoughts and/or unworthy feelings, so that we approach Him as an acceptable child of His. Let’s drop the fake and the false pretenses when we approach God, we can’t hide anything from Him. Then as David shared in verse 20, He will not ignore our prayer or withdraw His unfailing love from us.

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Lord God, coming before a holy and righteous, all-knowing God is an awesome experience, for I come before You in full transparency. You know all about my unworthiness and the many failures that unfortunately I allow each day. I am Your child, and I want to be just like You, so I not only seek Your forgiveness this morning, but I also ask for Your strength, guidance and wisdom today to say only those things that are truthful and/or in accordance with Your Word, and I ask that You fill my mind with clean and pure thoughts that would serve to give You praise. I am sincerely praying for Your unfailing love and attentive ear to my prayer and my desires, and I praise You in advance for Your promises. Thank You Jesus for loving even me!

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: Psalm 59.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 59:9-10 (NLT)

9 You are my strength; I wait for you to rescue me, for you, O God, are my fortress.

10 In his unfailing love, my God will stand with me. He will let me look down in triumph on all my enemies.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

David was going through a lot in his life and felt overwhelmed at times with all who he felt were against him and fighting to insure his failure. However we have a great lesson to learn from David, especially in these verses today. When we fell like everyone is against us, when we feel like we have reached the end of our rope, when we feel like there is no hope, let’s remember that there is One who sticks to us closer than a brother; One who loves us so much that He sacrificed His only Son to provide a means by which we may be saved; One who will be with us to the end of times here on this earth; He is my Savior, my Lord, my King. He’s my Fortress and my Strength and His love is unfailing and reaches beyond all earthly conditions that others place on me. Thank God that Jesus is my All in All!

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Thank You Father for being there for me, even when it seems like everyone else may have abandoned me and left me alone. Thank You for loving me when I am unlovable to others. You are my strength and I thank You Lord for being there for me at all times. Please help me to stay close to You, my source of strength and love, each and every day.

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: Psalm 57.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 57:9-11 (NLT)

9 I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations.

10 For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

11 Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

We can learn a great lesson from David, for we see in the Psalms how he gave thanks to God in such awesome ways when he recognized answer to prayer. We are often blessed with answers to our prayers, but how often do we return to God and say ‘Thank You’? Friends, this gives us one more opportunity to witness to our lost friends by acknowledging God as having a major part in those things that occur in our daily lives. I believe that when we acknowledge God’s faithfulness that we show the world how awesome our God is, plus we return thanks to God for what He does and at the same time we show appreciation for what God has done.

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, please help me to be more appreciative for answered prayer. Help me to acknowledge that the master of this universe loved me so much that He not only listened to my petitions, but He stepped in and answered my prayers. Thank You for that love! May I love You enough in return to give You praise and thanks today for Your faithfulness!

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: Psalm 55.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 55:22 (NLT)

22 Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

From my reading of the Psalms it sounds like David must have gone through a lot, and praise God he shared his trials, temptations and rich blessings with us through the Psalms, as we often feel like surely it is only us that go through such bizarre situations and/or trials. I believe that this is one more reason why we, as Christians, must brag on Jesus and His blessings, at every opportunity, therefore encouraging others who may be distraught and who may face similar trials. I am confident that God is in control, and that He takes great care of me every day. Let us therefore cast our cares/concerns upon Him and allow Him to carry those burdens for us, knowing that He will make those burdens light and that He will clear our minds to handle each and every day, without the added burdens of the day(s) before. God is good, and His mercy endures forever!

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

I am so thankful that I have a God who is so good to me. I realize that I am just a sinner saved by grace, and though I once was as sinful as any that God sacrificed His Son for, yet He loved me anyway! What a loving God that David served, and praise be to God, what a loving God that I love and serve today! Lord, may I learn to place my burdens at Your feet on a regular basis and allow You to remove the weight of them from me, so that I may face each day afresh and filled with Your grace and anointing, so that others may see and hear the love of Jesus in everything that I do and say.

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: Psalm 51.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 51:7-12 (NLT)

7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice.

9 Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.

11 Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

David had sinned terribly in what occurred between he and Bathsheba, so he came humbly before God asking for His forgiveness and seeking His guidance and help to overcome the sin in his life. There is a lot to learn in this Old Testament legend’s example, for often we sin and we feel like we are so far removed from God that He would never hear our prayer, or forgive us, or ever draw us close to Himself again. In studying God’s Word, we cannot find anywhere that God said that His loving arms are not open to receive us when we go before Him for forgiveness. Of course, God is not happy in seeing us continue in our sin, or when we continue sinning and coming back to him time after time for forgiveness. He has given us His book of instructions to follow and consequently lead a life exemplifying Him. When we do that, we can then identify with David in what he prayed in verse 12, we can feel like the joy that we first felt when we accepted Jesus as Lord of our lives, has been restored and that a sweet, right spirit is resumed in our relationship with Jesus Christ. There is nothing sweeter friend, than having an honest, open, clean, unadulterated relationship with the Master of this Universe, my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ! Why not place your faith and trust in Him today? He will help you overcome the power of sin in your life.

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Thank You Father for the joy of Your salvation that is evident in my life today! Thank You for forgiving me of my sin, and thank You for continuing to be patient with me as I journey through this life with constant reminders of the power of sin and the evil one. I know that Your love and Your power over sin is far greater than anything that may possibly come to take me off course, so I place my faith and trust in You and You alone again today, asking that You may renew a clean heart within me, and heart like Yours, strong enough to fight off the obvious forces of Satan. Please give me guidance and strength today to live my life exemplifying You in every way. Others that I come into contact with will need to see Jesus today, may they not be disappointed in seeing You in my life!

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

1 Corinthians 15:57-58 (NLT)

57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

This whole chapter is Paul’s efforts to explain the resurrection and new life promised to Christians. In these last two verses we are reminded that Jesus gives us victory over sin and death, through His sacrifice on the cross. We are therefore encouraged to be strong and immovable in our faith, as we know the end of the book, praise be to God! Paul also reminds us that all that we do in Jesus’ name while we are alive, must be done knowing that it is for God’s glory, and that one day He will recognize our efforts. We should do all we can knowing that God sees all things and knows all things and that nothing we do today will be in vain. That’s why I believe that it is so important that we do those things of eternal significance and not just things that are pleasing to man. This means that we must do everything in the manner in which Jesus did things, in love, and without expecting praise from man. To God be the glory for the things He has done, and for the things that I might do in His power and for His glory!

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, thank You for all that You have done to give me salvation and peace of mind. Thank You for the sacrifice You made on Calvary. I pray that I might follow Your example very closely and give of myself without any expectation of praise and/or glory from my fellow people. I pray that all that I do might be of eternal significance and pleasing to You. Please provide the direction that I need to do these things. May You receive honor and glory even today in the things that I might do and say.

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

1 Corinthians 13:1-7 (NLT)

1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.

3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

This ‘Love’ chapter is generally read during wedding ceremonies to help a couple understand how important love is. However, Paul actually relayed this message to the Corinthian church to help them understand that they should love each other, and that when they really do love each other, there will be no room for backbiting, no room for jealousy, no room for envy, no room for malice, no room for speaking evil about each other, for with love toward each other, all of these things will become so irrelevant as love never gives up on anyone, it never loses faith in anyone, it is always hopeful and will always hang in there and stick with you through every circumstance right to the end. Friends, I believe that this reminds us that we must return true Christian love, back in the church. For I believe that when we see a lot of the things mentioned above going on, then obviously we must realize that love is missing. We know that God himself is ‘Love’, and if we are to be like Him, then we too must be the image of ‘Love’.

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, I pray that ‘Love’ will return to Your church today. This means that I want ‘Love’ to return as the primary focus and practice of Your people, for we are the church. As ‘Love’ returns and is practiced and taught by each of us, we will see a diminishing of all the other ungodly actions that we do and the ungodly things that we say, for we will strive to live out verse 7.

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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