Category: Celebrate God

It Will Be Worth It All

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Celebrate God, Christian, Encourage, Faith, God Cares For Us, God Reigns, Hope, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Peace, ProtectorLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE: Exodus 39-40.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Exodus 40:38 (NLT)

38 The cloud of the Lord hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and at night fire glowed inside the cloud so the whole family of Israel could see it. This continued throughout all their journeys.

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

This last verse of Exodus sums up how the people of Israel had maintained their faith in spite of all the challenges they faced during their stint in the wilderness. In fact, the book begins by telling us of their slavery in Egypt, but as we can see from this verse, it ends in glory by telling of God’s presence being evident during the day and the comfort of knowing that His presence was there during the night. During our Christian walk we encounter ups and downs like the Israelites encountered. I know that our challenges have been, and probably will be much different to anything we read in Exodus, and depending on how we look at those challenges, many of us will probably even say that ours were a lot greater than anything the Israelites faced. Friend, if we truly know and trust God then we will agree that we are on the winning side, the victorious team, with a bright future ahead of us, regardless of the circumstances we have come through or find ourselves in the middle of at this time. I love that song, “It Will be Worth It All“, for whatever I may go through here on this earth, it will be worth it all when I see the face of my Jesus, and live forever in His presence singing praises to Him. While here on this earth, I must learn to look beyond my challenges and see what victories will result for Jesus because of my circumstances. It’s all about Him friend of God! My challenges, or even what I may see as my setbacks, are all for His glory. What am I learning from these circumstances and how am I being made stronger because of these, should be my points to ponder, not crying the blues because of what appears to be heartaches and trials to challenge me. Thank You Father for being by my side and holding my hand each and every day!

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

Father, please help me to look at each day as a victory for You. Many days may appear to be normal and filled with challenges that may make me question if You were even there with me, but as a child of God, I know that You love me and that You hold my hand through all of life’s ups and downs. Please help me to not lose sight of Your presence and your promises to hold my hand each and every day. Please help me to be Your obedient servant by placing my hand in Yours each day so that I may stay connected to the power source and the source of encouragement, strength, guidance, protection and love that I need every day. I am on the winning side, and I have You as my Savior, Lord and soon coming King. There is nothing more that I need dear Lord! Thank You!

Obligations from Generation to Generation

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Allegiance to the Lamb, Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Christian, Imitator of Christ, Servants of God, Surrender, Work Til Jesus ComesLeave a comment

Scripture: Exodus 30 – 31.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

7 “Every morning when Aaron maintains the lamps, he must burn fragrant incense on the altar. 8 And each evening when he lights the lamps, he must again burn incense in the Lord’s presence. This must be done from generation to generation. Ex 30:7-8 (NLT)

 

10 “Once a year Aaron must purify the altar by smearing its horns with blood from the offering made to purify the people from their sin. This will be a regular, annual event from generation to generation, for this is the Lord’s most holy altar.” Ex 30:10 (NLT)

 

30 “Anoint Aaron and his sons also, consecrating them to serve me as priests. 31 And say to the people of Israel, ‘This holy anointing oil is reserved for me from generation to generation. 32 It must never be used to anoint anyone else, and you must never make any blend like it for yourselves. It is holy, and you must treat it as holy. Ex 30:30-32 (NLT)

 

13 “Tell the people of Israel: Ex 31:13 (NLT) ‘Be careful to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you from generation to generation. Ex 31:13 (NLT)

 

16 The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath day by observing it from generation to generation. This is a covenant obligation for all time. 17 It is a permanent sign of my covenant with the people of Israel. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed. Ex 31:16-17 (NLT)

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

I was truly amazed and touched by the number of times in these two chapters that God told Moses how important His instructions were at the time, and how important it was that these instructions be carried on from generation to generation. While we hear from a lot of scholars, that claim to know a whole lot more than I do, that we are living under the New Testament, I can’t help but believe that these commands were placed appropriately in God’s Word for even us. Here are some things that I feel God said to me through these verses, and each bullet will represent each of the above sections:

  • It seems to me that God wants us to be a disciplined people. To follow His commands, without looking for excuses or trying to justify ourselves about how different we are today. In a movie I watched Saturday night it showed where the first steps in teaching karate is discipline, and even though the young man saw no reason in taking his jacket off about 1,000 times and doing various disciplined things each time he took it off, he later found that it was all for a good purpose. Likewise, we must believe that God has excellent reasoning in mind when He demands that we follow his commands. In this particular instance, we are to make His meeting place very special and give of our very best in respect to the presence of the universe.
  • At least once a year purify the temple and God’s people – I saw where this was done recently at revival services in a neighboring county and God worked in miraculous ways. There is nothing ‘ordinary’, or ‘traditional’ about coming into the presence of the Almighty. It is for a prepared people in a prepared place.
  • Anoint the leaders and helpers of the church – wow, if this was done at least annually, what an impact and encouragement this would have on our workers! To know that we have the prayers and support of the people we serve would be overwhelming encouragement and blessing.
  • Our Sabbath day has become anything but ‘holy’, and where is it getting us? I believe that we each can tell from the local, national and international news how chaotic life has gotten and how out of control crime and unrest has become. I see the opposite of this being a peaceful, loving, serving, giving, servant-led people, and only through God’s grace and us calling on Him daily, and finding ourselves in the right place at the right time, will we ever see such achievement.
  • God not only gave his commands, He went on to explain why He gave them. The Sabbath, a day to stop and reflect on the holiness of our Father, and to refresh ourselves. Two things so very critical in our lives and so badly needed to help our state of mind, and our relationship with our heavenly Father.

So with the above explanations, I believe that I can see where much of this is still very applicable to us today. Additionally, I believe that God’s Word is still true and deserves my undivided attention, not just certain parts of it. Praise be to God for His Holy Word!

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

Father I thank You for providing Your Word as a lamp unto my feet. A Guide for me, and commands to direct my path each and every day. You know that my heart’s desire is to be more like You every day, and I thank You for providing me the insight and Guide book to do just that. Please give me the boldness and wisdom to follow these steps even in the sinful, evil world in which I live. May I always be a true example of You each and every day.

What an Awesome God We Serve

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Christian, Faith, Follow Jesus, God Reigns, Love God, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Pleasing to God, Reflecting Christ, Surrender, WorshipLeave a comment

Scripture: Exodus 23-24.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

25 “You must serve only the Lord your God. If you do, I will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness.” Ex 23:25 (NLT)

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

In the chapters around this verse God had been dealing with the Israelites in their exile to the Promised Land. In all that God was doing for them, and in all the miracles He performed in helping them reach the point where they were at, yet He had to warn them about their temptation to worship other gods. Unfortunately I don’t see any difference in our walk today and in the way that God must deal in our lives. We read from God’s Word how awesome He is in all that He did for our ancestors; we celebrate almost daily over the way that God answers prayer and walks with us each day, yet we have such difficulty in giving Him our total commitment and undivided attention and worship. We may say that we worship no other gods. Friend, if you agree with my statement that we don’t give our undivided attention and worship to God, then we must ask ourselves where does the divided part of our attention and worship go? I would dare say that we are distracted by our other ‘gods’, such as work, worldly entertainment, etc. Oh how I realized, and was reminded how awesome my God is and how He alone deserves my praise, my obedience and my total dedication.

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

Lord, please so fill my heart with You that I will not have time to be distracted by other gods. Please allow me to display Your love in all that I say and do so that others will know that You live fulltime in my heart and rule my life in every way. May You always be prominent in my life.

In Preparation for Worship

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Humility, Love God, Love your Neighbor, Pleasing to God, Praise, Purity, Righteousness, WorshipLeave a comment

Scripture: Exodus 19.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

10 Then the Lord told Moses, “Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing. 11 Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch. Ex 19:10-11 (NLT)

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

I wonder what our charge would be today if God was to send instructions for us to properly prepare ourselves for worship? It seems like some of us go to corporate worship with sour attitudes, some with the weight of the world on our minds, some with hatred in our hearts, some with pride in our hearts about how good we are or how much better we are than many around us, some with deliberate sin towards a brother/sister in our hearts and many with no respect for the royalty whom we are about to worship. I’m ashamed of how God must look down in disgust at us and become so distraught over our unthankful hearts for all that He did for us on Calvary and all that He does in love for us each and every day. We have no room to feel in our hearts and act in the ways I just described. We may often look at the Israelites in disgust over how they acted, but the truth is that we are probably worse than them in many ways today. We may sing the words, we may raise our hands, we may clap to the beat of the music and we may even give the occasional ‘Amen’ in response to what the preacher is sharing with us, but let’s remember that God knows our heart and our inmost feelings. He is looking for a humble, forgiving, dedicated heart to bless and in turn, use for His glory. Friends, let us spend time readying ourselves for worship. Let us give the deserved respect to our Master, our Lord, our Savior and our soon coming King. He knows our heart, we can’t fool Him. Let’s clean up our act and be ready to truly worship in His presence when we think about going to corporate worship. We must be pure, even as He is pure and holy.

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

Father, I am guilty of doing the traditional thing of going to church at the appropriate time; singing the hymn/songs when announced; listening to Your Word preached and in my mind thinking of all the people that it applies to. The bottom line is that You are speaking to me. It is I that Your Word applies to. It is I that You long to speak with and sanctify so that I may be the ambassador for You to others that I come in contact with. Please help me to keep the fingers pointed at self, and allow You to do the finger pointing at anyone else that also needs a touch from You. Please help me to seek Your face daily, so that I may come boldly and uprightly before You in worship. You deserve my undivided attention and respect as I come before You. Please consecrate me, wash me clean and set my mind on You so that I may truly worship You.

Our Loving, Compassionate Lord

On By Ed AlgreenIn Ask and Receive, Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Christian, Faith, God Cares For Us, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Thank You JesusLeave a comment

Scripture: Matthew 20.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

32 When Jesus heard them, he stopped and called, “What do you want me to do for you?” Matt 20:32 (NLT)

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

Two things were brought to my attention today from this chapter, all culminating in this short verse:

  1. I believe that Jesus holds His hand out to us daily and asks “What is it that you want me to do for you, dear child?” This is what He asked of the blind men who cried out to Him, so I have no reason to believe that He would not do the same thing for us when we cry out to Him for mercy, or whatever the needs are in our lives that bear so heavy on our hearts;
  2. Although I know how much Jesus cares for us, yet I was touched by this story today. Here it is Jesus is on a journey with His disciples and a crowd of people thronged all around Him. Yet these two men caught His attention more than all the crowd of people around Him. He was not too busy, or caught up in the moment with all His followers to stop everything, and go over to attend to the needs of these two men. Praise God that we serve a loving Savior with such qualities. No doubt there are millions that call on Him everyday, but I am once again reminded of the compassion He has for each of us that call on His name. He loves each of us individually, and will find time to stop, listen and respond in accordance with His will for our lives.

Praise be to God that we serve such a loving, caring and compassionate Savior!

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

Thank You Father for hearing my cry. Thank You for loving me enough to stop what You are doing and listen to my need. Thank You for responding in ways that only You can, because You know that I may ask unwisely. Thank You for protecting me by answering according to Your holy will for my life, and not always “yes” to my selfish and silly requests, that could ultimately harm me. Thank You for caring enough to stop, listen to me and answer with what You know I need, in order to bring ultimate satisfaction to me and full benefit to Your kingdom. You are my God, and I adore You!

How Others Will Know that God is Greater

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Encourage, Faith, Imitator of Christ, Motivate, Praise, Reaching the Lost, Reflecting Christ, Righteousness, Testify, Thank You Jesus, Victorious LifeLeave a comment

Scripture: Exodus 18.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

10 “Praise the Lord,” Jethro said, “for he has rescued you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh. Yes, he has rescued Israel from the powerful hand of Egypt! 11 I know now that the Lord is greater than all other gods, because he rescued his people from the oppression of the proud Egyptians.” Ex 18:10-11 (NLT)

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

Jethro who was a man of God, went into the wilderness to check on his son-in-law Moses. Their greeting could have easily taken on the form of many of our meetings today where we catch-up on gossip, but instead Moses was bubbling over with all the many ways that God had been so good to him and the people of Israel since they began their journey to the promised land. I was totally awakened by the response of Jethro in verse 11: I know now that the Lord is greater than all gods. As followers of Christ we witness so many blessings in our lives and in the lives of those around us, so who are we to grumble and complain about this little ache, or that little negativity we heard someone may have said about us? Child of God, we have been placed in positions of encouragers, evangelists, teachers and imitators of Christ! Do others see these qualities in us? Do they walk away from our presence encouraged and blessed, or do they see the same old thing they see in non-Christians – the backbiting, the gossiping, the whining and complaining? We won’t win them to the Lord like that. They won’t leave our presence any more convinced that we serve a mighty, all knowing, ever loving God, than when they first visited with us. Based on the praise report that Jethro received from Moses, he was convinced more than ever that the God that he and Moses served was truly God Almighty, greater than any other god.

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

Lord may I be reminded of this today, especially when I’m tempted to whine and complain. May others be encouraged by me and know that I serve the God of this universe and how awesome You are in all that You do for me. May they want to know the precious God that I serve. May I always represent You well. May others see Your character in all that I do and say.

Please Don’t Complain About God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Ask and Receive, Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Christian, God Cares For Us, God our Provider, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Praise, Thank You Jesus, Victorious Life, WorshipLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE: Exodus 16.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “By evening you will realize it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 7 In the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaints, which are against him, not against us. What have we done that you should complain about us?” Ex 16:6-7 (NLT)

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

So often we whine about each other, about the weather, about our jobs, about our finances, about the food or meals available to us, or even our own family at times. In fact, you name it and we probably complain about it at one time or another. When we come down off these tangents, we should stop and think about how we have been blessed by God to have each of these things in the first place. As we think about the ways that God has blessed us with great friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, people who care about us and love us, about the wonderful weather that we enjoy – especially compared to many other areas of the country and/or world that we read about, and we may be fortunate enough to have a job whereas many do not, we may be fortunate enough to have money to buy the necessities of life whereas many do not. Friends, I believe that, like me, you can understand what I garnered from this passage, I am, and no doubt many of you reading this are, indeed people blessed by God in many ways. So when we whine, what are we really doing? Unfortunately, and shamefully so, we are whining and complaining about how God has really messed up. Has He really? I hope that we will quickly realize that we are to be a thankful people, thankful in all things that God showers on us, His children that He loves so much that He gave up everything for. Let’s stop the belly-aching and instead be in a mode of constant praise, worship and thanksgiving to our loving God, and our provider of all good things.

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

Father I am so ashamed for whining when really I have no reason to. Thank You for providing, thank You for blessing me in so many ways each and every day. I am truly blessed, and I am truly thankful for all that I have and all that You provide for me. Please help me to never whine or complain, and remind me when I do that it is against You.

Then We Will Know He is God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Christian, Faith, Follow Jesus, God our Helper, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Pleasing to God, Victorious LifeLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE: Exodus 5 and 6.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

7 I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt. Ex 6:7 (NLT)

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

So often we set out to follow God’s will and obey His every command, then we start listening to self or others and wonder, are we really following God’s will? Things got worse at the camp that Moses was in charge of, when he followed God’s commands and spoke to Pharaoh. However, in this verse God told Moses that He really was in charge of this release and that soon he and his people would be able to look back and acknowledge Him as the God who released them from their oppression. I would imagine that it must get pretty upsetting to God when He sees us being so impatient and so untrusting when we try to follow His orders. Moses had great faith, yet he questioned God when he saw things getting worse instead of better. However, the thing that we have to our advantage is that we can read from the Word that God came through on His promises and did everything He had promised, plus some. My God loves me too much to promise me something then back off on His promise. However, I must learn that His ways are not my ways, and he will accomplish His work in ways that I may not understand. My job is to be the obedient servant and do what He says, and then I will know that His is God.

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

Thanks be to God for being loving and patient enough to accomplish His work through me. God You are awesome, and as proven throughout the parts of Your word, You are all powerful and could accomplish Your work through those that may seem most unlikely by us. Thank You for seeing the best in the worst of us and thank You for assuring us that those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, they will see You accomplish the work You have promised, no matter how impossible it may seem to us. Then as this verse says, we will know that You are the Lord our God who accomplished the work. Please help me to be faithful to Your instructions, especially when You choose to use me to accomplish a work in me, or through me to others.

Recognizing God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Allegiance to the Lamb, Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Christian, Discerning, Faith, Faith, Follow Jesus, God Cares For Us, God our Helper, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Righteousness, Thank You JesusLeave a comment

Scripture: Genesis 40-41; Matthew 12

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

22 Then a demon-possessed man, who was blind and couldn’t speak, was brought to Jesus. He healed the man so that he could both speak and see.23 The crowd was amazed and asked, “Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?” Matt 12:22-23 (NLT)

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

Sometimes we read these familiar stories in God’s Word and God will just speak to us afresh through something contained in that passage. In this story Jesus had performed several miracles, and finally the crowd stepped back in wonderment and questioned among themselves ‘Could this possibly be the Messiah?”. In the world we live in today God is still very active, and although we tend to really hone in on the negative, there are times that our spiritual minds are awakened and we say to ourselves “that must be a Jesus thing”. That certain thing could only have occurred if Jesus made it happen. Friends, I believe that we must be praying with such expectation that we will notice every little act of God and response to our prayers by God. He is very much alive today and active in our lives. It is time for Christians to wake up and give Him credit for all that He does. It is in this type of act that we help to make believers out of those that doubt and question. They must see our faith, if we ever expect to be a Christian influence on them! We serve a mighty God, but don’t wait for the ‘big’ miracles to occur, recognize and praise Him daily for all that He does in your life. Good health – especially when we see so many in hospitals or at home sick; safety – especially when we pass a wreck on the road where some innocent person got hurt or even killed; answer to prayer – especially when we see so many that doubt or questions the work of God, or try to give credit to chance or horoscopes or palm readers. Friends we serve, and we should recognize the mighty God of all, the King of all kings, the creator of our universe – including mankind. Do we have reason to doubt? I believe that we actually have more reasons not to doubt the mighty works of God in our world today.

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

Praise be to God for accepting me as a humble child in great need of a Savior. Praise be to God for all the miracles performed in my life, in the life of our church and in the lives of my family and friends. May I be very alert to Your mighty hand at work in my life and all around me. May others see Jesus reflected in my life and in their own lives, so that together we can truly be a thankful people praising You for all Your mighty works and wondrous love. Thank You Jesus for caring so much for me. Please continue to work on me and mold me into something that  You can use to accomplish Your work. May I recognize Your mighty works each and every day!

Think about your ‘Marker’

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Allegiance to the Lamb, Ask and Receive, Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Celebrate God, Christian, Disciple, Evangelism, Faith, Faith, Follow Jesus, God Cares For Us, God our Helper, God our Provider, God’s Word, Hope, Humility, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Reaching the Lost, Reflecting Christ, Righteousness, Share God’s Word, Surrender, TeamworkLeave a comment

Scripture: Genesis 33-35 

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

14 Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil.15 And Jacob named the place Bethel (which means “house of God”), because God had spoken to him there.   Gen 35:14-15 (NLT)

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

Jacob went to Bethel because he was reminded of how God revealed Himself to him there when he originally escaped from his brother Esau over 20 years earlier. While there the second time, God gave Jacob a new name, Israel, gave him renewed strength to repopulate the land, and gave him much of the land that He (God) had once given to Abraham and Isaac. I got the impression that God was giving Jacob/Israel a new beginning, and telling him “Now go and get busy for me”. We just celebrated the beginning of a New Year. It started much like the old year ended, without much ado. It sure would have been nice to, and probably is not too late to, recommit ourselves to God as His children looking to restart our respective ministries and seek God’s direction for what He would have us do this year with all that He has blessed us with. I believe that if each of us reflect on the blessings that God has showered on us over the past year, then plant a marker to remind us of those blessings, then in all earnest seek to be involved in God’s direction for more successes in 2011, our churches would not be able to contain the overflow of His blessings. I feel like we need to set aside our personal agendas and ‘business as usual’ attitudes, and be willing to let God work mightily through us. We know the awesome spiritual needs of our community, and we believe that we know the God who holds all the answers to all of life’s problems and shortcomings. This is the same God that we, as Christians, have accepted as our King. Let’s let go of our selfish desires and let God perform miracles in and through us, so that His work can be accomplished in our community.   

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

Praise be to God for His mighty hand and for all that He does for me each and every day. In being reminded of how You worked in the past dear God, I pray that You will again work in and through me and my church, and the churches of my community. There is no reason for us to have lost people in this community, or sinful acts a part of our neighborhood, for You are more powerful than anything or anyone else that we know. You are bigger than all these problems and challenges that we see, and You hold the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. I pray that You will find me faithful. I pray that You will find all those that worship You each week around Avon Park, Florida, willing and ready to bow before You, recognize Your Lordship and Your Kingship and that we will get off our personal thrones and allow You to be God, while we, as Your humble servants, stand ready to let You use us to do greater things for the Kingdom than we ever thought possible. May this be a year that we will look on as a ‘marker’ that future generations will come back to spiritually when they want to be reminded of Your power and move on a people and a community. Begin a renewed work in me, dear Lord, is my humble prayer.