God Will Give Us What We Deserve

On 2016-07-16 By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Choices, SurrenderLeave a comment

Saturday, 2016-07-16

Scripture

Bible Reference: Revelation 2:23

Bible Text: Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

I would encourage you to click on the Scripture Reference and read the related verses to the one published. You will realize that there is good and bad that results from such a statement as the one I used as my title for this devotional. It’s the same as every other aspect of life, for when you are called to the principal’s office, or to the boss’s office, you could receive a pat on the back for the fine job you are doing, or you May have been called in to be disciplined for the bad you have done. What then shall we do? Some find it ‘fun’ to continue living in sin, in spite of knowing about the end result. For others, we acknowledge the love of our Father and His awesome goodness to us, so we surrendered all that the world offered for all that God offered through the sacrifice of His precious Son. The change that resulted when Jesus moved in, has caused us to gain the desire to love, live, talk and act like the Savior who took up residence in our lives. Because Jesus showed such love and concern for us, we too should have a strong desire to pray for and encourage our friends who have chosen to accept the mediocre life that this world has to offer them, as it leads to eternal punishment and separation from God. Friends, this should keep us on our knees for our lost ones. Yes, we have good news and bad news in this passage today. On which side of the ‘fence’ are you? This is not based on a lotto as to who will gain this precious life filled with God’s Holy Spirit. You have made your decision. Fortunately, as long as you are alive you still have the option of changing your decision to receive eternal damnation, for a life forgiven by God and alive in Him. May I encourage you to use your good judgment and make decisions today that will guarantee your eternity? Make it count friend, meet my Savior and surrender to Him. This is THE only way to guarantee your eternity in Heaven – according to the Bible. I’m looking forward to seeing each of you there!! Drop me a note using the below email link and let me know that you’re in! Let’s rejoice together today!

Prayer

Father, I know it must hurt You to know that You have sacrificed right down to Your very own Son so that we may have peace on earth and eternity with You, yet some are satisfied to go on living without accepting Your precious gift. Please touch hearts today. I really would like to see all reading this devotional today be sure in their own heart that they have surrendered to You and are living according to Your Word. May it be so, please dear Jesus? For I ask this in Your most 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. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Do You Believe?

On 2015-10-062015-10-06 By Ed AlgreenIn Choices, Eternity, Salvation, Saved, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Living Translation – John 1:10-12): ¹⁰ He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. ¹¹ He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. ¹² But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

THOUGHTS: Some of us tell stories about meeting our spouses, and those stories could sometimes sound somewhat like this passage. We struggled to get along with the person when we first met them, then they gained our confidence and we began trusting them. This followed with actually falling in love with that wonderful person and we wound up marrying them! With God, we tend to look at all the beauty around us; we hear of all the miracles He has performed, and sometimes we hear of the miracles performed in the lives of our loved ones even today. We come across folk who hate Him, yet we come across some who are crazy in love with Him. We just can’t escape knowing that God exist because of all the reasons mentioned but yet something still confuses us about wanting to fully accept Him for who people claim Him to be. Friends, may I tell you bluntly that Satan will do everything possible to distract you from trusting in his opponent, for when you believe in; trust in; and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Satan loses. However, let me draw to your attention the truth of verse 12. The verse speaks to the glory of becoming a child of God, if you believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him as Lord of your life. But let’s really look at this from a perspective of what happens if you do not believe in Him and accept Him. Doesn’t that mean that Satan wins? Doesn’t that mean that you have chosen instead to follow the ways of Satan and agree that you would rather go to the pits of hell with him to be punished eternally? In life, smart folk don’t make those kinds of choices deliberately, friend. Why would you knowingly settle for that? In religious based movies we hear of people facing death by an evil person if they say they are a Christian. Please hear your friend carefully today when I tell you that there is no known punishment that you can think of that will compare to the pain, anguish and punishment that will be for those who stand before the Lord and say that they have chosen the evil one. The Bible tells us this friend. Granted, you would never deliberately surrender to Satan, right? I bring bad news friend, unless you surrender your life to Jesus Christ, you have decided to accept the alternative, and Satan will do with you what comes natural to him – punish you throughout eternity. Only you can change your destiny friend, and God will help you, if you let Him. He loves you that much!

PRAYER: Lord God, this short passage can be a treacherous one to think about today, or we can chose to see it as a bright and glorious opportunity we have in being called Children of God, because we have surrendered our life to You, through Your Son Jesus. May our choice be a wise one today as we meditate on Your Word? Many will quickly say that they never deliberately make bad choices. Please open their eyes of understanding Lord, so that they may realize that anything less than making a choice to accept You as Lord of their lives, is deliberately making a choice to allow Satan to control their lives. We need You oh Lord, for we have family and friends who still don’t understand the impact of the choice they have made up to this point in their lives. Because they have not been promised anything beyond the present time, I sincerely pray that their eyes of faith will be opened and their hearts softened to allow them to surrender to You before it is eternally too late. I ask all this in the name of Jesus, and because I know that You are the only One who can truly have a positive impact on lives, even today. All glory to You oh Lord, my Savior, 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 read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, 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 www.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! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

The Rest of the Story!

On 2015-08-222015-08-22 By Ed AlgreenIn Choices, Eternity, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Revelation 21:3-8): ³ I heard a loud voice shout from the throne: God’s home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. ⁴ He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever. ⁵ Then the one sitting on the throne said: I am making everything new. Write down what I have said. My words are true and can be trusted. ⁶ Everything is finished! I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give water from the life-giving fountain to everyone who is thirsty. ⁷ All who win the victory will be given these blessings. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ⁸ But I will tell you what will happen to cowards and to everyone who is unfaithful or dirty-minded or who murders or is sexually immoral or uses witchcraft or worships idols or tells lies. They will be thrown into that lake of fire and burning sulfur. This is the second death.

THOUGHTS: For those of you who have followed Nuggets for a while will remember that we covered from the creation of the world, to the birth of Jesus, through the miracles and life changing events that occurred during His short life, then through His death/crucifixion and resurrection. All of this happened in perfect timing, and this information has been widely available for years, to show that although we are born into a world of sin and perhaps little hope, we realize when we read the last book of the Bible that all these happenings were for a reason. They brought us hope and a promise, that if we surrender our lives to Jesus – God’s sacrificial gift to man, then we would be included in the family of God referred to in verse 3. The whole plan comes together friends! For those who wisely surrendered their lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ during their lifetime, we can look forward to having God live among us in an atmosphere of peace, comfort and tranquility – no more tears, death, suffering, crying or pain. Everything new! Everything as we know it today will be finished! Fortunately we are also warned about what will happen to those who choose to do life their own way. In verse 8 these folk are given just the opposite treatment. Friends, we know the Bible is true, for it is one of the most widely printed and studied books there is, plus its content has been proven over and over again. In the financial world, if we know of impending doom we try to avoid it by investing much more conservatively. In our physical environments, we try to protect ourselves when we are warned of hurricanes and/or other acts of God. I am very concerned for the millions of people who have chosen to accept the latter conditions mentioned in verse 8. There are choices that our family and friends can make to improve their eternal destiny. Are we praying enough, or encouraging enough, or doing enough to help them make wiser choices today Christians? The end of the story is very exciting for those who have made arrangements to be in the presence of Jesus and His Father! It can be the same for those of you reading this who are not sure of your position/destiny. Please follow the steps in my Footnote to receive help and sure up your position about heaven or hell as your destination, and God vs Satan for your eternal master. I would welcome the opportunity to help!

PRAYER: Thank You Father for providing everything for Your children. It is unfortunate, but we believe that there are still many who have chosen to ignore Your gift of eternal life and settle for the Lake of Fire referenced in our scripture this morning. Many of these are our family, friends and coworkers, and we are very concerned about their sanity in this kind of decision. I realize that Satan is busy at work, distracting his followers from the truth of which I have referenced here today, but I am blessed and assured to know that Christians are following the same Savior today as will lead us on that day referenced in verse 3 above! Oh Lord, please use Your saints to be an influence in the lives of those who do not call You Lord. Please keep us from being stumbling blocks, but to stay firm in our belief and always lift up the name of Jesus in all that we do and say. May lives be impacted for You today, is my humble plea oh Lord. All this I ask in the bountiful name of Jesus, AMEN!

Choices Today Determines Future Destiny

On 2015-02-122015-02-12 By Ed AlgreenIn Choice, Forgiveness, GraceLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (The Contemporary English Version – 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10): Our Lord Jesus will punish anyone who doesn’t know God and won’t obey his message. ⁹ Their punishment will be eternal destruction, and they will be kept far from the presence of our Lord and his glorious strength. ¹⁰ This will happen on that day when the Lord returns to be praised and honored by all who have faith in him and belong to him. This includes you, because you believed….

Thoughts: I believe that the topic given to our study today could actually apply to any choice that we make today, but I want to zone in on the choices we make about whether we accept Jesus as Lord or not. First of all, I will break the easy, but worse news. If you make no choice about your salvation, then you are in the first group that Paul refers to in this scripture today. For Jesus will return for those who have made a conscious, clear and definite personal decision to accept Him as Lord. Unfortunately friend, when you decline the invitation to accept Jesus as Lord, you are openly accepting the call of Satan to be his follower, and this will lead to eternal damnation for you – far from the presence of our Lord Jesus. Not pretty. Very unfortunate. I would hate to see this for anyone that I know, care about or had opportunity to witness to. The only ones not fitting into this category, are those who have made a personal commitment to accept and obey Jesus while alive here on planet earth. These precious folk will represent the welcome party for the return of Jesus, for we will be the ones honoring and praising Jesus for returning to earth to take us home to glory with Him! Oh what singing, oh what shouting, on that happy morning! So I believe that it is evident that our choice about our eternal destiny is actually put in place while we are alive. Any idea how long you will be alive friend? Isn’t it astonishing how many young folk die through accidents or illnesses these days? Isn’t it true that we have no idea how much longer we will live here on this old earth? Doesn’t this leave you with a sense of urgency about securing your ultimate destiny while your life here is a sure thing – a current moment thing? Don’t delay friend, I would love to know that you will be among the praising and rejoicing before our Lord Jesus on the day that only His Father knows the details about!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for yet another reminder about decisions that must be made while there is still life in our bodies – today. This is way too important for procrastination. Way too important, with so many unfortunate repercussions to not care about making such a commitment. Thank You for softening my heart to surrender my life to You some 39 years ago. I am concerned about family and friends that I don’t get to spend near enough time with here on earth. I love them enough that I want to see Your very best for them, and I care enough about them that I would never want to see them face eternal destruction in Hell. May I please ask that You soften their hearts, like You did to mine, and lead them to all Truth, all Grace and Your all-sufficient, sacrificial Love, provoking them to a decision to accept You as Lord today? I would be eternally grateful dear Lord. Please provoke Christians meditating on this devotional today to a deep desire to pray for their loved ones also. We want to see You dear Lord, and we badly want our loved ones to be with us on that all important day. Your grace is enough, oh Lord. So I place my faith and trust in You believing that Your ultimate will might be accomplished today, 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! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Nuggets From God's Word

Category: Choice