Telling The World About Jesus

On 2016-12-19 By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Obedience, SurrenderLeave a comment

Monday, 2016-12-13

Scripture

Bible Reference: John 1:6-9

Bible Text: 6 There was a man named John, who was sent by God. 7 He came to tell people about the light. Through him all people could hear about the light and believe. 8 John was not the light. But he came to tell people about the light. 9 The true light was coming into the world. This is the true light that gives light to all people.

Bible Translation: New Century Version (NCV)

My Take

Not only was Jesus born through miraculous means, but God also miraculously created a forerunner to tell the world about the Savior that was to come, and his name was John. I believe that God also created others to share the responsibility in John’s absence. If you haven’t guessed already, I believe those partners of John are you and I. No, I didn’t make an error in what I said. I didn’t mean the pastors and preachers and evangelists. I really meant those of us that are saved, filled with the Holy Spirit and prepared spiritually to share the love story about Jesus with those that He loves and that we should care about. There are many stories about John and the extremes he went to in accomplishing his responsibility. I wonder if others who know us, know that we are recipients of the most precious gift of all. I wonder if they know and recognize that because of God’s promise of eternal life, that we are making every effort to convince our family and friends of their need for this Savior of ours! Friends, John was the forerunner of Jesus, and we are the forerunner of His return. The dark world that we live in today is so full of sin and evil in so many ways, that there appears to be no ‘light’ at the end of our ‘dark tunnel’. My desire is to see the light of Jesus blot out the darkness and get the attention of our friends that are so enveloped in darkness, so that they may surrender to the lordship of Jesus, the ultimate Light of the world! But how will they know if we don’t tell them? Like John, we have a responsibility to tell about the Light of the word, Jesus!

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for using a humble servant of yours to show me the Light of the world! Thank You for being my Savior and my Lord, especially in this dark world in which I live. I am convinced from our scripture today that we are to be partners with John and humble servants of Yours, and to share that Light with all those that we come into contact with. Lord, may your Light shine through my readers and I so that the world may know and believe. I ask these things knowing that there are many that each of us know personally who need You, the Light of the world! 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!

Reverence Filled The Air

On 2016-12-15 By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Reverence1 Comment

Thursday, 2016-12-15

Scripture

Bible Reference: Luke 1:62-65

Bible Text: ⁶²They turned to Zacharias and asked him what he wanted the baby’s name to be. ⁶³He motioned for a tablet, and he wrote, “His name is John.” Everyone was shocked by this breach of family custom. ⁶⁴They were even more surprised when, at that moment, Zacharias was able to talk again, and he shouted out praises to God. ⁶⁵A sense of reverence spread through the whole community. In fact, this story was spread throughout the hilly countryside of Judea.

Bible Translation: The Voice Translation (Voice)

My Take

For those who are not familiar with the context of this story, I will add that Zechariah and Elizabeth had gone childless most of their lives, but not without praying intimately to God for a child. Finally, one day (when the time was right with God) while working in the temple, God told Zechariah about the great answer to his prayers, as his wife would bear a child. Like most other seniors, this made Zechariah seriously question God on how could this possibly happen to such an old lady. Because of his questioning, God made him speechless until the child was born. In spite of all this, Zechariah never lost hope or his faith in the Almighty, because soon enough he would see that his wife was indeed pregnant. As I meditated on these verses today, I tried to imagine how this may have gone down in today’s world, for we seldom have temple workers, other than, perhaps, the janitors. However, God is not constrained to just appearing to someone at their church building, so I believe that God would meet the individual in a place where He knows that He would be most effective in getting His point across to them. So skip forward to the story in today’s scripture and let’s imagine how this might happen in today’s world. I believe that because of Elizabeth’s age, her very close friends would probably still keep a very close eye on her, even though in today’s society we seem much too busy with our own affairs to be bothered with, or care about the happenings at our neighbor’s home. But let’s assume that a few friends and the mother’s pastor went along to the hospital to encourage Elizabeth, and to comfort poor Zechariah during the time that his wife were in the capable hands of the doctors and nurses. After seeing this birth come to fruition, can you imagine these loved ones walking away in jaw-dropping awe over this old lady having her first baby? Now fast forward to eight days later when these friends came along after the circumcision for the naming of the baby. I’m sure that it would go without saying that the baby boy would be named after his old dad, however, like everything else in this story up to this time, the naming is also way out there, and quite unexpected. Witnessing the return of Zechariah’s speech, and considering all the surrounding miracles in John the Baptist’s birth, in our world today there may be enough to stir up a sense of revival in the lives of those near to the family, and it may have stirred them to give a testimony or two at their local churches, but do you think that it would have made the local papers or television news? Probably not, because it would be sure to promote the holiness and power of God. But what does it do to you and I, Christians? We’ve read the story and heard sermons that include this story year after year, but does it fill our heard with the awe-inspiring power of God, and the encouragement to spread the good news about our Father, that He is the same today, as He was yesterday and in the actions involving the story of Elizabeth, Zechariah and John the Baptist? I’m sure that unbelievers can’t wrap their minds around this type of event, but for Christians, we should feel goosebumps every time we are reminded of the power of our awesome God! That’s my God, friends! Do you know Him? If not, would you like a personal introduction? If you are one who likes to DIY, please refer to my Footnote and see from God’s Word how important this step of faith is to your eternity.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, You did it before, and I believe that You can do it again, today and every day – praise the wonderful name of Jesus! Please work in the lives of Christians, beginning with me, and miraculously work in the lives of unbelievers, to draw us to the foot of the cross and witness the love, peace, power and miracles of our awesome God. Lord, I am convinced that as we experience this in our lives, we will be more apt to share with others our experience, and the source of our experience, because of Your power and Your grace. There is so much to consider in the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, but Lord You may very well be working out Your precious plan in the lives of those of us who are dedicated and obedient to Your call today also. May we stay the course, and keep trusting in You, while You work out Your plan for our future. Others will be touched along the way and come to know You as Lord and Savior, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, AMEN!

Footnote

Reasons Why Jesus Came

On 2016-12-14 By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Faith, Humility, Righteousness, Salvation, SurrenderLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2016-12-14

Scripture

Bible Reference: Luke 1:49-54

Bible Text: ⁴⁹…His name is holy; ⁵⁰from one generation to another he shows mercy to those who honor him. ⁵¹He has stretched out his mighty arm and scattered the proud with all their plans. ⁵²He has brought down mighty kings from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly. ⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away with empty hands. ⁵⁴He has kept the promise he made to our ancestors ….

Bible Translation: Good News Translation (GNT)

My Take

Beginning in verse 46, Mary’s heart is so full of the miracle of God, that she breaks into song. In fact a song that has been known over the years as ‘The Magnificat’ and song by many popular singers around the word every Christmas season. However, what really hit me as I meditated on these verses, is that after Mary had gotten over the humble admiration of being chosen to bear the child – the Son of God; the King of all kings; and the Lord of all lords; she then expanded her praise into other areas where she saw so many other things being fulfilled. In fact, she even showed proof of her ancestral teachings about the Lord God, because some words of her song almost identically quote the words from the mother of Samuel (Hannah), when she rejoiced over her miraculous pregnancy and the state of her people at that time – refer to 1 Samuel 2:4-8. Friends, I sincerely believe that the miraculous birth of our Lord and Savior was not only miraculous to Mary, and reminded her of the hope for her and her people, but because we know the rest of the story in His Book, the Bible, then we also are reminded of the comfort, and the hope we have in knowing that the same babe of which Mary rejoiced before her God. This is the same Jesus who loved us enough to go to the cross of Calvary in order to accomplish His Father’s plan for our salvation! This is the same Jesus that loves us enough to save us – wretched sinners we are, who deserve the depths of Hell; He continues to look out for our good – just as Mary recognized that He would do for her people; and He has an even bigger plan for all eternity, for we have heaven to look forward to – a place where there is no division, or hatred, or envy, but instead a place of peace and solitude where we will worship Father, Son and Holy Spirit for ever and ever, amen! Mary reassured herself in verse 54 that God kept His promise to her ancestors, and friend I am here as His messenger to assure you that He has a plan for our eternity, and there is no doubt as to whether He will keep His promise. The important thing for each of us right now, is that while we are alive – and we all know how delicate that can be, but we are allowed to make our own choice about our destiny. I’ve just described the choice that I made, for I have been promised the joys of heaven. If you have not made that same choice already, then I would encourage you to invite Jesus into your life without further delay. Heaven is there for those who have accepted Jesus as Lord. The alternative is Hell, and without any attempt to bribe or frighten you friend, I want you to know that it’s a place controlled by Satan and his evil cohorts, and I would never wish that on anyone. Please don’t deliberately accept the default because you have not accepted the key to Heaven. Jesus is that key to heaven friend. Please read my Footnote and assure yourself of your eternal destiny. This is super important.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, just as Mary rejoiced in the Son of God that she brought into this world, knowing that He would serve a much greater cause, I commit myself to You all over again. Thank You for accepting me as Your very own child many years ago, please keep me alert to Your ongoing love and purpose for my life so that I may be a living witness to those that I come into contact with. For those who will read this devotional today, please may they find joy and hope this Christmas season in the One for whom Christmas was created to celebrate. As each one reflects on this day and the decision made about their eternal destiny, I pray that they will rejoice in having chosen Jesus as their Lord – the only One who could rescue them from the destination of Hell. You alone are worthy of our praise oh Lord, and we worship You for having made the ultimate sacrifice for our sin. Thank You for coming to this world as a child, and thank you for dying so that we may live eternally with You and the Father! AMEN!

Footnote

To Be Entrusted with God’s Most Precious Gift!

On 2016-12-13 By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Humility, Righteousness, TrustLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2016-12-13

Scripture

Bible Reference: Luke 1:45

Bible Text: ⁴⁵You believed that God would do what he said; that is why he has given you this wonderful blessing.”

Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take

We might feel honored if we were asked to dine with the leader of our respective countries. We might feel even more honored if we were asked to work alongside of them – for the benefit of our country. We know very little about Mary prior to her being asked to carry the Son of God, but we are told that she was still a young lady who, although engaged to be married to Joseph, she had not yet had relations with a man. Let’s consider that as we think about our scenario friends. We walk into our churches for worship, and we walk in all the same way. The way we leave depends on us. Some attend because of habit or tradition, and I believe that often they leave feeling accomplished, because they have fulfilled the one obligation they feel like they owe to God for that week. Others attend because they are searching for more from God. They’ve come to a place where they realize that they need God in order to survive the evil and frustrations of this world, and they know that they need a Savior in order to one day be with Him in glory. So they try to connect with God through the songs, and they take out their Bibles so they could look at the scripture during the sermon delivery. I don’t feel like that’s because they want to make sure the preacher speaks truth from the Word of God, but rather, to look around the context and see what else God might be saying to them individually. Some of these folk, and I believe you know where you are placed in these descriptions I just gave, will leave church fulfilled, because they are satisfied that they have been in God’s presence and therefore they have renewed hope that God will continue to be with them each day that follows. I honestly believe that God knows the very depths of our heart and the sincerity of our innermost person. I have no idea where Mary would have fit into the scenarios I have just expressed, but God knew that He could trust her with the most precious gift that He had in store for all mankind – His very own Son – the Savior of this world. In all honesty to yourself and before our most holy and righteous God, where do you stand, friend? Just a passerby, or are you interested in being a part of the ministry of Jesus Christ? God may not have another son to give you dear sister, but for all of us, God has many other gifts that He would like to shower upon us, so that we might use those gifts to be a blessing to a child of His who needs to know His Son personally. Do you feel like you are in a position where God can entrust you with His most precious gifts, so that He might be glorified through you?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, although we know very little about Mary before you entrusted her with Your Son, I believe You knew all about her from the inside out. I also believe that You know us to the same extent. For some that brings joy, because we realize that our efforts to live a life dedicated to You is not going unnoticed by You. To others, this might bring shame and a feeling of disgrace, as they know that they are revolting in the face of a holy and righteous God. Lord, each of us are accountable to You for our every thought, action, deed and word. I pray that we will live our lives in such a way that You will grace us with Your presence and surround us with Your amazing love, so that our lives would be usable by You in many miraculous ways. Have Your will and way in our lives today dear Lord, I pray, AMEN!

Footnote

A Willing Servant

On 2016-12-12 By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Humility, Obedience, Righteousness, SurrenderLeave a comment

Monday, 2016-12-12

Scripture

Bible Reference: Luke 1:34-38

Bible Text: ³⁴Mary asked the angel, “But how can I have a baby? I am a virgin.”

³⁵The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of God shall overshadow you; so the baby born to you will be utterly holy—the Son of God. ³⁶Furthermore, six months ago your Aunt Elizabeth—‘the barren one,’ they called her—became pregnant in her old age! ³⁷For every promise from God shall surely come true.”

³⁸Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to do whatever he wants. May everything you said come true.” And then the angel disappeared.

Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take

I believe that in a normal church setting, there may be several interpretations of the subject: ‘A Willing Servant’. But before we look closer to how these words were used by Mary, let look at the whole scenario. In today’s society, can you imagine how a pastor or elder(s) might react if a mom or dad stood in a regular church meeting and publicly declared that their innocent 16 year old daughter is pregnant, and she claims that God spoke to her about carrying some special embryo to term? Now imagine if they carried it further by trying to convince fellow attendees that this is a very special occasion for their daughter, because she never had relations with a man, but she did have a visit with an angel! “OK, next” we might say, “so, who can beat that story!” Now with that as a backdrop, let’s look closely at how Mary handled a very similar experience, and what some might be saying about that story. For Mary was approached by an angel – sounding wild yet? Mary was also told that she was highly favored – ok, so let me guess the young man was about 5’8″ and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, right? No, the Holy Spirit will come upon her and she would become pregnant – now this is sounding like one of those highly fictional stories that some folk really get a kick out of reading! Wait there’s more, her auntie who is very old and been barren all of her life, will also become pregnant – by now, most would have totally closed minds about this whole story, because they would jump to the conclusion that someone has gone beyond any sense of reality. But friends, I want us to stop this Christmas and understand that everything about the coming of Jesus is the miraculous work of our Father. It was foretold through the prophets, and it all comes with a very special bonus, because through the eventual shedding of His blood – (Jesus, that same infant that we celebrate at Christmas), we can have eternal life in heaven with He and His Father (God)! However, back to Mary. May I suggest that Mary must have already had some great principles about herself and knew God intimately already? For instead of rejection, and being obstinate in trying to protect against anything that could possible damage her relationship with her fiancé, Joseph, she simply responded in verse 38 that as a servant of the Most High, and she humbly accepted the challenge, and was prepared to do whatever God said. I wonder how many, so called, ‘servants of God’ would be prepared to repeat that type of commitment by Mary the next time we ask God to bless us in our ministries? That may mean us laying bare before God and telling Him that we are His willing servant, and that we would be willing to do whatever He dictates, so that we might be the teacher, or preacher, or deacon or elder, or pastor, or children’s worker, that He wants us to be. Friend, unless you are totally sold out to God, that word ‘whatever‘ could very easily cause you way more than you would ever bargain for, so use that word only if you truly mean it!

Prayer

Lord, You know us better than we know ourselves, and You know which of us carry that title ‘Christian’ out of sincerity in our relationship with You, and which of us do it out of convenience, popularity, or even public image. You created us Lord, and You know us intimately. May I humbly ask that You gently nudge the hearts of those that have not accepted Your call on their lives at all, and on those who may just be pretending and therefore fooling themselves and their family? Father, I believe that our time here on this earth, and especially our usefulness here on this earth, is drawing to a close. This precious young lady (Mary) has shown us the importance of being ready to accept Your call on our life. This may vary drastically, because there are folk of all walks of life that need to be reached for the Kingdom. You are God, and only You can direct us into the ways of God and to the people that need You in some way today. As exampled by Mary, may I be the first to say that I am Your humble servant and ask that Your mighty will be done in my life so that I might honestly and faithfully commit to all that You would have me do. Please also speak to the hearts of my readers who are willing to make such a commitment today. AMEN!

Footnote

God is With Us – Trust Him This Christmas

On 2016-12-10 By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christmas, Faith, LoveLeave a comment

Saturday, 2016-12-10

Scripture

Bible Reference: Isaiah 7:9-16

Bible Text: ⁹Samaria is the capital of Ephraim alone, and King Pekah’s power will not increase. You don’t believe me? If you want me to protect you, you must learn to believe what I say.” ¹⁰Not long after this, the Lord sent this further message to King Ahaz: ¹¹“Ask me for a sign, Ahaz, to prove that I will indeed crush your enemies as I have said. Ask anything you like, in heaven or on earth.” ¹²But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I’ll not bother the Lord with anything like that.” ¹³Then Isaiah said: O House of David, you aren’t satisfied to exhaust my patience; you exhaust the Lord’s as well! ¹⁴All right then, the Lord himself will choose the sign—a child shall be born to a virgin! And she shall call him Immanuel (meaning, “God is with us”). ^15-16By the time this child is weaned and knows right from wrong, the two kings you fear so much—the kings of Israel and Syria – will both be dead.

Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take

Verse 14 is a verse that we hear used a lot around Christmas time in Christian circles, but as represented in other recent devotionals, I believe it is so important for us individually to take time and read the whole context from which these popular verses are found. Today’s scripture is a wonderful example. Like us, King Ahaz thought that some things were just too trivial to bother God with, even though it was God Himself who told Ahaz to test Him. I love what the Lord said to Ahaz in the latter part of verse 9, and I know that it very much applies to me and very possibly also applies to you. In my own words, and based on my understanding, I believe that God said to Ahaz, and is saying to us: How do you expect me to protect you, or, how do you expect me to heal you or bless you, if you don’t learn to believe in, and trust me? Friends, there is so much truth in those powerful words by the Master! Will our child ever trust us to catch them jumping from a high wall if they have not learned to trust us? I don’t think so! In my hyperlink to todays scripture, I included the whole chapter, because I want you to take time to read and understand that God had given Ahaz comfort in knowing that He would take care of the opposing leaders, and He even wanted to give him a timeline that it would occur. However, God knew that Ahaz doubted what he was told, so He told Ahaz to test Him just to gain trust in knowing that He is true to His word. The timing of this event then allowed God to elaborate on the miraculous birth of His Son, Jesus. Friends, once again we are assured that our Father has a plan for His children, just like He had for Ahaz. However, we must know Him so well that we are willing to trust Him and believe what He says to us through His Word; through visions; and through His mighty warriors who deliver His messages to us each week. Wouldn’t it be ‘MERRY’, if this Christmas this concept might ‘click’ in our minds and cause us to totally place our faith and our trust in our Savior? We can’t expect God to bless us and protect us if we don’t trust Him or believe fully in Him!

Prayer

Your Word never ceases to amaze me Oh God! To read the context from which we have traditionally heard parts of the Christmas story, and still find new truths that really speak to our hearts, we can only say ‘Wow’ what a Savior! What an awesome God! Lord Jesus, we just want to worship You, praise You and honor Your blessed name for the key role You have played in our plan of salvation. God had a plan to comfort king Ahaz, and I am convinced that His plan to comfort, protect and save us, is even more awesome! Thank you Heavenly Father! Please continue to open our hearts and fill us with Your grace and Your awesome love that You have shown to us, so that we may, in turn, be a blessing to others in every way possible this Christmas season and throughout each day of the upcoming New Year. With every fiber of our being, we again say ‘thank You Father’ for Your amazing love to us in so many ways! AMEN!

Footnote

Lessons From Zechariah

On 2016-12-09 By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Humility, Obedience, Righteousness, SurrenderLeave a comment

Friday, 2016-12-09

Scripture

Bible Reference: Luke 1:13; 18; 24

Bible Text: 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.

18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”

23 When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home.

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

I believe that we read over the Christmas Story so quickly each year that there are aspects of the story that do not get the attention it deserves. For example, look at these two aspects of Zechariah’s part in this story and let’s see together what we can learn from him. In the link for the Bible Reference above, I have given you a few surrounding verses that will give you the context from which I have taken the verses for my text. Here are two things that caught my attention, because it quickly reminded me of where we might be in our relationship with God even today:

Our prayers of expectancy – Our church prayer meetings are probably one of the least attended services that we have at our church, and I don’t believe we are that different to most churches today. However, I believe that most churches will acknowledge that they are a people of prayer! Regardless, let’s look at the experience by Zechariah: The angel revealed that this child of God was praying for a long time that his wife might bear a child. In verse 25 of this chapter, we are told by Elizabeth, that she felt somewhat disgraced in not having borne a child up to this stage in her life. So picture Zechariah approaching the incense altar, as he probably had done many times before, yet this time something was different, for there was an angel standing next to the altar. Knowing that he was in the temple all alone, yet to hear this heavenly being speak to him, and to speak specifically about an answer to a prayer item that he had pleaded before God on many occasions for, must have in itself be astonishing for Zechariah. But all of the same human feelings that we have today, came through in Zechariah, for he doubted. He just couldn’t believe that God was actually answering his prayer at a time like this, in he and his wife’s old age. Friends, why do we, like Zechariah, spend so much time in prayer, pleading our case before a holy and all-powerful God, yet never expecting our prayers to be answered? It’s like we pray hoping the best, but expecting the same old, same old – business as usual – everything remains unchanged. That truly is not the kind of God that we pray to friends? Why would our answer to prayer be any less of an expectation, when we consider all of the other miraculous things that God has shown to us through His Word, and that we may have been blessed to see by our ancestors of faith? Really, praise should be on our lips every day friends, for our almighty God answers our prayers every day. We may struggle to understand why a most powerful and awesome God would answer our prayers slightly different to the way we placed our order, but let’s remember that God knows what we need, if we need it, and when we need it. Let’s let Him be God, as we try harder to perfect our position as humble and obedient servants!
Our dedication to the Lord’s work – Notice in verse 23 that even after this miraculous experience with the angel, and the awesome news delivered to Zechariah in the temple, yet he stayed on and finished up his week of service in the temple! Oh my, how many of us would ever have done that? Imagine an angel of God telling you that your blind son, whom you have been praying for his eyesight ever since birth, can now see. Can you even imagine staying the rest of the week to finish up your work around the church, or finish up the week of revival services you started? Of course with all of the new communication tools and devices at our disposal today, we would immediately get in touch with home-base to validate what thought we heard the angel say to us, but what if the angel’s message told you to wait until you returned home to see for yourself. What would you do with yourself friend? I believe there would be lots of doubt, but yet you would be very anxious to speak with your son to see for yourself if this was truly a message from God. Why do you suppose God ever answers our prayers, when there’s so much doubt by us even from the time our prayers leave our mouth?

May I encourage you, especially at this Christmas time, to look a little deeper into the scripture and see what God might want to say to You through His Word? Friends, we especially need folk with Zechariah’s dedication around our churches showing us that we don’t step aside from our God-given responsibilities for every little hiccup. We still need our Elizabeth’s who will go straight to rejoicing when they hear of miracles, even if they sound super impossible to her. Look for values in the other characters that we hear about at Christmas and see what God might be teaching you through their story, won’t you?

Prayer

Father, Christmas-time is often a time that we remember all that You gave to us through Your Son, Jesus Christ. However, stories like this one today has helped us to examine the character of others that You involved in this wonder gift that You blessed us with. Please continue to teach us to pray in great expectancy, and to praise You for the answers that You bless us with every time. We are reminded that often we pray for the benefit of others, but not necessarily ready to accept the answer that You might give in return. Zechariah was a humble man who prayed and prayed for his dear wife, yet was challenged to believe that You really answered his prayer at such an unusual time in his life. Lord, we have every reason to believe that You hear our prayers and You answer us every time in ways that You see best at that particular time. We were reminded just yesterday in our study, that You will answer our prayers not only when it is best for us, but at a time when the glory for the answer will be directed to You, the only possible explanation or source of the answer. Please continue to work on our patience to wait on You. Yes, ask as directed in Your Word, but always be willing to wait for Your answers. Lord, You are most awesome in every way, and I thank You for who You are! AMEN!

Footnote

Our God-Tools for Dealing with The World

On 2016-12-08 By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Humility, Imitator of Christ, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Righteousness, SurrenderLeave a comment

Thursday, 2016-12-08

Scripture

Bible Reference: 2 Corinthians 10:3-6

Bible Text: ³Although we live in the world, we don’t fight our battles with human methods. ⁴Our weapons that we fight with aren’t human, but instead they are powered by God for the destruction of fortresses. They destroy arguments, ⁵and every defense that is raised up to oppose the knowledge of God. They capture every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ⁶Once your obedience is complete, we are ready to punish any disobedience.

Bible Translation: Common English Bible (CEB)

My Take

I wonder if the usual observer would notice any difference in the way that Christians respond to arguments, or other daily battles and challenges, than they would notice with the ordinary person of this world! I believe that way too often we, followers of Jesus Christ, put Jesus aside while we use our worldly minds and actions to deal with individuals that we believe are getting the upper hand on us. Let me attempt to put these verses into perspective for you. This past Sunday in church, our pastor read the 23rd Psalm – a passage that we either hear read at every funeral, or at least posted inside every obituary, yet there were a few words that popped out off the page at me. In verse 3, the New Century Version reads: He gives me new strength. He leads me on paths that are right for the good of His name. Wow, it never occurred to me that the verse didn’t just say that God would lead me in the right paths, but also added that any praise attained from me walking that right path is for His name’s sake, and for His praise and His honor! Similarly, in these verses from 2 Corinthians, God is saying to me that when I was a follower of the leader of this world, Satan, I acted and spoke and did those things that were indicative of Satan. However, now that I am a child of the King, led by Him, following His example, and filled with the power of His Holy Spirit who has taken up residence inside of me, then what comes out of me, should match what’s inside of me. Why would I dare mess things up by reacting in my old sinful way, when I can surrender my will to that of Jesus Christ, and be led by His Holy Spirit to do miraculous things that only He can do? Friends, I believe these verses are written to show us how Paul dealt with everyday challenges under the unction and power of the Holy Spirit, who was able to do God-like things through him (Paul). Paul told the Corinthian church in verse 6, and I believe that God is still telling us today, that when we claim Jesus as Lord, and become truly submissive and obedient to the Him, then He will show His readiness to work through us to deal with the disobedience in those that we rub shoulders with, and/or are concerned about, every day. May I recommend that we each get before the Lord and ask Him to remove any sin that separates us from His desire to work through us to touch the lives of those in our circle of life, especially those who oppose Him?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, You are so worthy of our praise, for Your know our needs and our weaknesses even before we can voice them to You. Father, we will face even greater challenges today, but in full confidence we petition before a God who never changes, who can handle the challenges of yesterday, and who already knows the challenges that will come before Your saints even today. Please keep us holy, fully committed to You, and submissive to Your will and Your way of handling things. You have reminded us that our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of the evil one. May we learn to look beyond the faults of others, and instead seek Your face, Your will, and Your awesome power to again deal with the evil powers of Satan, even as they affect our family and friends that we will deal with today. Personally, I have to completely surrender my will and my all to thee again today Lord. May Your will consume me and Your Holy Spirit guide and direct me. May that same power be convincing to my readers today, so they also may surrender their will and their attitudes to You, Oh lord. AMEN!

Footnote

The reason We Pray

On 2016-12-07 By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Humility, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, SurrenderLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2016-12-07

Scripture

Bible Reference: Psalm 130:1-5

Bible Text: ¹ O Lord, from the depths of despair I cry for your help: ²“Hear me! Answer! Help me!”

^3-4Lord, if you keep in mind our sins, then who can ever get an answer to his prayers? But you forgive! What an awesome thing this is! ⁵That is why I wait expectantly, trusting God to help, for he has promised.

Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take

I believe that very often we fall into need like the Psalmist expressed in the first two verses, for we feel like our needs are desperate and that we must hear from God for us to survive the desperation of the moment. I know what it’s like to cry out to God in desperation, and I believe that many of you meditating on this devotional have probably been there and done that. But then, don’t we stop for a moment and hesitate, wondering why on earth would God listen to somebody like you, or like me? After all, if we never sinned against Him, or turned our backs on Him, wouldn’t we stand a better chance of getting through to God? We’ve learned from our earthly experiences, that we might ask forgiveness of our family or friends, but we often still get the ‘cold-shoulder’ for a long time? Why would God totally separate our sins from as, as far as the east is from the west? Friends, throughout God’s Word we are assured of His forgiveness and His awesome love for us. Further, we have endless examples of miracles that Jesus performed for ordinary people, just like us. He forgave them of their sins and brought about a miraculous change in their lives. Why, He healed them of their blindness, their leprosy, their inability to walk or talk, and He even brought some back to life again. Can you imagine Jesus weeping over us? Can you imagine Jesus going to the cross for us, indicating to His Father that He would bear the burden for our sin? Friends, it is almost impossible for us to understand the sincere love that Jesus has for us, but may I remind you today that it is because of His love that we can humbly come before Him expecting for our prayers to be heard, and it is because of His love and His awesome power, that we can wait expectantly for His help and His answers to our prayers. Will you trust Him with the concerns of your life and the deep needs that only He can meet today? He is able to deliver you, and He loves you enough that He wants to do it. Trust Him to do what He has promised, and that only He can do.

Prayer

Father we recognize, and are eternally thankful for, Your love and Your unrivaled power to touch our lives in miraculous ways. We feel somewhat ashamed to even come before Your throne, because we feel so unworthy, knowing that daily we fall into, and often concede to the temptation of this world and its awful leader, Satan. Lord, we need Your strength and boldness to stand firm in our faith, even when temptation comes, for we want to be Your loyal servants living life in full obedience to Your commands and Your will. Please shower us with Your gracious love and awesome power to stand firm today, for we ask this because of Your grace, AMEN!

Footnote

God’s Majestic Plan – In Spite of known Opposition

On 2016-12-05 By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Humility, Obedience, Righteousness, SurrenderLeave a comment

Monday, 2016-12-05

Scripture

Bible Reference: Isaiah 40:1-5

Bible Text: ¹ “Comfort, yes, comfort my people,” says your God. ²“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and tell her that her sad days are gone. Her sins are pardoned, and I have punished her in full for all her sins.”

³Listen! I hear the voice of someone shouting, “Make a road for the Lord through the wilderness; make him a straight, smooth road through the desert. ⁴Fill the valleys; level the hills; straighten out the crooked paths, and smooth off the rough spots in the road. ⁵The glory of the Lord will be seen by all mankind together.” The Lord has spoken—it shall be.

Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take

Israel had been dealt quite a hand by prophets who threatened what God would do in response to their wickedness and sin. However God, through His servant Isaiah, brought hope to those who trusted in God in spite of the sin that they cringed at in their wicked neighbors every day, for he told of the coming of the Messiah! In fact, in verses 1 & 2, it was like God had assured Isaiah that he should now share some good news with His people. I have heard the following verses repeated at many Christmas programs in the past and even used in sermons around Christmas time, but my study of this has really opened my eyes to the meaning of this. We will see later in the New Testament (In Matt 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; and in John 1:23) where John the Baptist again repeated these words as he went about preaching the coming of the Messiah. The truth being proclaimed was that the Messiah would face many challenges, such as one would face in the wilderness, or the desert, or the mountains, or along crooked and rough roads. You know, similar to what churches face today or that evangelists are challenged with today. But wait a moment you might quickly retort, what challenges? Friends, the message of Jesus Christ faces as many challenges as, or more than John the Baptist imagined in his proclamation. For today we face the mountains of increasing government regulations; the crooked paths of our society prohibiting the proclamation of Jesus Christ in many public environments because they fear that some might object; the objection of prayer or Bible teaching in our schools, in spite of increased crime rates, molestation, teacher abuse, and increased costs by keeping law enforcement on site. Friends, I believe it is very obvious that we have more obstacles to smooth out, remove or overcome than Isaiah or John the Baptist spoke of in their address to the people of their day. However the Word of God speaks, and in verse 5 we are told that the glory of God will be seen by ALL mankind, in accordance with what the Lord has spoken. So are you a part of the problem, or part of the solution? Did you consider this in your recent voting (here in the US)? Do you make your voice count at school administration meetings? Notice that verse 5 says that the glory of the Lord WILL be seen – that’s not a ‘maybe, if you agree with it’ type of a statement. Jesus has come, and He WILL call us home to be with Him one day, if we know Him as Lord. Are you ready friend? Do your part by readying your world for His return, will you?

Prayer

Dear Lord in Heaven, thank You Father for sending Your one and only Son, in spite of knowing beforehand what He would face here on earth, with so much opposition, hatred and rejection. I realize that this was all a part of Your majestic plan for our eternal salvation, and I thank You sincerely for touching the hardened heart of this old sinner and convincing me of my need for a Savior. Lord, I am saddened to see the huge mountains still in place by many of my family and friends, for they have built their defenses and want nothing to do with You, the Savior who died for their sake. Lord, please continue to work on them, for these are Your children that You have placed on this earth. And it’s because of that awesome love for every child, that I believe You will continue to work on challenging them and helping them to straighten out the path towards salvation. I hurt for my Brothers and Sisters, because they are gambling with life and their decisions about meeting You, but they have no control over the very next moment in their life, for TODAY is the day of salvation. Lord, may they trust in You today, is my sincere and humble prayer this morning, AMEN!