Our Faith, Our Prayer, But His Results

On 2016-11-24 By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Humility, Imitator of Christ, Love, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Righteousness, SurrenderLeave a comment

Thursday, 2016-11-23

Scripture

Bible Reference: James 5:13-16

Bible Text: Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out.

Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take

Just yesterday I shared on the importance of including ‘So That…’ in our prayers. In our scripture today we see where God used James to tell us that there are times when we just need to pray. In the first instance, James is teaching us that when we are suffering, or having hardships, or hurting, we should pray. Even though I believe that God would have us share one another’s burdens, I also believe that this scripture is telling us that it is way more important that we go directly to the master Healer and the One who cares about our hurts and misfortunes. In this instance the Bible doesn’t say ‘instead of…’, yet I believe we can conclude that without heeding to this advice, our normal action would probably see us resorting to whining and complaining to the extent that no one wants to be around us! Another instance that James advised on, is when we are sick then we should call on the elders of the church and have them anoint you with oil and pray over you. Now I would ask that you careful read this, because the Bible went on to say that based on the faith of the individuals and the prayer offered in faith, GOD will do the healing. Please, please, please don’t ever put a religious leader in a position where you thank them for the healing, or think for a moment that there is any power in their human touch. James clearly reminds us that Elders/church leaders are simply instruments that God uses to be His hands and feet on the ground. Now I believe all of what James has said so far, and I believe this would make most of us happy. However, in verse 16 James adds that although he shared with us how very possible it is for God to heal us physically, yet we must also realize that we have a deep responsibility to live a life pleasing to God so that we may be healed spiritually. To do this, we are taught that we must confess our sins one to another and pray for one another SO THAT we may be healed. Friends, I believe this is where we are reminded of so many other references in the Bible that confirms that we cannot be burdened down with the sin of the world, when we approach our holy God. We must be prepared to cleanse the inner man, if we expect to approach God for in all honesty for physical healing or any other prayer requests. I often reflect on the point that God and/or His Holy Spirit will not reside, or become involved where sin abounds, so if we want healing, or if we want God to intervene in any way in our lives, then we must be prepared first of all to deal with our sin. Remember, the earnest, effectual prayer of a righteous man, availeth much. Could there be reason for you feeling likes your prayers sometimes hit a brick wall and are ineffective?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I often wonder how such a righteous and holy God would put up with such a mess as You see in our attempt to live life here on this earth. I just can’t comprehend the love that You not only portrayed on Calvary for us weaklings, but the love and patience to put up with our failures each day. In Your Word You have challenged us today to not only seek physical healing for ourselves, but to first work through the misfortunes or our failures with each other. Please forgive us Lord for our inadequacies and our failures. Please build us up to not only be confident in our witness for You, but to be instruments that are usable by a holy and righteous God. Lord, may our lives, and may the words from our mouths, and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, our Rock and our Redeemer – all for Your ultimate purpose, and plan. 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 http://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!

An Object Of Cursing

On 2016-10-19 By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Curses, Faith, Humility, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Righteousness, SurrenderLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2016-10-19

Scripture

Bible Reference: Jeremiah 44:22–23

Bible Text: 22 It was because the LORD could no longer bear all the disgusting things you were doing that he made your land an object of cursing—a desolate ruin without inhabitants—as it is today. 23 All these terrible things happened to you because you have ….. and sinned against the LORD. You have refused to obey him and have not followed his instructions, his decrees, and his laws.”

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

Just from the title you probably had no incentive or desire to open this devotional and read more. That’s pretty normal, because we are creatures of so much stress each day that the last thing we want to hear is another challenge or critical point of view. Sorry friends, but as followers of Christ we must be obedient to the Holy Spirit and stop to meditate on a passage of scripture such as this, when presented with it, because God could very well be getting our attention to warn us of what our own outcome may look like, if we continue in sin and disobedience to His commands. Based on scripture, I believe that God wants us to turn away from our sin (stop doing it and look at God’s plan for us), humble ourselves before the almighty God, seek His face and His heart’s desire for us, and pray for a revived spirit within us individually and as a family, as a church, as a city and indeed as a nation. Friends, at this time of the year we become so caught up in politics that I’m afraid that we lose our passion for what is really critical in God’s eyes – that we know Him; honor Him; obey Him and seek sincerely to follow Him. In doing this friends, we will earn a deep, sincere, desire to see our family and friends also ‘make the cut’, or generate a desire to know the Savior that we love, adore and live in great expectation of uniting with Him in glory one day! Friends, as we grow closer to God and live more like Him here on this earth, perhaps He may save our land from desolation and destruction. Most of us would desire that God bless our respective native country, so I sincerely believe that we would also truly regret it if God removed His hand of blessing from us because of our neglect of God and His commands. God says in His Word that He puts our leaders in place for His purposes. Let us therefore be sure that we seek His face as we vote on our leaders, and more importantly, let us seek to know God better, understand His directions for us, and seek to follow His will and His way. I believe that this will please God and perhaps earn His blessing rather than His curse, as He did with the disobedient and rebellious Israelites.

Prayer

Lord, please forgive us for getting so caught up in our own agendas at the expense of our obedience to You and Your commands to us. I am convinced that You are far more interested in our heart, and the desires of our heart, than any earthly concern that we may have influence over. We love our respective home-country and would ask that You bless us immensely in every way. That’s a selfish request because we happen to live here, and whatever happens to our country, affects us. Lord, I also want to ask that You touch the hearts of Your children today so that we may be a vital Christian influence in our country that is representative of the Savior who loves and controls us. I realize that we don’t deserve this Lord, but I ask this so that Your work might be accomplished in our midst and in our country. I pray that Your children will lift Your banner high so that the world might know! 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!

How Will They Know, If You Don’t Tell Them?

On 2016-10-18 By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Imitator of Christ, Obedience, SurrenderLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2016-10-18

Scripture

Bible Reference: Romans 10:9–10; 13-14

Bible Text: 9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved…. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” 14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

Each of us have responsibilities in this world. A dad is obligated to take care of his family, and lead his family towards a life in Christ. Mothers share in that responsibility with dads to help ensure that kids are raised healthy in body through nutrition, and in soul through their manners and beliefs and practices. Work managers have a responsibility to the owners of their company to ensure that they develop the best employees that will lead the company to great success. There are lots of other examples I could give, but as I read this scripture today, I was reminded that in life, if we fail in our responsibilities, we see failure – sometimes devastating failures. For the believer in Jesus Christ who fails to share with others the path to success in achieving eternal life, or the expected results from disobedience to the Word of God, then we are probably most disappointing to God, and I can only imagine that it will be very disappointing for us, and our friends, as we face God and acknowledge our shortcomings that resulted in the eyes of good friends never having been opened to the truth of God’s Word. Friends, I believe that it is challenging for Christians to share their faith, for various personal reasons. But may I remind each of us today that this scripture reminds us that unless we tell others about the joy of our salvation and how it is available to them also; unless we warn them of the consequences of their non-acceptance of this free gift, they may very well never hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. As you meditate on this devotional today you are in one of two positions: 1) You have accepted Jesus and are on your way to heaven, praise the Lord! or 2) You may or may not have heard the Good News of Jesus Christ, and you have yet to believe on Him and declare His glory to the world around you. Those in group (1) have a responsibility to God and to those in group (2) to share the Good News of Jesus Christ that leads one to acceptance, and ultimately to Eternal Life. Our friends in group (2) may never hear or understand, if we are disobedient in sharing. You may be taking all of your other responsibilities very seriously friend, but this is by the far the most important task for each of us in this life. Remember, we can’t save anyone, but we have a responsibility to share our story and the Word of God, so that He may speak to their heart and save them.

Prayer

Oh Lord, may we who know You, make it our primary focus today to share the Good News of the gospel with an unsaved loved one today. There is no reason that we could ever come up with, that would hinder us from being considerate of our friends and sharing the simple plan of salvation with them. No theological degree necessary, just simply share the gift that we were blessed to find, and that changed our lives for eternity. Embolden us heavenly Father, and help us to quit finding excuses and just share our story with a friend today, so that they too might have the information necessary to make a decision to accept You. You alone are God, and I praise You for Your all-gracious love, power and wisdom. I pray that You may use even me today in Your plan to reach my friends. Please touch the hearts of each one that will read this devotional today. May Your kingdom grow because of our concerted obedience to Your Word. AMEN!

Footnote

How To Stay Encouraged In A Challenging World

On 2016-10-17 By Ed AlgreenIn Christian, Faith, Humility, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, SurrenderLeave a comment

Monday, 2016-10-17

Scripture

Bible Reference: Philippians 4:8-9

Bible Text: ⁸Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise. ⁹You know the teachings I gave you, and you know what you heard me say and saw me do. So follow my example. And God, who gives peace, will be with you.

Bible Translation: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take

Perhaps before you walk out of the door to your home this morning you already realized that there will be many challenges that you will deal with today. Perhaps there is overflow from the challenges you dealt with yesterday. There may even be unresolved contention that you know you must deal with today. You may be deliberating: why is it that you must awake from your ‘perfect’, ‘protected’, ‘uncomplicated’ dream of contentment and peace at home, and face the reality and cruelty of this wicked world. Friends, I want you to be encouraged with the words from God, through His messenger Paul, for I believe this can apply to all who are reading this devotional today:

First of all, to the believer in Jesus Christ, here are some tips on how to handle life under God’s leadership, strength, wisdom and guidance today:
- Don’t allow your minds to be swayed by this world and it’s leader – Satan. Instead, aim towards being like Jesus, for He is true (so important in this world filled with lies, hatred and deception); pure (there is no ‘make-believe’ with Jesus Christ, for He is the real deal. He loved us when we were still steeped in sin, and He gave up His own life to provide the means of us living eternally with the Father in heaven); right; holy (remember Jesus is one with God, so He is holy just as God almighty is holy); friendly; and proper;
- Think about everything that is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise – in other words, we are to seek God’s help to not be pulled into the gutter of gossip; hatred; and the evil deeds associated with Satan himself. In other words, if we find ourselves thinking about something that we cannot truly praise God for, then we are probably ‘off-track’ with what God is teaching us here. For we are to think on those things that are ‘worthy of praise‘ to our heavenly Father!
Secondly, I believe that there is help here for the non-Christian. Think about it friend: how can you possibly deal with life without the power of the Holy Spirit who is busy in the life of the believer? Without the power of Christ, Satan is free to beat up on you all he wants. Christians are not super beings with the capability of handling every aspect of life that is thrown at them. However, we are super excited about the promise that we can do ALL things through Christ, who strengthens us and guides us to all truth, through the awesome power and guidance of His Holy Spirit who controls us. I believe that your encouragement today is knowing that as long as you have life, there is hope in the option to also accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Know Jesus and know peace! That’s my recommendation to you today so that you may gain His everlasting joy and contentment in everyday living here on this earth.

Prayer

There are a few sayings that cross my mind dear Lord, “you are now entering your mission field” and “you are now entering the ‘real’ world”. I believe that most of us feel fairly secure and at peace in our own homes, and we fear the challenge of what this bitter world holds in store for us as we step into it today. Thank You for the encouragement given to us in this passage of scripture today. Lord, we believe in You, and we lift high the banner of truth contained in Your Word. We are more dependent on You today than ever before Savior, for we can only handle today’s challenges with You powerfully working inside of us, and helping us to be more like You. Lord, how will the world know about You if we don’t tell them? Oh that they may see everlasting hope and the love of Christ in all that we do or say today. For this is my humble prayer that I ask in and through the name of Jesus, AMEN!

Footnote

Standing In The Presence of The Almighty God

On 2016-09-24 By Ed AlgreenIn Believe, Christian, Hope, Know and BelieveLeave a comment

Saturday, 2016-09-24

Scripture

Bible Reference: Colossians 1:21-23

Bible Text: ²¹ You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. ²² But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent. ²³ But you must stay deeply rooted and firm in your faith. You must not give up the hope you received when you heard the good news.

Bible Translation: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take

I believe that any person that you walk up to and ask how they would feel about standing before the throne of God today, may respond in varying ways about where they think they are with God. However, in this scripture today you will see that God clarifies this for those who may be uncertain, or who refuse to face the reality of the gospel. Here’s what I see from the Word of God in these verses in Colossians:

Before Christ: This pertains to those who have not accepted Jesus as their personal Savior. The Word says that you are ‘far from God’, or enemies of God – and because of your evil thoughts and actions, you do evil things, or ungodly things, or things that displease God;

In Christ: This includes those who have accepted the sacrificed lamb (Jesus), who was sacrificed at Calvary for the sins of the world. Those who accept Jesus in appreciation for His sacrifice, are welcomed by the Father (God) and looked upon as ‘holy’, ‘faultless’ and ‘innocent’. Friends, I don’t know about you, but because we are incapable of that kind of sacrificial and unconditional love, that is challenging for us to wrap our minds around. But the Word speaks Truth and I truly believe that God loves us enough that He would do exactly what He says in His Word! So because of our obedience, I believe that we are found righteous before God. However, there is one more piece of advise to us –

After being united with Christ: As normal human beings, we often tend to wander back into our old habits. Often we will make decisions because of our current circumstances, then soften our stand as life returns to normal for us. We are warned by the Word, that we are to stay grounded, or deeply rooted in our faith. We can do this through habitually reading the Word of God so that we may be reminded of God’s goodness, love and concern for us. It is also important for us to attend a local Bible believing church where we might encourage others, and allow them to encourage us, plus receive further learning from God’s Word, or a better understanding of what it means. But in all that we do, let us remember the hope that is ours in knowing the Lord Jesus Christ! May others see and believe in Jesus because of the hope they see in us!

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for the awesome sacrifice You made for our benefit. Some who read this devotional today will be in various steps of the above decision making, please speak to the hearts of those who read this. Especially speak strongly to those who artificially place themselves in the wrong category of relationship with You, for I know that only the plain open truth and honesty of our life’s decisions will matter. May our hearts be touched to draw closer to You and intentional in knowing You personally and wholeheartedly. I ask these things because of the truth of Your Word, AMEN!

Footnote

Your Characteristics Prove Whose You Are

On 2016-09-16 By Ed AlgreenIn Christ's Representative, Christ-Like, Christian Living, Christian love, Christian Principles, Christianity, Example of Christ, Follower of Christ, Imitating Christ, Reflecting Christ, The Mind of ChristLeave a comment

Friday, 2016-09-16

Scripture

Bible Reference: Galatians 5:16–17

Bible Text: 16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

Paul himself struggled with doing the right thing, for he said that there is always a struggle going on, where he desires to do the right thing, but he naturally does the wrong thing. So when we read these verses today, let’s remember that this is not merely spiritual lingo that Paul thought would sound good to his readers, but he is speaking from experience. What I really love, is the way that Paul shows us how we will know when we are following our natural, sinful desire, or if we are following the will, and leadership of the Holy Spirit. Friends, we have to look at our actions:

If we are following our own sinful desires, then the following characteristics will be prevalent: *sexual immorality, *impurity, *lustful pleasures, *idolatry, *sorcery, *hostility, *quarreling, *jealousy, *outbursts of anger, *selfish ambition, *dissension, *division, *envy, *drunkenness, *wild parties, and *other sins like these. When you see these characteristics, the Bible says in verse 21: ‘…anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.’

If we follow the commands and will of God and allow the Holy Spirit to direct our lives, then we will see these characteristics shine through: *love, *joy, *peace, *patience, *kindness, *goodness, *faithfulness, *gentleness, and *self-control. When you see these characteristics, the Bible says in verse 23: ‘There is no law against these things!’, meaning that you don’t have to look over your shoulders for anyone to get you, because you are doing what is right. These are fruits of the Spirit friend. This shows that you belong to God, and His Holy Spirit lives and operates in your life.

So the challenge today for each of us is to look at our actions and see where exactly we stand with the Lord. If something ain’t right friend, may I encourage you to communicate (pray) to your heavenly Father and ask for His help and direction? May each of us see the characteristics of the Jesus Christ shine bright in our lives today!

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for using Your servant Paul to share these words with his friends at the Galatian church and with us today. May we be honest in our evaluation of our actions today, and may we quickly recognize acts that reflect our old sinful self that indicate that we have strayed and allowed too much of this old world in. Lord, we sincerely need You today. We want to be obedient servants, but we know that we can only do this with You ‘at the wheel of our lives’. Please keep us humble and obedient so that we may reflect the love of Christ in everything we do or say, so that others may be encouraged to surrender their lives to You. I ask these things in and through the precious name of Jesus, AMEN!

Footnote

The Only Way Out

On 2016-09-14 By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Salvation, Seek God First, Seek God's FaceLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2016-09-14

Scripture

Bible Reference: Galatians 3:21-22

Bible Text: …. If we could be saved by his laws, then God would not have had to give us a different way to get out of the grip of sin—for the Scriptures insist we are all its prisoners. The only way out is through faith in Jesus Christ; the way of escape is open to all who believe him.

Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take

I believe that often we will try the easiest way out. The way that is least embarrassing to us, or least obvious to others that we have or had a problem and really needed help. So for many, this may be through trying to obey the Word of God on our own. I once had a coworker tell me that he knew the good Lord would not allow his dad to go to Hell, because he was such a good man, and that no one could really point a finger at him for his wrong. This coworker later came to know the Lord himself and then understood exactly what Paul was clarifying here for the Galatian church. Friends, we must remember that God saw that the human race was incapable of helping ourselves by simply obeying His law, so out of His deep love for us, He miraculously sent His Son, Jesus, to be our Savior. Too often we look at the law like, what’s the least I can do to keep out of trouble with the law makers, and seldom do we stop and ask God to help us obey every letter of the law in the way it was intended when written, so that others may recognize the sincerity of Jesus in us. So friends, this scripture today is good news for those who have heard the voice and direction of God, and want to surrender your life to Him so that He may direct your path and lead you in a righteous and upright life for His glory. Getting from where you are – steeped in sin and unrighteousness, can only be accomplished one way. ‘There is only one way out’, the scripture proclaims, and that is through seeking the face and person of Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Surrender your life totally and completely to Him, so that He can accomplish His miraculous work through You. Friends, Hell is not a place where you would make it a point to go, but the ONLY way you will redirect your destination is by doing what I have already described to you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. When you truly believe on Jesus, you will submit to His will and obey His commands – indicating that He is in total control of your life. One other tip friends: Jesus has promised to return to earth to take His children (His bride) up to glory to be with He and His Father. But the timing of this event is unknown even to Jesus. Therefore, may I encourage you to make certain of your eternal destination urgently, for Jesus’ return could happen even today!

Prayer

Thank You Heavenly Father for yet another reminder of what must be done to gain eternal life. Our works are but filthy rags in Your sight, because we build those around our goodness instead of Yours. Please forgive us Lord for our littleness and open our eyes instead to Your wonderful, loving, caring, miraculous provisions that You have designed for us. Please help us to step aside and allow You to be God in our life, and in the lives of our family and friends. Lord, please touch lives today with the gospel and show Your love in such wonderful ways that many will come to accept You and surrender their lives wholeheartedly to You. There is so much to be done Father, but I am convinced of Your awesome power and desire to see our lost ones saved. Please work through me today so that I may be a genuine witness for You. I ask these things in faith, and for Your glory, AMEN!

Footnote

A Facilitator of Jesus’ Work

On 2016-08-25 By Ed AlgreenIn Believe, Faith, Faith in Action, TrustLeave a comment

Thursday, 2016-08-25

Scripture

Bible Reference: Mark 6:4–6

Bible Text: 4 Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.” 5 And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief.

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

I know that I have read this scripture many times over my years, but this morning my eyes were opened to the fact that because of the doubt and unbelief of many in Jesus’ hometown, He was not at liberty to perform many miracles there. Friends, I don’t know about you, but I probably have more of a heart for my hometown than almost anywhere else on earth. I could only imagine that Jesus had the same ‘soft spot’ in His heart for his hometown folk also. It must have been extremely disappointing to Him at the reception He received there. It must have been heartbreaking to know of the many needs of His people, and to know that He had answers for those needs, yet He was rejected or looked down on by His very own people. Unfortunately I believe that a lot of this could be attributed to the selfish motives of the people and their jealousy in imagining that a ‘son of the soil’ could possibly be holier or more powerful, or closer to God, than them. After all, they knew Jesus’ earthly parents and the poverty from whence they came. They knew of no royalty that would place Jesus at any advantage to them in performing unusual miracles for them, so of course they doubted that He could do anything special, or more impactful than any of them could do. Friends, my mind went immediately on the church – a gathering of people in need of a touch from the Lord. As we gather at our respective times to worship, do you suppose that we may be made up of folk just like Jesus encountered at Nazareth? Will Jesus find enough who sincerely believe in Him, and who truly have faith in His awesome power, that He would feel at liberty to perform miracles in your midst? Or will His work be hindered by the high degree of unbelief that He will find among those gathered? Let’s remember friends, that this Jesus of whom I speak, is the same Jesus born miraculously by the power of God; the one who is on record in the Bible for performing miracle after miracle – including bringing the dead back to life; the same Jesus that was crucified, died and was buried, yet He arose from the dead and lives on at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for His children (us). What is there to doubt about friends? Have faith in God, won’t you? He loves you and wants to see His very best lived out in you – even if that requires a miracle. Trust Him today, won’t you?

Prayer

Lord, may I not be a stumbling block to the blessing/miracle You have in store for my friends and/or fellow worshippers today. Lord, I believe in You, please help my unbelief. May I also ask that You touch each heart that may read this devotional today. May we be acceptable in Your sight and may our faith be so strong that others may be encouraged in their faith and trust in You. Lord, please touch Your people once again. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit so that we may gain strength and full allegiance to You Heavenly Father. AMEN!

Footnote

How to Find ‘Real LIFE’

On 2016-07-232016-07-24 By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Biblical Decisions, HeavenLeave a comment

Saturday, 2016-07-23

Scripture

Bible Reference: Ezekiel 20:11,13

Bible Text: 11 There I gave them my decrees and regulations so they could find life by keeping them.

13 ……. They wouldn’t obey my regulations even though obedience would have given them life.

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

No matter if we are talking to friends, listening to advice from our doctor or watching television, there is always tons of advice for us on how to improve our lifestyles, improve our health, enjoy our lives, look as good as the top model, etc. However, as with all other aspects of life, we have access to life’s Instruction Manual (the Bible), and It has answers for all walks of life for us. And I don’t know about you friend, but I would much prefer listening to God, who created us and loves us enough to have sacrificed His very Son for us, than to listen to a product manufacturer compelled to sell their product in order to save their company. So let’s take a peak into what God has placed in His Word for us. He reminded the prophet Ezekiel about His love, and all that He had done, for the Israelites. He also reminded him of how He had given the Israelites very special instructions so that they could preserve the awesome life He had brought them to. It was a simple thing of: here’s my instructions to life, now obey these and you will have all those aspects of ‘life’ that I have promised you. Does this not sound familiar friends? God created the beautiful planet of earth for His children that He would later create. He even took things into consideration that He knew we might find fault with, for there are various places where we can ‘plant our roots’ with just the right temperature that we enjoy! God then gave us life’s Instruction Manual – His Word – The Bible. Follow this, and you will not only find peace, love, joy and happiness while on earth, but you will also have everlasting joy in Heaven with our Father. Of course everyone in their right mind would assume that God’s children would automatically do these things, for ‘life’ could never get any better than promised by God. Unfortunately everyone with a sound mind will quickly recognize that we are still very much like the Israelites that God referred to in verse 13 above. In the greatest love that I can can possibly offer friend, I must warn you that the Israelites who disobeyed God and didn’t follow His decrees, never saw the wonderful gift of the Holy Land. This will be no different for those on earth who choose to disobey the Word of God – we will never see the gift of Heaven promised to all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and obey the wonder gift of God’s special instructions to us – The Bible. Where do you stand on this Brother? Will you receive the prize Sister? Why not settle this today friends? Speak with God about your decision, won’t you?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for providing the means for me to have eternal life in heaven with You and the Father one day. Thank You for my friends who are reading this blog today and have not only been rescued from sin, like the Israelites were rescued from Egypt, but I pray that unlike the Israelites, each of us will dig deep into Your Word each day and not just look for Your glorious promises, but also be challenged to live according to Your teachings/decrees. As this occurs, I pray that those that we come into contact with each day will be impacted with the love of Christ that will be evident in everything we say or do. It’s all about You God. May we look and act just like You. I ask these things in greatest humility and love, AMEN!

Footnote

How To Treat Others

On 2016-07-07 By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Christian love, Imitate Jesus, Love, Love others, Love your NeighborLeave a comment

Thursday, 2016-07-07

Scripture

Bible Reference: Zechariah 7:8–10

Bible Text: 8-9 So once again, I, the LORD All-Powerful, tell you, “See that justice is done and be kind and merciful to one another! 10 Don’t mistreat widows or orphans or foreigners or anyone who is poor, and stop making plans to hurt each other.”

Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take

As I reflected on these verses I thought what would God possibly add to this list for the world He reflects on today. We often tend to compare back to a day when we were younger, and then stand in awe about where the world is today. I believe that if we were privy to just the questions posed on Google each day, it might give us a glimpse into the mindset of our people. In another part of my study today, God challenged His people to even look at the reasons they fast and pray, for often this is centered around their selfishness, and not necessarily His will for His church, His disciples and His people. Friends, let us challenge ourselves to pray for the will of God. We are not qualified to tell God what He should do, or how He should fix the many things that we feel are totally broken. I believe that these verses also helps us to acknowledge that we are slow to accept God’s commands and obey Him, because we must always remember that the Bible is very much alive, and speaks to our current day issues as much as it tells a story about how God ministered to saints of old. Please read the verses over again. Now please evaluate the portion of the verses that may not apply to us today. How many times do we whine about judicial or governmental decisions that are made and how we wish justice would be administered? Isn’t it because the decisions were not in our favor, or handled in a manner that we prescribed – often without all of the facts? Furthermore, who put those in authority in their place? Now before you pull out the books on me, to show who voted for who, let me first ask you to read Romans 13 and then answer my question. While some parts of the world may have made strides in taking better care of widows, orphans, the poor and foreigners, may I remind you that many of these depend heavily on the church and government programs in order to survive, because they have been abandoned by their own families? I believe that the very last point probably got my attention more than the rest. “Stop scheming against each other”, or “stop making plans to hurt one another”. This is not speaking to the friend or neighbor behind you, but rather to each of us. I believe the opposite of this, may be better aligned with God’s Word: “make plans to bless someone today” or “think about how you might encourage someone today” or “show more love towards each other today” or “look for ways to help someone succeed today or feel better about themselves”. In a nutshell, I believe that we are being taught how we are to treat each other in ways that might better reflect the heart of God for His children. We can do this friends, because these are the ways that we would want to be treated. Let’s seek God’s power to help us be more like Him in every way – everyday!

Prayer

Father God, thank You for loving me, and for showing love through so many different folk, to encourage me in my walk for You. Your Word is always a lamp unto our feet, and today is no exception, as You have shown us how we might enhance our love for one another, and how we should be especially careful to scheme only towards love and good works towards one another. May we not only be Your hands and feet today, but may we love one another in much the same way that You showed Your love for us. This might be the greatest sermon we can preach today! Please have Your will and way in and through us today dear Lord. AMEN!