Category: Christian

Remember God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Consistent, Faith, TrustLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Hosea 13:4-6
Today’s Bible Text: 4 “I alone am God, your Lord, and have been ever since I brought you out from Egypt. You have no God but me, for there is no other Savior. 5 I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. 6 But when you had eaten and were satisfied, then you became proud and forgot me.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: Some may have overlooked the devotional today because they may have thought that the title was extremely elementary. Friends, just as God took the Israelites back in their minds to their days of slavery in Egypt, and back to the days they were totally dependent on Him in the wilderness, I believe that He is also desiring of us to reflect on the times that we felt closest to Him, and the times that we felt ‘on top of the world’, because we were convinced of the powerful hand of God working very intimately in our lives. Although thousands of years after this message by Hosea, I would dare say that we have not changed a whole lot. Just look around at all that we have allowed to take priority in our lives. After 9-11 our churches were filled, because we needed the Lord to love on us, comfort us, protect us from further disaster and give us peace that we could go on living. This happens ever week as families deal with cancer, or a death in the family, or a financial disaster, or a lot of other things where we may feel out of control, lost and very inadequate. At times like this we shift our priorities to attending church, prayer meetings and many other things that we feel will bring us into God’s favor. But friends, don’t we become very much like the Israelites, where we need reminding from time to time, that the same God that saw us through our rough times, is the same God available to us today, and will help us through the minute challenges of our day? We need not wait for the BIG events to turn to God, for He is our Savior and Lord, and would very much like to be a part of our day and our decisions – yes, even at work, or at play. As we remember God in these everyday events, we build our confidence in knowing that He is also the One we can turn to when life seems so out of control and situations seem so impossible to us. Friends, He is our God – period! Let’s trust Him with everything in our lives – always!

Prayer: Lord, I believe that each of us can reflect on times in our lives that we were desperate for Your wisdom, healing, love and awesome power. Please help us to not only  worship You for who You are today, but for all that You have done for us in the past. May we learn to never look at ‘no’ answers to our prayers as unanswered prayer. We ask because we need Your direction, so please help us to humbly accept ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ answers and may we always recognize Your voice as You speak to us. Yes, You are our God and our Redeemer, may we not only reflect on this daily, but may our lives show evidence of having been with You each day. I ask these things in the name of Jesus, the Living, Loving, All-powerful, All-knowing Savior of this 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!

2016

Evidence of Our Righteousness

On By Ed AlgreenIn Glorify, Obedience, Righteous Living, Righteousness, Worship2 Comments

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Isaiah 26:7–8
Today’s Bible Text: 7 But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them. 8 LORD, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our heart’s desire is to glorify your name.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: I believe that first impressions of my subject may cause you to think that you can easily impress people (family, friends, loved ones, coworkers), so this act of being righteous has to be an easy challenge today. Well, if your heart is right and you are sincerely doing everything possible to exemplify Christ in every aspect of your life, then you may be right. I was challenged by the two simple ways Isaiah shared that we could show proof of our desire to be righteous:

  1. Obeying God’s laws – friends I believe that our challenge with this, is in trying to get to the root of God’s intentions in His laws. Society, and yes many churches, have put their own spin on what the Word of God is actually saying to His people. Many ‘teachings’ tend to ‘water down’ the real intent of the scripture to something that man feels is possible or sounds most logical for followers. We must be sure that we are truly understanding the heart of God and His full intentions, for His ways are pure, true and righteous in every way. Let’s be careful to not sprinkle a little of our own philosophy into the Word to make it sound good or palatable. God gave His words to His messengers in precisely the way that He meant for us to understand and obey it. Our obedience to His laws, or His teachings, or His Word is evidence of our righteousness. Do I dare say that anything less is clear evidence of how messed up we truly are?
  2. Our heart’s desire is to glorify God – We have no idea what kind of worshipping, or praising, or glorifying God takes place in the privacy of homes, or at our jobs, or other areas of our life, but may I dare suggest that from the evidence we see at church services, it’s probably very minimal? Some seem very excited about being at church on Sunday mornings and this reflects in their worship. Most seem to attend out of tradition; satisfying a spouse’s invitation/demands; and some just to say that they want the rest of their week to go well, so they give Jesus some time on Sundays. On Sunday evenings or Wednesday night prayer and Bible Study meetings churches might only see 20% of the Sunday morning crowd. I wonder whether our ‘desire’ is to glorify God. I wonder if we could join Isaiah in appearing before God on Judgment Day and asking Him to please consider our times of glorifying Him as evidence of our righteousness while on earth?

These are only two factors in evidencing our righteousness, but I believe they are huge ones. God knows our heart, regardless of what we might evidence before mankind. Draw me close to You dear Lord, never let me go. My heart’s desire is to know You and draw closer to You. Please touch the lives of those that will read this devotional today. May they draw ever so close to You and may their lives be filled with righteousness and servitude towards You dear Father.

Prayer: Lord, we commit ourselves to You and pray that Your Holy Spirit will constantly impress upon us the need for obedience to Your laws, and an undying desire to glorify You in all aspects of our life. 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!

2016

How To Measure the Extent of Your Love For Others

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christian love, Love, ObedienceLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: 1 John 5:1-4
Today’s Bible Text: If you believe that Jesus is the Christ—that he is God’s Son and your Savior—then you are a child of God. And all who love the Father love his children too. So you can find out how much you love God’s children—your brothers and sisters in the Lord—by how much you love and obey God. Loving God means doing what he tells us to do, and really, that isn’t hard at all; for every child of God can obey him, defeating sin and evil pleasure by trusting Christ to help him.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: Do you love God? How about God’s children, do you love them also? I bet I should have put those questions right at the end of my Take Away, because by now you have probably answered ‘yes’ to both and about to close out of this devotional! Not So Fast Brother! Wait a moment Sister! Through John, God has actually given us the formula for measuring how well we’re doing on this! We are told in these verses today that the degree to which we love fellow believers is proportionate to how much we love and obey God. Ok, so I’m sure that you will assume you must truly love one another, because you know that you really love God. But do you really?  The Word declares that the love referenced here is not just a verbal thing, or a feeling, but instead if we truly love God, we will do what He tells us to do. For some that will be easy, because we pray and we seek God’s face through His precious Word. When we truly do this and not only listen to His commands, His teachings, His instructions for us, and His example that He set for us to follow, then we should know what to do. Friends, this will not just come from the pulpit on the weekend, or from a Bible teacher, but I’m talking one-on-one communion with your maker. Don’t know where to start? You may want to follow a good devotional, such as the one you’re now reading, or you may want to look for a Bible Reading Plan of your own. Whatever you decide, just remember to seek God’s face first – as it takes the Spirit of God to truly open your eyes to the spiritual truths of our awesome God. Not much of a reader? It doesn’t matter, when you seek God’s face first and ask Him to open your mind to His, you will find that what may appear to be simple words on a page, actually reveals the perfect will of God for your life right where you’re at during that very moment. Highlight as He speaks to you, and make notes to remind yourself how He spoke to you. Now, todays scripture says that through loving God and obeying all that He instructs you, then you will defeat sin and evil pleasures. Your love for God will become so pure and so real, that you will also love everything that God loves and everyone that He loves. So are you struggling with any part of this today friend? Try following this direction for at least seven days, and I believe God will give you a burning desire to continue doing the same for the rest of the time you remain on this earth! Love and obedience to God leads to love for the brethren friend!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You not only tell us to love one another, but You have even gone the extra step of showing us just how to accomplish that. How unfortunate, that a God who sacrificed His only Son for us on Calvary, must now tell us how important it is for us to love You. How deep the Father’s love for us, in spite of our unworthiness. Yet how easy it is for us to say that we struggle in loving our Christian Brothers and Sisters, when we don’t fully appreciate the love of our Father, or see fit to obey His simple commands. Please forgive us dear Lord and continue to draw us to Yourself with an even deeper determination to love and obey You. I sincerely thank You for Your love, and for all these things I have asked throughout this devotional, for it is in the precious and loving name of Jesus that I ask, 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!

2016

Give It Up, Friend!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Evidence of Faith, Faith, Faith in Action, SurrenderLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: 1 John 3:16-18

Today’s Bible Text: We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

The Bible Translation: New Living Translation

My Take Away: I’m sure that I am slower than most, therefore the reason that I overlooked exactly the point that God was trying to get across to us in this passage today! So I wanted to share with you how I feel like God revealed Himself to me, and the instructions He made clear to me. The first part of verse 16 is a given, in that we have always been taught that what Jesus did on the cross was not a win for the king and his people that ordered the crucifixion of our Lord, but Jesus went to the cross in total obedience to His Father, in total love for us. John 3:16 is probably the best known verse in the Bible, because it explains the love of Jesus in dying for every sinner, and the everlasting hope offered as a result of that sacrifice. Now, back to verses 17 & 18 of our highlighted verses today, we (Christ’s followers) are challenged to do the same thing for our fellow man. Go to the cross for another, you might ask? No, although we may not be forced to give up our life, we certainly might be called on to volunteer our time to help someone who is incapable of helping themselves. OR, someone that might be hungry when we have more than enough to sacrifice our next meal to give it to them. OR, perhaps another nation is unable or unwilling to fully care for their orphans, and even though we may not be able to feed them all for a week, perhaps we could join or support a local missions group who will go and work around the orphanage so that monies given to the orphanage can be used to better feed or clothe the orphans. OR, if called on to give financially to those in need, perhaps we can give of our excess, or sacrifice the money we would ordinarily spend on items we could easily do without. Think about it friend, when we consider our ‘life’ we generally consider all those things that make it worthwhile for us to get up each morning, or to keep on slaving away at work each day. How much of that are you willing to give up for the sake of a person in need? I believe we had best be very careful to not find excuses when God asks us to be His hands and His feet, and to minister in His name. Let us always remember that He gave it all so that we might have life eternally in heaven. Anything we are challenged with should be in the light of that sacrifice, and done with the love of that sacrifice. Only then will an unbeliever truly understand the love of our Savior that we might tell them about.

Prayer: Lord, please help us to keep our eyes fixed on You and not on our circumstances. Please help us to give, because You first sacrificed everything as You gave it all for us. Please help us to stop thinking so selfishly about the benefits of our greed and finding so many excuses about all that we could give to others, if only we would deal with our selfishness and give up the wants of self gratification. Forgive us Lord for being inconsiderate of the needs of others, especially while we gloat in the excess blessings that You have showered on us. Please teach us to follow Your ways, even when it causes us to sacrifice. Your love oh Lord, reaches to the heavens. May Your love be evident in everything we do or say, so that You may be glorified here on earth. I ask these things in the precious, holy, sacrificial name of Jesus, my Lord and 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 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!

We Are Known By How We Live

On By Ed AlgreenIn Awesome God, Believe, Born Again, Chosen by God, Christ's Representative, Christian Living, Righteous Living2 Comments

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: 1 John 3:7-10
Today’s Bible Text: Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: Friends, I don’t know that I can add a whole lot to what the Word of God is saying to us in this passage. For just as John declared to his followers, God insisted that this become a part of His precious Word to men and women to come, for He knew that we would be challenged with the same struggles in our day. You may ask why I would possibly assume that this is an ongoing challenge. Friends, it is very obvious that many are being lured into a false sense that being a Christian equals: church going; or doing good; or walking the isle of a church after intense pressure by peers/family; or baptism; or hanging with the right crowd. Hopefully if nothing else is gathered from this devotional today, I pray that you will read carefully the above verses, and other related scripture, so that you might discern the following key points:
 **To walk in fellowship with our Lord and Savior, requires an invitation from Him, and a decision/commitment by you;
**You can only be righteous (right in God’s sight) when you accept that invitation from Jesus with all your heart and in deepest sincerity;
**When Jesus is convinced that you are sincere, He will then allow His Holy Spirit to come and live inside your righteous being;
**The Holy Spirit will provide help, inspiration, determination and the power to live a life of righteousness. One that will example His righteousness, and portray His love for mankind so that the lost might see Jesus and have a desire to know Him. By your fruit, or by your right living, others will know whose you are!

So I believe that the challenge for us to look at today is that others will be observing us, just like they’ve done every day. What do you suppose they are seeing? Do they see a man/woman of righteousness, or are they seeing a pretender, or perhaps one that keeps on sinning, as described in the above verses? You will either be a help to someone else searching for righteousness or a Savior, OR you will possibly be a stumbling block to them in their search. Which will it be today, friend?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You only have the power to call others unto Yourself. You only have the power to save mankind from sin. You only have the power to fill us with Your love and Your righteousness so that others might see and believe. Lord, I realize that The way I live could either impact the lost for You or turn them off from wanting to know You. Please speak to Your children once again today Lord. May we be righteous, as You are righteous. May we reflect love, even as You are the true representation of love in its purest form. Lord, may others see Jesus very evident in all that we say or do today, so that they may see and believe. I ask these things in the precious, righteous and most loving name of Jesus, 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!

Proof That You’re A Christian

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christ-Like, Christian, Christian Living, Christian Principles, Christianity, Proof-positiveLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: 1 John 2:3-6
Today’s Bible Text: 3 And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By looking within ourselves: are we really trying to do what he wants us to? 4 Someone may say, “I am a Christian; I am on my way to heaven; I belong to Christ.” But if he doesn’t do what Christ tells him to, he is a liar. 5 But those who do what Christ tells them to will learn to love God more and more. That is the way to know whether or not you are a Christian. 6 Anyone who says he is a Christian should live as Christ did.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: Recently I was in a classroom setting where attendees were asked to explain what the Bible refers to as one’s ‘heart’. Whenever we talk to a non-Christian about the Lord, we encourage them to invite Jesus into their ‘heart’. We might tell our favorite person on earth that we love them with all of our ‘heart’, or from the depths of our ‘heart’. The reason I believe that we relate the degree of our love, or the sincerity of our love to our ‘heart’ is that it helps to explain that it’s not just words that we are expressing,m but a deep personal conviction. These verses declare that if we say that we love Jesus, or have invited Him into our ‘heart’, then proof positive of that love or commitment, would be to live like He lived. In other words, it’s not just superficial, or evidenced by words alone, but it is something where we have allowed Jesus to impact our inner person to such a degree that we want to obey His commands and live by the example He set before us while He was here on earth. I might tell my wife every day that I love her with all my heart, but unless I also express that in, and through my actions, she will never be convinced of that love. That’s the way it is with Jesus. Inviting Him to be your Savior and Lord, means that you have not only asked Him to forgive you of your sin, but you have also asked Him to be Lord of your ‘heart’, and that you want every aspect of your life to be impacted by all that Jesus said and did. This affirms your commitment to express the love and way of Jesus through your words, and live that out through your actions, from that point forward. Think about this friends, you live according to all that’s in your ‘heart’. Is it convincing to God and your fellow mankind that you are a child of God – a Christian? If not, you may need to reevaluate your relationship with God and perhaps start all over again in your walk with the Lord. The word ‘Christian’ means Christ-follower, or Christ-like. Are you a Christian friend? If not convinced, may I encourage you to read my ‘Footnote’ and sure up your decision? Jesus is coming again very soon friend, and it may be as early as today. I pray that I will see you in heaven around the throne of Christ!

Prayer: From the depths of my heart I want to reaffirm that I love You Lord. You are my strength when I am weak, You are the treasure that I seek, You, oh Lord, are my all in all! You alone have the power to impact lives and change hearts from the coldness of this world and the evil one, to a heart that is molded into Your likeness and following Your example. Father, please touch the lives of those who will read this devotional today who may not have experienced that ‘heart’ transformation. Draw them to You oh Lord, and direct them towards total surrender to You, so that our world may not just hear about You, but experience You through every word and/or action from us. Thank You Father for loving us enough to use even us to help accomplish Your awesome work of changing ‘hearts’ here on this earth. To You be all glory, honor and majesty, 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!

2016

Jesus, The Same Yesterday, Today and Forever!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christianity, Eternal Life, Honest, WitnessLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Psalm 102:27–28
Today’s Bible Text: But you are always the same; you will live forever. The children of your people will live in security. Their children’s children will thrive in your presence.”
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT

My Take Away: I believe there are many things that we can reflect on from our past that we really liked, and that we wish was still around in lieu of the sometimes faulty things that we have available today to give, or refer to our kids. In fact, there were places that we once frequented that we can no longer refer to our kids, because they are no longer around. There are wise old folks – you know, like our grandparents and others, that we can no longer refer our descendants to, because they are no longer around. However, there were some stories told by grandparents who knew the Lord, that we have proven over our lifetimes, and as David reveals in this Psalm today, we can afford to share these with our kids and grandkids, because it is not only a sure thing, but God’s love will be available to those that would have Him, for as long as life here on earth continues. Friends, the beauty of this is that the stories passed on down to us are not just stories, but they are real experiences that took place during the lifetime of our ancestors. Similarly, there are stories we can pass down about the work of God in our lives – the work He is currently doing right in our lifetimes. The experiences that our kids and grandkids can experience are then reassured based on the stories of our experiences that we share with them! However friend, the stories that will be meaningful to them are the ones telling our our rich experiences with the Lord Jesus Christ, for those are very personal, and still very much available to our kids today. Do you know this Jesus that I am referring to? Can you share with your kids about the rich personal experiences you have encountered during your lifetime? We can enjoy the relationship with Him forever, if we have made the necessary commitment to be with God even after this life here on earth. Where do you stand friend? This is far more important that trying to store up a fat bank account for them to fight over, and this treasure of which I spoke, is everlasting, and it never fails!

Prayer: Father, I pray that the experiences our kids will discern from us and cherish during their lifetimes, would be the characteristics that they saw in us. The godly lives that we lived and the sincerity of living what we taught them to do. Please touch lives today, including mine, so that I may live the life that I claim in You. May others be drawn close to You because of Your character being lived out in me. You, oh Lord, are my all in all! Thank You for loving me and providing for my everlasting happiness! In Jesus precious 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!

2016

A Prayer For Our Leader and People

On By Ed AlgreenIn King, Leader, Prayer, President, RighteousnessLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Psalm 72:1-5
Today’s Bible Text: Teach the king to judge with your righteousness, O God; share with him your own justice, so that he will rule over your people with justice and govern the oppressed with righteousness. May the land enjoy prosperity; may it experience righteousness. May the king judge the poor fairly; may he help the needy
and defeat their oppressors. May your people worship you as long as the sun shines,
as long as the moon gives light, for ages to come.
The Bible Translation: The Good News Translation (GNT)

My Take Away: With this being a year of election for my country to elect a new president, I believe that while we must be diligent to vote for the one God directs us to as our next leader, we must also be diligent to read God’s Word about what is expected of us (Christians) before, during and after our elections. For interspersed throughout God’s Word we are cautioned in each of these areas. In this scripture today, King David is praying for the Israelites’ new king, his son Solomon. I believe that if we take note of David’s prayer, and acknowledge that God had very good intentions and reasons for placing this prayer as part of His Word, and endeavor to pray similarly for our leader, then perhaps our people will humble themselves and pray, and seek God’s face. Watch how this prayer is all about our leader and us, being more like God and placing Him in His place over us. David prayed:

  • That the king would judge with ‘righteousness’;
  • That he would rule/govern with the same justice and ‘righteousness’ experienced from God, especially to the poor and oppressed;
  • That as a result of the above the people would enjoy prosperity and ‘righteousness’;
  • That the king would judge the poor fairly and be willing to stand up to the oppressors;
  • That the people would never fail to worship God today and all the days to come.

Friends, as children of God, I believe we are called to be living witnesses of what our God expects of us. I have just listed some ways that we are taught to pray for our leader and for our people. What do you suppose would happen to our country if Christians chose to pray like God expects of us, and to do it on a regular basis? Let’s remember this year that we are called to be Christ followers first. Let’s not get so carried away with worldly politics that the unsaved lose total recognition to whom we truly belong. The unsaved is looking for what God has done in our lives, not how little difference there is between us and the world. We are to be ‘light’ in this world of ‘darkness’. Please example, teach and preach the Word of God, even during a time when the world around us is so caught up in, what often turns out to be, the hatred and evil of politics. Please remember that God loves all of his children, not just us and our look-a-likes!

Prayer: Lord God, may Your people be Your faithful and true people even during a very passionate time of placing what we believe to be the right person in leadership over our country. May we be so faithful in prayer, trying to ensure that we hear your voice clearly, that we will not have time to step into the filth and ugliness of earthly politics. We are Your ambassadors looking to win as many to the kingdom as possible. May we not lose sight of that mission in things we say, write or portray, especially this year. You loved us in spite of our sin, may we in turn, show that same love to all Your children, by staying on mission for You, and not allowing the political views of the world around us to divide us from, or distract us in, our mission for You. I ask these things in love and because I want You to be foremost in our lives at all times, Lord Jesus, even during a year of elections. 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!

2016

Come To Jesus Meeting

On By Ed AlgreenIn Integrity, RighteousnessLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – 1 Declare me innocent, O Lord, for I have acted with integrity; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. 2 Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart. 3 For I am always aware of your unfailing love, and I have lived according to your truth. ~ Psalm 26:1-3 ~ New Living Translation (NLT)

THOUGHTS: As I read about David’s one-on-one meeting with the Master, I remembered our pastor mentioning in a recent sermon that he and his family would see the need for a ‘Come to Jesus meeting’ every so often to settle some issues or misunderstanding that the kids may have perceived or strayed away to. This was very close to me, because we had those same type meetings in my family also, and perhaps you might do the same. The reason I feel like I was so impressed with David’s actions in these verses, is because I felt like God was telling me this should be a good checkpoint in my life also. I believe that a lot of times we feel like we are doing ok, and that we have this ‘Christian living’ thing under control. Friends, may I remind you that you and I are not to parallel our righteousness with that of our spouse, our Sunday School teacher, our deacon or elder nor after our pastor, but only after the one true righteous One that ever lived, Jesus Christ. So with that in mind, how then shall we approach the God of this universe about our righteousness? By the way, what righteousness? Remember, God not only sees our actions, like other men do, but God knows our very thoughts and intentions behind everything we say and do. So although we appear ‘good’ to those who only see the outward self and expressions, how do you suppose we stack up in God’s eyes? You also know yourself very well, are you ready to look in the face of God and say like David, that you have acted with integrity; trusted in the Lord without wavering; always aware of His gracious love and lived according to His Word? Can you truly say these things to God with enough conviction that you would welcome His cross-examination and testing? Wouldn’t it be grand to go on a retreat for about 3 days with dedicated hours towards meditating alone with God and in His Word? Do you suppose that sometime during that retreat you might truly be able to have your ‘Come To Jesus’ meeting and wait for His judgment? I bet it would totally and radically change your Christian walk and experience. I bet your eyes would be opened to areas of your life where you feel so inadequate and mis-aligned with God and His purpose for your life. Perhaps you may even feel like David when he declared at the end of the same chapter “Now I stand on solid ground, and I will publicly praise the Lord.” This sounds like cleaning up the garbage that separates, or drives you away from the God that you love, doesn’t it? Friends, for us to stand firm with our friends, we must first be extremely firm in our relationship with God.

PRAYER: Father, You alone are perfect and good, but I believe You would love to see us try harder to become perfect and good in all our ways so that we may be better aligned with You. Our lives are very transparent, so in spite of us convincing ourselves of our goodness, others see our faults and the large variance in our ways vs Your ways. Please help us to get honest with ourselves by asking You to highlight our weaknesses and our sin. We realize that we will never become perfect, as You are the only perfect One, but Lord I feel like we should all strive towards being more like You every day. We can only fight the war with Satan here on earth through Your strength and the assurance of Your presence each and every day. Thank You for loving us enough to care about our righteousness. I ask this humbly in the name of Your very precious Son, Jesus, 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!

Our Basic Sin Revealed

On By Ed AlgreenIn Judgment, Righteousness, SinLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – John 16:8-11 – The Message (MSG): 8–11 “When he comes, he’ll expose the error of the godless world’s view of sin, righteousness, and judgment: He’ll show them that their refusal to believe in me is their basic sin; that righteousness comes from above, where I am with the Father, out of their sight and control; that judgment takes place as the ruler of this godless world is brought to trial and convicted.

THOUGHTS: In talking about the coming of the Holy Spirit, the third part of the trinity, Jesus told what His primary focus will be. He would expose the godless world’s view of:

  1. Sin – Scripture says that the basic sin of this world is their refusal to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. I firmly believe that this is still a huge problem even today. No matter how much we try to impose laws, or even Jesus’ commands upon people, this will all be meaningless if they refuse to believe in God and His precious Son. Therefore, I believe that the number one priority is to pray for unbelievers to see Jesus and to accept Him as Lord of their life. As Jesus indicated, when their basic sin is taken care of, all other sin will be properly dealt with under the lordship of their new father/leader, Jesus Christ. I believe that many of our churches today will be held accountable by God for the soft stance they have taken on the subject of ‘sin’. Trying to win someone to attend church or be a better person, without dealing with the core problem, will achieve nothing in the life of that person. Jesus saw ‘SIN‘ as a huge problem, the main problem, and until we decide to follow in His footsteps and do the same, we cannot expect to see our world get any better;
  2. Righteousness – This can only come from above, for true righteousness comes only from the Father. Being as good, or righteous as your pastor, even though he might be the best pastor, preacher, leader, friend that you have ever known, yet he is ‘man’ just as we are, and subject to the temptations of this world and subject to imperfections just as we are. Seek to gain your righteousness after God Himself, the only true ‘righteous’ one;
  3. Judgment – Often judgment passed down by our courts could be marred by man’s rules and laws. God is our final Judge, so it is Him that we must answer to and be held accountable to on all the things that we say and/or do. God knows all things, so unlike this world where a good attorney could look for ways to keep you out of judgment by the courts, this is not an option when you stand before our Judge – God and/or His Son Jesus Christ.

I believe that the basic responsibility of the church today is to support the work of the Holy Spirit in exposing sin. How’s your church doing? Please pray for your pastor to be bold in following this command. He won’t be popular, so he could really use your ongoing prayers and support. Encourage him at every opportunity.

PRAYER: Lord God, there is so much that we can praise You for! You are so worthy of our praise, our honor and our glory and our obedience! Thank you for being so forthright in Your Word and for giving us direction on what Your Holy Spirit’s primary ministry will be. I believe that You have shared this so that we might catch a glimpse of what’s important to You and therefore direct our work and our ministry in the same direction. Please use us individually, and corporately as a church to expose the world’s twisted view of sin, and to teach, preach and individually share with friends how critical it is that they come to know the only sin-less One – Jesus our Savior. With Jesus inside of us, how can we do anything but spread the good news and joy of being His child forever! To God be the glory for the great things He has done, can do, and will always do through those who love Him and seek to serve Him! I ask these things in faith, and in the precious name of Jesus, 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!