Category: Christian

As You Are Blessed – Give in Return

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Giving, God our Provider, Imitator of ChristLeave a comment

Scripture: Deuteronomy 14 – 17.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Deuteronomy 16:16-17 (NLT)

16 “Each year every man in Israel must celebrate these three festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters. On each of these occasions, all men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he chooses, but they must not appear before the Lord without a gift for him. 17 All must give as they are able, according to the blessings given to them by the Lord your God.

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

Would there ever be a need in God’s house or among His people if we all gave as we are blessed? I dare say that there would not be the need for a church to borrow funds if we truly followed God’s Word on the subject of giving. I believe that too often we tend to give ourselves credit for all that we achieve in our jobs and in our income, so we find excuses as to why we shouldn’t give a portion to God in return for His blessing. I need to remind self and my friends this morning that life itself is a blessing from God. Health and strength is a blessing from God – after all why do we deserve to be healthy enough to rise and shine this morning, when so many are bed ridden and unable to move? Why are we so blessed to have a job to go to this morning when there are so many that are unemployed? God has seen fit to bless us in this time and place. What we do with that is our appreciation back to our Maker, our Provider, our Protector, our Sacrificial Lamb, our Savior, Our Lord and soon coming King. As we are blessed, let us recognize the blessings, and let us give in accordance with how we are blessed. We often say “God is good all the time”, the question today is: Are we good to others in return? Do we give freely to others as God has chosen to give freely to us? It’s all His, friend! Let’s not be stingy in how liberal we are in how we give to others and to His work!

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

Father, I pray that You will help me to be mindful of how much You bless me each and every day. Help me to not obligate myself so much in debt and/or bills that I find it challenging to give to others and/or Your work. Thank You for blessing me with so much. Please help me to bless others in return so that they may see You in material ways and want to know You in a personal way.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Who Receives Credit for Your Ministry?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Disciple, Humility, PowerLeave a comment

Scripture: Luke 3.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Luke 3:15-18 (NLT)

15 Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and they were eager to know whether John might be the Messiah.

16 John answered their questions by saying, “I baptize you with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”

18 John used many such warnings as he announced the Good News to the people.

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

As I read this part of chapter 3 this morning I was reminded about how much this sounds like our world today. Many are expecting Jesus to come soon. Many want to know if the Christ has come already and we just don’t recognize him. Unfortunately, many put their faith in pastors, preachers, evangelists or just plain spiritual leaders. This is evident because they never read the Bible to see what God is saying to them personally, they just depend on what they hear preached or taught to them. With every little ache or pain some will sooner run to the pastor rather than, or instead of, praying to God for their healing. Now I know that a good pastor will want to know about your ailments or needs so that he might pray with you about them, but remember friends, God is the One with the power to heal and/or meet your needs. It is so important that we have a ‘personal’ relationship with the risen Lord! The other thing that I am impressed with about John is that he emphasized that he was only a messenger, and that the Christ would be much greater than he. To those of us that folk may look up to and place faith in, we must be so very careful to clarify with them where the real power source is, and that we are merely a caring messenger of that One. To those we minister to, we must be very careful to serve as Jesus served, do all we can to see them plugged into the right power source and build a personal relationship with Jesus. Allowing someone to attach themselves to us as a friend who cares about them and will pray for them and guide them into a personal relationship with Jesus is what ministering in His name is all about. It is never about self. Remember, there is no power unless it comes from God Himself. It would be a pity for us to work with someone spiritually without seeing them come to know, and depend on Jesus as Lord of their life. We will move along some day, but remember that the love and power of God will last forever. It’s all about God, not us!

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

Lord Jesus, it is You that I love and adore. It is You that I long to see one day in Heaven. It is You that I want others to see when I share Your love with them. Please help me to never promote self, but to disclose the true source of any power displayed in anything that I may say or do. Like John, I know that in and of myself, I am nothing with You. Therefore, please help me to promote You in all that I say or do so that others will be drawn to You and not to me.

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àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Obey God’s Commands

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Heaven, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Resurrection DayLeave a comment

Scripture: Deuteronomy 12-13.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Deuteronomy 12:28 (NLT)

28 Be careful to obey all my commands, so that all will go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and pleasing to the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 12:32 (NLT)

32 “So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them.
Deuteronomy 13:4 (NLT)

4 Serve only the Lord your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him.

Deuteronomy 13:18 (NLT)

18 “The Lord your God will be merciful only if you listen to his voice and keep all his commands that I am giving you today, doing what pleases him.

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

It is interesting how God has been emphasizing ‘Obedience’ over the past three devotions! In reading these two chapters this morning I noticed where the Israelites were being warned several times how important it was for them to honor God through their obedience. It was also interesting to note how a reward of some sort was being offered or promised to them in response to their obedience. It definitely was emphasized how important it is to God when His children loves Him enough to be obedient to His commands and teachings. This speaks to me, because I know that this is the same God that I serve today. God’s Word is loaded with ‘nuggets’ that we are expected to follow in obedience to the God that we love and in showing proof to God that we love Him so much that we are willing to obey Him, regardless if it may be contrary to the desires of our own heart or in line with what our peers around us. It is obvious that our obedience pleases God and it is obvious throughout God’s Word that He will honor our obedience with rewards that come only from a loving God. I’m looking forward to my reward of being present with the Lord some day in Heaven and I long for the voice of God to say individually to me, “well done good and faithful servant – Ed, you have been obedient to my Word and my commands, welcome into my presence”. Wow, ‘What A Day that Will Be‘! Wow, ‘Oh that will be Glory for Me’!, Wow, ‘Oh I want to see Him, Look Upon His Face, There to Sing Forever‘!

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

Father, just to look upon Your face and sing glories to You forever in Your heavenly home is something worth the journey each and every day while walking this daily, challenging road here on earth. You have emphasized how important obedience is to that ultimate journey. I pray that my life will be so dedicated to obeying You and my mind so fixed on Your Word and obeying it, that someday, when You see fit to call me out of this world, that I shall see You face to face and worship You eternally in heaven. I look forward to that day! I feel like it will be the prize rewarded to me for being obedient, patient and exemplifying You in every way while here on this earth. Thank You for preparing a home for me! While left here on this earth, I beg Your power to overcome evil and be a living, loving example of You to all that I come into contact with.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Love and Obedience Lead to Blessings!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, God’s Word, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Pleasing to GodLeave a comment

Scripture: Deuteronomy 11.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Deuteronomy 11:22-23 (NLT)

22 “Be careful to obey all these commands I am giving you. Show love to the Lord your God by walking in his ways and holding tightly to him. 23 Then the Lord will drive out all the nations ahead of you, though they are much greater and stronger than you, and you will take over their land.

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

I have underlined a section of the short scripture that I copied above, because it really spoke to me this morning about where we are as a people, as a church, as a city, state and country. We tend to get all shaken and concerned about all that goes on around us, and we may even wonder sometime if God is truly with us. I believe that much too often we look at external factors that may affect us much more than looking inward to see what it is that we may be falling short on ourselves. I believe that Moses said to his people that when they do their part by:

  1. Showing love to the Lord – let’s remember that our love is shown by our actions. We may say with our mouths that we love someone, but when we consistently do those things that we know will aggravate, tantalize, upset or even disappoint that person, they will not feel much love from us. So it is with God. If we truly love Him, we will be in close communion/fellowship with Him daily. We will look for ways to please Him, honor Him and obey Him. We will then say it with our mouths that we love Him, and He will know without a doubt from our actions that we love Him. In fact others around us will know that we love Him.
  2. Walking in His ways – being a Christian means being a little Christ, or giving every effort towards doing all that Jesus did, all that He showed us and told us to do. Follow His example in the ways that He dealt with people. Imitate His very character and seek to do His will in all aspects of your life.
  3. Holding tightly to Him – at the beginning of this chapter Moses made it clear that he was not speaking to the children, or folk that didn’t know about the mighty hand of God. This reminds me that I can’t shrug off my responsibility to hold tight to the teachings, miracles, leadership, love, understanding and boldness of my Savior, because it is upon those things that I have built my faith and trust in Him. So hold tight to those things that I have learned about Him so that all doubt will be removed as I look to depend on Him each day.

When we do our part, then we can know that God will honor His Word and do all that He has promised. We have a hope, friend. Let us do our part through our belief, our actions and our obedience, then watch and savor the blessings that will be ours as God watches over us and makes a way for us.

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

Father, thank You for reminding me again this morning what it takes to open the doors of Heaven and receive Your blessings. Please direct my path today and help me to walk in Your ways and be obedient to all that You would have me do or say. I am often reminded about what You would have me do and say. Please give me the boldness, desire and love to follow Your teachings so that I may be more like You each and every day. Thank You for your promises to do even more for me as I follow and be obedient. I need Your strength and power each and every day dear Lord.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Obedience

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Obedience, Reflecting ChristLeave a comment

Obedience

Deuteronomy 8:1 tells us to obey God’s commandments. We do this by obeying God with…

OUR HEART

By loving him more than any relationship, activity, achievement, or possession

OUR WILL

By committing ourselves completely to him

OUR MIND

By seeking to know him and his Word, so his principles and values form the foundation of all we think and do

OUR BODY

By recognizing that our strengths, talents, and sexuality are given to us by God to be used for pleasure and fulfillment according to his rules, not ours

OUR FINANCES

By deciding that all of the resources we have ultimately come from God, and that we are to be managers of them and not owners

OUR FUTURE

By deciding to make service to God and man the main purpose of our life’s work

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

Father God, I am convinced again today that there is nothing more important than reading Your Word and obeying it, for You alone are God , and it is You that will lead us out of our world of sin and into Your path of righteousness that leads to heaven and life eternally with You. Please help me to stay constant in Your Word, constant in obeying Your commands and constant in my witness to a lost and dying world. Thank You for all that You provide for me each day and all that You help me through in overcoming evil and living a life worthy of Your calling.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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In Faith, Believing

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Chosen by God, Faith, God our Helper, Imitator of Christ, Obedience, Pleasing to God, PurityLeave a comment

Scripture: Luke 1.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Luke 1:35-38 (NLT)

35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she’s now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.”

38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

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

In my last devotional I was drawn to a section of scripture that highlighted the unbelief of the disciples concerning the resurrection of our Lord. In this passage I rejoiced, and was encouraged over the humbleness and total faith of Mary who was honored by the presence of an angel and also by the miraculous message that she would bear a child, even though she never had relations with a man. In fact, it appears like Mary basically said to the angel: I am God’s and God’s alone, may He do with me what pleases Him so that He may be honored through me and bless others. Wow, what a powerful example of a totally surrendered, unselfish, committed life. This means that nothing in this world was more important, or had greater priority, than to follow the will of God and be used by Him. Even if it meant that the world may look upon her in disgrace, because they wouldn’t know the extent of what brought on the pregnancy. If there was at least one person in each church congregation that had these characteristics today, there would be no doubt that we are truly a Christian nation! Individually, can we work on our faith so that we may totally surrender our lives to the work of the Master? Can we turn loose of self and our desire to please a sinful world, and instead dedicate ourselves to pleasing an almighty God?

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

Father, in reading this today I am reminded of how much I lean towards pleasing those around me rather than totally surrendering myself to You and allowing You to have Your will and way in and through my life. Please forgive me for my lack of priority and direction. Please help me to get on track in being obedient to You, the one that I have committed my life to and asked You to be leader, director and model for my every decision, movement and action. I am Your servant, may everything You desire to use me for here on this earth be accomplished in and through me in its most purest form.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Faith to Believe

On By Ed AlgreenIn Ask and Receive, Bible Believing, Faith, Follow Jesus, God Reigns, God’s Word, Obedience, Power of PrayerLeave a comment

Scripture: Mark 16.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Mark 16:9-14 (NLT)

9 After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons.

10 She went to the disciples, who were grieving and weeping, and told them what had happened. 11 But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn’t believe her.

12 Afterward he appeared in a different form to two of his followers who were walking from Jerusalem into the country. 13 They rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them.

14 Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen him after he had been raised from the dead.

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

God really highlighted this passage to me this morning, particularly the point of unbelief that the disciples had surrounding His resurrection. At the first reading of this we might feel pity or feel sorry for the disciples for such unbelief. In closer deliberation I thought about who it was that struggled with unbelief. These were the men who were handpicked by Jesus; they were closest to Him during His ministry here on earth; they witnessed miracle after miracle which showed them firsthand the power of Jesus, and they heard Jesus speak about how He would rise again after the third day. Further, I am sure that the prayers that went up by these men after Jesus was arrested was probably very intense, for they had lost their Master, their friend, their leader. So why then would they be surprised to hear that Jesus was alive? Friends, we are just as bad today even after all we know from God’s Word, and even after all that we have prayed about, and even after all that we have witnessed and/or heard about Jesus doing here on this earth. I believe that Jesus can easily say to us today, “Oh ye of little faith”. Having just celebrated Easter, we know that Jesus is alive. We know that He is the same miracle worker that we read about in His Word and witnessed in so many cases here on this earth, so let us therefore place our faith and trust in Him. Let us expect the miracles that He has the power to perform and not be surprised when we witness the answers, but instead celebrate the power of God and His willingness to hear and respond to our prayers. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to us. Near enough that we could have a relationship with Him and witness His answers to our prayers and perform the miracles that we could only dream of. Have faith in God!

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

Father I believe in You. I believe in Your almighty hand. Please help me to always pray in faith, believing that You have the power to do all things. Let me therefore not be surprised when You answer my prayers, but instead be ready to rejoice and lift up Your name above all names. Please help my unbelief!

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Acknowledge God’s Power

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, God Reigns, Victorious LifeLeave a comment

Scripture: Deuteronomy 1-3.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Deuteronomy 3:23-24 (NLT)

23 “At that time I pleaded with the Lord and said,

24 ‘O Sovereign Lord, you have only begun to show your greatness and the strength of your hand to me, your servant. Is there any god in heaven or on earth who can perform such great and mighty deeds as you do?

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

So often in our lives today we see God’s hand at work among us and we praise Him for His mighty acts for a short time afterwards. As an example, I am reminded of the weeks following the 9-11 disaster, the weeks following the 2004 hurricanes that passed through our area, and other times that we saw God’s mighty hand at work – both in destruction and in protecting us from disaster. It seems like soon after we felt like everything was settled back down and ‘we‘ had things back under control, that we then returned to our normal lives that were often lived without Christ. Oh that we may have the stamina and determination of Moses to stick with God, not only through our disasters but through to the Promised Land. For just like such a land was in sight for Moses and his Egyptian followers, we too are promised a land where there will be no more fighting, or sickness, or heartache, but a land where the glow from our Savior will lighten the surroundings for us! Where there will be peace and harmony forevermore! Where there will be no distractions from our worship time as we will literally worship at the feet of Jesus for years and years! We have a Promised Land that out-shines anything we may have read about in God’s Word, or any other book, or can even imagine! Let us therefore recognized the awesome power of our living God in our everyday lives, and let us not lose sight of the Promised Land that we, who know Jesus as Lord and personal Savior, can look forward to one day! Like Moses, let us stay focused on the Promised Land as we face the everyday challenges of this world, knowing that there are bigger and greater things in store for us from a God who loves us so much that He sacrificed His only Son so that we may have and enjoy the land promised to us! What a Mighty God We Serve!

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

Father, with excitement I come before You being reminded of the Promised Land that You have prepared for me and others who believe in You. With that view in mind, all the temptations, struggles and trial of this life become obscure, for I now look forward to the day when You will call me to Your side. Thank You Father for this reminder this morning. Like Moses, I can say today that there is no leader that can perform the mighty acts like You have performed, and there is no leader who will look out for my best interest like You have done in preparing for my eternal destiny. Thank You for loving me so much. Thank You for being such an awesome God to Moses and his people. Thank You for using that victory to still inspire me and others today as we study Your Word. You are a mighty God and I worship and adore You today as my Lord, my Savior and my God!

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Would you Recognize Jesus?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Follow Jesus, Imitator of Christ, Obedience, Our Help comes from GodLeave a comment

Scripture: Mark 15.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Mark 15:37-39 (NLT)

37 Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

39 When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

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

In our daily lives many of us pray to Jesus, and most of us witness answers to those prayers. We sometimes do good to others in Jesus name, while others allow God to work through them and perform Godly acts to and for others as Jesus would do. When the Roman officer witnessed Jesus in His most humbling, painful, humiliating, conquering form, he recognized that there was something about the man that reflected the power, majesty and love of God that Jesus taught while He ministered. I was alerted to two questions in this passage:

  1. Would I been as keen as the Roman officer to recognize Jesus?
  2. Seeing that I, as a Christian, am supposed to be like Jesus in my everyday walk, would others recognize Jesus in my actions and in my conversations?

This should have an eye-opening effect on our daily walk and in our everyday interaction with others. This should keep us humbled before the cross of Jesus begging for His mercy, grace, wisdom and power to be overcomers of temptations from the evil one, and soldiers of the cross, and instead be exemplifiers of the Prince of Peace, the holiest of all, Jesus Christ.

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

Father, I am aware that there is little I can do on my own to overcome the evil in this world and to be a true disciple of Yours, witnessing and representing You in every aspect of my life. So today, I ask anew that You help me to overcome those things that tend to distract me from my walk with You, and the things that unfortunately take priority over my walk with You. I don’t need to hear the words, because it would build unnecessary pride in me, but may others be able to say to You today about me, that truly He is a man of God. Lord God, I also pray that those that may read this devotional today may also be impacted by this and that they may also choose to ask for Your power to be overcomers of the evil in this world and instead, be disciplined followers of Yours.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Watch for Jesus!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, God’s Word, Hope, Repentance, Things EternalLeave a comment

Scripture: Mark 13.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Mark 13:34-37 (NLT)

34 “The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. When he left home, he gave each of his slaves instructions about the work they were to do, and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return. 35 You, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household will return—in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak. 36 Don’t let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. 37 I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for him!”

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

There are so many examples of how we Keep Watch for certain things. Jesus gave an example in verse 34 and also in earlier verses to help the people understand what He meant by Keeping Watch. God’s Word is full of direction to help us ready ourselves for the coming of our Lord Jesus, and it details what we need to do to be ready for the biggest two options we will ever face in our entire lives:

  1. For those who have accepted Jesus as their personal Savior and lived in a right relationship with Him, then we have a future to look forward to with Jesus. Imagine spending eternity with the One who created us; the One who designed, created and maintained this world; the One who showed such love for us that He allowed His only Son to die on a cruel cross that we might have this opportunity to be with Him? Wow, to join hands and hearts with millions of angels and just worship and sing praises to the King of all kings, the Lord of all lords, the Master of this universe, the One who demonstrated love in such pure and sincere ways and to be known as ‘love’! I have a future such as this, because I have met the pre-qualifications! How about you friend?
  2. For those who do not fit the above pre-qualifications, the only other option is to live out your eternity in a much more cruel and devastating place than what you have ever experienced here on earth, because Satan and his forces have nothing more than an eternity of hell and damnation, suffering, pain, evil and hatred in store for you. Is this what you are spending this life preparing for?

Please respond to this post if I might help you insure that you are ready for the first option. God has told us in His Word, the Bible, that He would rather that none should perish as in option 2 above, so know it today that there is hope. There is a better option. God loves you and would rather that you not perish, but instead that you may enjoy everlasting life with Him. It’s your choice friend, but please don’t wait. We see tragedies all around us each and every day. Take note, you have no control when your life here will end, so ‘Watch Out’, be ready for Jesus’ return! I’m afraid that the default is option 2, unless you choose option 1 friend! Make sure that toady you are settled on what it will be for you.

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

Father I thank You for convincing me of my sin and showing me the door to salvation leading to life eternally with You! I look forward to seeing You return to gather Your people to Your side. Please help me to help someone today that may not have that assurance, because they do not have a relationship with You. May someone come to a decision today and choose option 1 above. I would love to help that person, please direct me accordingly.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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