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Post Date: |
Saturday, 2017-09-23 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Luke 24:33-43 (MSG) |
|
Text: |
36-41 While they were saying all this, Jesus appeared to them and said, “Peace be with you.” They thought they were seeing a ghost and were scared half to death. He continued with them, “Don’t be upset, and don’t let all these doubting questions take over. Look at my hands; look at my feet—it’s really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to toe. A ghost doesn’t have muscle and bone like this.” As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. They still couldn’t believe what they were seeing. It was too much; it seemed too good to be true. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Jesus had told His disciples ahead of time that He would suffer and die, but He would only be in the grave three days. Mary and her friends had already returned and said that the tomb was empty, and now some of their fellow disciples were telling them about Jesus being alive and chatting with them along the road to Emmaus, yet when Jesus appears before them they were still filled with doubt and frightened. How would we react today if Jesus appeared before us? |
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| APPLICATION: | |
| I believe that after reading this Scripture today, I can understand a little more clearly why we tend to doubt so much here on earth. Think about it, these disciples had been with Jesus all of His ministry life here on earth. They saw miracle after miracle, including Him raising Lazarus from the dead, yet although He told them that He would be taken and would return to earth again, they still could not believe their own eyes. But before we get too deep in criticizing the disciples or coming down hard on them, let’s see how we are doing today. We are blessed at having heard about all that Jesus did through the days of the Bible. We have been blessed by all that God has done in our own lives and through our relatives. We have virtually seen miracle after miracle occur all around us, yet when we ask God for something and we see it miraculously materialize, we use excuses like: I am one lucky man; or I have the best friends around; or why didn’t I think of that? Friends, when will we learn to raise our hands in praise and give God the glory, in humility, for the God of this universe looking down in love and answering our prayer? When we take our petitions before God, there is no more room for ‘luck’ or ‘happen-chance’. We take it before Him in faith and it’s just like He says in return: “it’s OK my child, you can rest assured that I’ve got this. You’ve got nothing else to worry about.” Our part then is to rest in faith that we have passed the baton and our Maker has control of the situation. What a peace that is to the one who believes in Jesus Christ! If you don’t know that kind of peace today friend, please read my footnote on ways that you can get help to know my Savior. |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, thank You for loving even me. Thank You for caring enough of Your children to hear our heart’s cry and answer our prayers in ways that You know are perfect for us. Please give us faith to believe; faith to rest our cares and concerns at Your feet; and faith to believe in You and the glorious response to our prayers. You alone are God, and You alone can perform the miracles that we are often recipients of. We love You Lord, and we lay ourselves before You, because we are such a needy people. Please hear our cry and answer according to Your perfect will. AMEN! |
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| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Category: Christian
Proof of Son-ship
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Post Date: |
Friday, 2017-09-15 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
1 John 4:7-10 (GNT) |
|
Text: |
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 And God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him. 10 This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| I believe that we have always learned that God is love, and that we should use His example when explaining the word ‘love’. However in our Scripture today, John is helping us to understand that if we claim to know Jesus as Lord, then we must be identified as being a person of that same genuine love as Jesus. Easy? No, but let’s try to apply this today….. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| After growing into a teenager, I remember being far from home, and someone at a gas station shouted across identifying me with my dad. I was floored, as I never knew that I looked so much like my dad! We often hear people tell couples that they look like sister and brother. I wonder if that’s as much in looks, or how they act so much alike after being together so many years? Friends, with God’s help, I want to especially share with you the unconditional love that Jesus has for us, and I want to remind you that when we identify ourselves with Him – that we are a Christian, then folk should often mistake us for Jesus, because we act so much like all they have read, heard or know about Jesus. This passage today is telling us that we can’t hate a brother or a sister and claim to be Christ-like, for that would be totally opposite to His character trait. Let me remind you that He loved the men that came to arrest Him in the garden where He went to pray, because He reached out and healed the ear of the one whose ear was severed by one of Jesus’ men. On the cross He pleaded with God to have mercy on the folk responsible for His crucifixion, as He felt they really didn’t know what they were doing. He could have called a multitude of angels to clean up the scene at the crucifixion, much like He did at His birth when He reached out to the shepherds, but He sought the Father’s will instead. These few points lead to the fact that just as Jesus loved, in spite of the circumstances, and in spite of the hatred showed to Him, then as His child, we too must seek guidance, strength and boldness to love those who are easy to love, and those who really don’t want anyone to love them. Our witness to them will be most effective when they see Jesus in our words and in our actions, otherwise we come across to them as just another hypocrite. For those of us that represent our Savior, our relationship with Him is way too important to mess up on this. Verse 8 clearly identifies those who choose not to love. I trust that no one reading this blog today will walk away acknowledging that they are not a child of the King. Friends, please know Him and know true love for one another. If you are challenged to show love for everyone, then have a personal meeting with Jesus and analyze Your relationship with Him. There may be some decisions or cleanup that He may want you to do in your life. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Dear Jesus, thank You for another identifier, and reminder for those of us that claim You as Lord and Master. You portrayed love to everyone, much to the dismay of church leaders in Your day. Yet You have forgiven us of our sin, and we still look down our noses at some, assuming that we could never love them. Your Word is clear – that attitude highlights one who is not a child of the King. Lord Jesus, please help us to seek Your face, Your strength and Your love each and every day, and please help us to never assume that anyone is not worthy of our love. As Your representative, may we learn to love everyone with the same love that You showed to us when a holy and righteous Savior held out His hand and accepted a sinner like me. May You be honored in all that we say and do today, is my humble prayer that I ask in faith, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Strength Against Temptation
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Post Date: |
Tuesday, 2017-09-12 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Luke 22:46 (ERV) |
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Text: |
46 Jesus said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray for strength against temptation.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| At a time when Jesus went up to the garden to pray, He gave His disciples an assignment to pray about also: Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. Because this is something that we all can pray for, I wanted us to take a deeper look into this… | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I found it interesting that Jesus did not say to His disciples, pray just in case temptation comes your way. Jesus knew what was about to happen, and He knew that it could mean death for His disciples if they stuck to their witness of the Master that was so close and intimate over their time of close ministry with Him. Things are no different today friends, for we leave our times of spiritual enrichment through great praise and worship services, and awesome reminders from God’s Word, and we reenter the world of constant bombardment by Satan to turn our heads and return to the ways of the world. So what’s so wrong about that, you might ask – seeing that we have to live in this old world. Good question! I believe that it is appropriate that we be reminded that Jesus was so different to the world, that He became the center of attention for attacks by the people. I know, that’s the last thing you want, right? Well, I believe you made a mistake in wanting a part in Christianity, for the teachings and example of Jesus is totally opposed to the teachings and example of this world. You see, if you are not led by the Lord Jesus Christ, and asking Him daily to guide your life, then you have a different leader – Satan. There are many examples of where Jesus was totally different, or opposite to the ways of the world. Sometimes it made Him stand out like a sore thumb, but it’s who He was and still is. ‘Going with the flow’ often means that we wait around to see what the crowd decides to do then we will do the same thing. When Jesus asks us to stay awake and pray against temptation, I believe He is telling us to seek the face of Jesus about the best course of action for us today, not what the popular person/people does. We were told at a very young age by our parents that following the crowd will get us into trouble. Jesus declares the same thing to be true today – stay awake and not be led into temptation by the crowd, but seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and His righteousness. As Christians, we are to look like Jesus, sound like Him and act like Him in every way. In fact, we should easily be mistaken for Jesus because of our likeness of Him in our character and in our love. Let’s pray for one another friends, so that the world might see, know and believe in the same Lord that we adore and are led by. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, we all face temptation from this old wicked world, but we want to be more and more like You every day. We can only do this with Your help and our determination. Please touch the hearts of Your children and help us to not only proclaim our allegiance to You in the presence of our pastor or other church members, but even at times when temptation knocks for an open door of opportunity. Lord, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and for ever, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Qualities of a Child That Adults Need
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Post Date: |
Thursday, 2017-08-24 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Luke 18:16-17 (TLB) |
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Text: |
16-17 Then Jesus called the children over to him and said to the disciples, “Let the little children come to me! Never send them away! For the Kingdom of God belongs to men who have hearts as trusting as these little children’s. And anyone who doesn’t have their kind of faith will never get within the Kingdom’s gates.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Men has a predetermined idea of the qualities needed to do a job, and the type of person to do it – perhaps even the age of the person. Jesus tried to break that idea by showing that there are qualities even in a child, who has not really experienced a lot in life yet, that we need to take note of. Let’s have a closer look at those qualities and see what we might learn from them. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
It is so challenging for a group of adults to sit in a room and come to a unanimous decision. Even more challenging for a group working on a project and agreeing to accomplish the necessary tasks in unity. Jesus pointed out two qualities that He recognized in children that, I believe, we need to have a closer look at:
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| PRAYER: | |
| Father God, Creator of heaven and earth, All powerful and almighty in strength and power, we exalt You and we lift up Your name on high. We come before You with thanksgiving, knowing that we serve an awesome God who loves and cares for His children. Please enhance our faith Lord, so that we may trust You with all of life’s ups and downs. Lord we need You every day and in every circumstance. We need You every hour dear Lord. Thank You for Your faithfulness and love. AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
A Faith That Heals and Saves
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Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-08-21 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Luke 17:14-19 (MSG) |
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Text: |
14-16 Taking a good look at them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan.
17-19 Jesus said, “Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?” Then he said to him, “Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| This is known as the story of the Ten Lepers. Leprosy is a dreaded decease where those afflicted were placed outside the city gates in order not to infect others. However these 10 lepers had heard about Jesus, and had some hope that He would heal them, if only they could get close enough to let Jesus know their heart’s cry. This happened as they had hoped and wished for, but the healing demanded a lot of faith from the lepers. Let’s examine this closer and see what God might say to us through His Word…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| For every person that passed within eye-shod of these lepers, I’m sure that 99.99% of them turned their heads and went on their way to avoid any type of contact with this dreaded decease. However, just as He does when He looks at the sinner today, Jesus looked beyond the physical needs of these lepers and saw the cry of their hearts; their desperate need; and their sincere need of salvation and healing. For the lepers, I could only imagine that the words of an old gospel hymn may have been written based on their mindset: ‘Where could I go but to the Lord’. I want us to look very carefully at the way this healing was performed. Without anything changing in their lives, the lepers were told by Jesus to go and show themselves to the priests. To humanly look at their skin, nothing had changed, yet they obeyed Jesus by going to the priests, as demanded. How many of you would be prepared to do that? Imagine that in one of your church services, one comes forward for prayer with obvious signs of an incurable skin decease, and I have researched and found that in spite of today’s excellent research and medical advancements, there are still incurable skin deceases. So after much prayer by your pastor, elders and leaders of your church, the pastor jumps up and demands that the afflicted ones leave at once and confirm with their doctors that they have been completely healed. As the afflicted look at their skin and notice that nothing has changed, what do you suppose they will do? As the congregation looks on, do you suppose they will stop praying and start celebrating? The Bible says that nothing occurred until the lepers started their journey towards the priests to whom they were sent, but the important lesson is that they acted on their faith in the healing process. If they had not, they would have gone back to their caves and brushed aside all they had heard about Jesus as a farce. Friends, if we believe on the One who died for our sin, then we must be willing to act on our faith. When we do, we will earnestly pray for those in need of healing, and when we ourselves are pressed with hardship and affliction, we will quickly follow the Master’s commands, in faith, knowing that only Jesus can heal, and only He can love the vilest sinner as His very own righteous son/daughter. Do you know this Jesus of whom I have spoken in this blog, friend? If you don’t, or are unsure, please click on the link in my Footnote entitled ‘To Know Jesus’, otherwise follow the other tips noted in my Footnote. Jesus loves you friend, and He want’s You to place your trust in Him. Whether you have never accepted Jesus as Lord, or if you are facing leprosy, cancer or some other decease, Jesus loves you and would like to see you surrender your life and your circumstances to Him. May I encourage you to seek the face of Jesus today for whatever you may be facing? | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, thank You for loving us in spite of who we are and all that we may have done in our lifetime. You cared about the lepers who cried out to You, and I am convinced that You care for each of Your children who call on You today. Thank You for loving us unconditionally. Please guide us to a love like that, so that we may not only love You in the same way, but also our fellow man. Your willingness to heal men who were rejected by society, is yet one more reminder that You also love each of us today, and would be willing to heal us if we call on You. Oh that we will show our appreciation by allowing You control of our lives. AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Our Greatest Need
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Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-07-03 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Luke 5:18-20 (TLB) |
|
Text: |
18-19 Then—look! Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to push through the crowd to Jesus but couldn’t reach him. So they went up on the roof above him, took off some tiles, and lowered the sick man down into the crowd, still on his sleeping mat, right in front of Jesus.
20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “My friend, your sins are forgiven!” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| There are a few powerful lessons here in this Scripture, beginning with the audacity of the paralyzed man’s friends to get their friend in front of Jesus in spite of any obstacles that might present itself. The second thing is to notice that Jesus’ first priority was to meet the man’s greatest need – forgiveness of his sin. Let’s apply this to our challenges of today…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I am very convinced that Jesus is the same today as He was yesterday. I am therefore convinced that when we are called on to pray for someone’s health; someone’s battle with evil; or someone’s battle with finding a job. In fact, no matter what the request is for prayer, we who know the Lord personally, must take the example of Jesus and seek to know the spiritual condition of the individual first and approach God for their greatest need(s) before any other physical need they could possibly have. Although given the facts in this Scripture today, let me encourage you to think this through in a logical manner also. What would it profit a man to be healed, if his soul is destined for eternal damnation in Hell. Miracles happen so that the Son of God might be glorified. What glory might God receive for an unbeliever to be healed and then attribute his ‘miracle’ to happen-chance, or some other good luck charm, or ‘positive thoughts’ from a friend? Would this not be making a mockery of our Lord Jesus? What impact would healing have on a person whose soul is destined for Hell? Jesus immediately recognized that this paralyzed man wanted to be seen by Him, because the man allowed, or possibly even asked his friends to place him at the feet of Jesus. But Jesus also knew that the man’s greatest need was to have his sins forgiven so that he might be assured of his eternal destination, whether lying on a mat or walking about like you and I. Friends, many folk may present their needs to us today in hopes that we would pray for them. Unless you know about their spiritual relationship with God, may I suggest that you pray for that most urgently, then possibly for their physical needs? I believe that will fall more in line with what we were taught in the Scripture here today. In closing, let me suggest that we remember the determination of these friends to get the paralyzed man at the feet of Jesus. The didn’t let things like: his weight, their back issues, the crowd, possible security at the entrance of the meeting place, or even a means of how to get onto the roof interfere with their far-out alternate plan. Remembering this determination might help us the next time we are looking for excuses not to attend church and worship the Lord corporately, or going to the hospital to pray with a friend. We come up with lots of excuses that may sound OK to a friend, but let me assure you that God knows your heart, and the very thoughts that run through your mind! Make Him priority in your life, if He truly is your King! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord God, thank You for Your faithfulness to us. Thank You for Your healing power displayed to the paralyzed man in this Scripture today. I am confident that the same love and power shown to this man, is only a glimpse into what You can actually do for us. Please help us to daily recognize Your amazing grace and miraculous works in our lives. Please help us to also be much more mindful about what others truly need first and foremost in their lives, in spite of what they may have called us to do for them, or pray with them about. Thank You Lord for saving my soul, and thank You for Your miraculous touch in my life through many circumstances way beyond anything I or the doctors could do for me. Lord, may You continue to amaze me with Your power and invincible hand, for I ask these things in and through the precious name of Jesus, my Lord, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
Do Not Fear – God’s Got This!
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Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-06-26 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Matthew 10:29-31 (Voice) |
|
Text: |
29 Look, if you sold a few sparrows, how much money would you get? A copper coin apiece, perhaps? And yet your Father in heaven knows when those small sparrows fall to the ground. 30-31 You, beloved, are worth so much more than a whole flock of sparrows. God knows everything about you, even the number of hairs on your head. So do not fear. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| In this chapter Matthew talks about the many fears that people have. He assures us that we only need to fear the One who could destroy both body and soul – God Himself. But the only reason we would have to fear Him is if we have disowned Him here on earth, and pledged our allegiance to other masters who could order our death without giving it a second thought. However, to those who claim Jesus as their Lord, we have nothing to fear! Praise the Lord! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| At home we ‘fear’ our parents, because they take care of us and therefore control our lives, and therefore demand our obedience and best behavior. At work we may ‘fear’ our boss, because if we are not obedient to what they ask of us, they could fire us. For those that have no regard for the Lord Jesus Christ, and saw no importance in allowing Him kingship over your earthly lives, your destination is clear and your eternal master is clearly defined in scripture, so you may start to worry now about the effects of Hell and the severity of it’s ruler – Satan. If instead you have chosen to accept the Lord Jesus – my Lord and Savior, as your King, then this very Scripture that’s quoted in this devotional assures us that we have nothing to fear, for He cares for us and has prepared a home in heaven for us where we will spend eternity together with He and His Father – God. Until that time He is intimately involved in our lives, for He knows every little detail about us and will care for us and protect us no matter what we may face. So friends, to know that we have a Savior who loves us beyond anything we could imagine, watches over us through every little detail of life, comforts us when we are down and out, and has our eternal home prepared for our homecoming, what is there to fear? May I encourage you to give thanks in all things, knowing that our Father, who knows ALL things, has a plan already worked out for us. We serve an awesome God friends! Let us worship Him and thank Him for His mighty works and His preparations for us, even while we still have breath to do so! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, thank You for the hope of eternity and also for the assurance of Your love and care for us while still here on this earth. Please touch the hearts of Your people today Lord, may they be reminded that there is nothing to fear when they have placed their faith and trust in You. Lord, may this also speak to the hearts of those who have yet to surrender their lives to You, for they have yet to experience the lack of fear in knowing that You have everything under control for those who have entrusted their lives wholeheartedly to You. Thank You Lord for being my Savior, My Lord, and my soon coming King. Whom then shall I fear, when You are on my side? There is none like You heavenly Father, and I thank You for that assurance today, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Faith Like That of The Shepherds
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Post Date: |
Tuesday, 2017-06-20 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Luke 2:8-12 (NCV) |
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Text: |
8 That night, some shepherds were in the fields nearby watching their sheep. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord was shining around them, and they became very frightened. 10 The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I am bringing you good news that will be a great joy to all the people. 11 Today your Savior was born in the town of David. He is Christ, the Lord. 12 This is how you will know him: You will find a baby wrapped in pieces of cloth and lying in a feeding box.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| God had a plan in action, with the miraculous birth of His Son through a virgin named Mary. Everything went just as God had revealed to Mary, Joseph and Elizabeth. Now God was working in the lives of those that were praying for this Savior to come and save them and their country from the awful stain of sin, corruption and destruction. Let’s have a closer look at the shepherds, whom God chose to reveal Himself to, resulting in them being one of the first groups to visit the newborn infant and God’s servants, Mary and Joseph. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Some may assume that I am getting wrapped up in the Christmas story way early this year, and while I totally love the story of our Savior’s birth, I am merely reading through the Bible and got to this Scripture today! I believe that way too often we hear the Christmas story, and because we have always loved the story of Jesus’ birth, we remember the story vividly and therefore never stop to meditate on particular servants or scenes, because we feel like we have heard it all so many times over the years. In the case of the shepherds, they were keeping watch over their sheep to protect them from the wild animals that may have been looking for a quick way into the pasture to grab one for dinner! It seems like these were godly men who prayed for a deliverer, and probably looked into the night sky while on watch, just praying some more and imagining what it might be like if that deliverer might come during their lifetime. I believe that many Christians probably do something very similar when they look at the challenges with politics in their own country. I love the outdoors, so I have often looked into the dark skies lit only by God’s perfect candles (stars) and imagined what it would be like to witness the return of Jesus Christ when He comes to take fellow Christians and myself up to our heavenly home to live eternally with Him! What if that night silence and dark sky was broken one night and God sent His angels to come and take us home? Of course you will immediately cry out for family and friends for whose salvation you’ve been praying, but can you even imagine the joy that will fill your heart to even imagine going to live with your blessed Redeemer for whom you’ve been loving, serving and anticipating for years? In fact, this may all have crossed the minds of these shepherds as they saw something bright and glorious appear before them in the dark sky. I’m sure they were in so much shock and awe that they probably had trouble concentrating on what was being told to them, but they gathered enough from the good news that they quickly decided to go and see this child that the angels spoke of. But let’s be sure that we get this. Imagine being a part of a group considered the lowest of the lowest in society, and now you are convinced that the Almighty God sent an angel to tell you about the birth of His Son? Furthermore, you are witnessing this group dropping everything, and risking to walk a distance to see if this is for real? As part of that group, what will you tell someone along the way who may ask about your travel destination? Friends, I believe you could see that while we classify people based on our perception, God is no respecter of persons. Some of us create separations by country, by race, by political party, by church denomination, etc. But I truly believe that God looks at us as His precious children, period. Being no respecter of persons, God could give someone that we least expect, a message that He would like for us to adhere to, or be encouraged by. Are we seriously looking for a word from the Lord each day, no matter who God decides to use as His delivery boy? Are we seriously looking forward to His return? What if it was today? Are you truly ready and waiting for His return? Let’s try to be like the shepherds who, when told about Jesus, dropped what they were doing and went to worship Him! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord God, You are so awesome in every way, and I praise You for who You are to me. In being reminded today of Your willingness to minister to ALL mankind, I am humbled and reassured that I can stand boldly before the throne and worship You and bring my petitions before You. Lord, for those who will read this and doubt about their worthiness in Your sight, please reassure them of Your love for all mankind – all who were made by You, in Your image and for Your glory. The shepherds glorified the arrival of their long awaited King and Savior, because their world was so challenging and filled with hatred and crime. Sounds like a mirror of what we face today Lord, so we plead that You might hear our cry for help and send us relief that only You could imagine or make possible. We have hope in You oh Lord, please help us to remain faithful until You are ready for us in heaven, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Faith Leads To Obedience
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Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-06-14 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Luke 1:38 (TLB) |
|
Text: |
38 Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to do whatever he wants. May everything you said come true.” And then the angel disappeared. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| A virgin girl approached by an angel with an unheard of proposition from God, was immediately convinced of the awesome task that God had chosen her to partake in. There were no excuses, or running away to avoid the proposition, but simply an openness to allow God to have His way with His humble servant. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I would imagine that just like at my church, you are probably not hearing too many stories similar to the very familiar story of Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus, in the Bible. For in faith she accepted the word from God and conceded to His perfect will for her life, regardless of any possible negative reflection on her by the questioning world. For us today, it often seems like asking a person, where you felt compelled of God to ask them to share in the ministry, is like asking them how many excuses can they find to not follow God’s command to serve in His church. Fathers, may I ask you to personally imagine your virgin daughter approaching you (an elder in your church) boldly with the news that she is pregnant? Adding that “Oh, and by the way, this is by the holy spirit of God” adds no comfort to you, because you have never heard of such a thing before. As for the fiancee, he may also have faith in God, but having never heard of such action by the Holy Spirit before, he is silently questioning as to whether the baby inside is for another man. In the case of Mary and Joseph, thank God that He sent the Holy Spirit to Joseph as well, to prepare him in advance for the news he would receive from Mary. Friends, I believe that what we are being taught in this Scripture today is that when we have an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus, and we make every effort to follow His commands and His will for our lives, there may be times that He will summon us to do things that are way outside of the realm of our selfish, finite minds. As Christians reflect back over life, we can often see that many of the decisions we made and things that we did, that seemed way out of the ordinary at the time, we could now reflect and see what God had in mind for us the next day, week, month or years. Let’s be careful to remember that His ways are not our ways, so He may ask us to do things that is extraordinary in our eyes, but very purposeful in His eyes. Build a personal relationship with the Lord, friend. Listen to His voice and His direction for your life, and be willing to jump, move or speak when He commands you to do it. He will receive glory, and you will be overwhelmed in joy! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord, I pray that each one reading this blog will join me in committing ourselves fully to Your perfect will. Whether our actions result in our personal joy, or that of a friend or relative, please help us to commit to being faithful to You and therefore obedient to Your every command. May Your perfect will be fulfilled in our lives and in the lives of others as we remain faithful and allow You to bless and work through us to touch others. Thank You for Your willing, obedient servant Mary, may we join her in also being faithful to the end, so that You may be glorified in all that we do, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Oh Ye of Little Faith
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Post Date: |
Tuesday, 2017-06-13 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Luke 1:18-20 (TLB) |
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Text: |
18 Zacharias said to the angel, “But this is impossible! I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”
19 Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to you with this good news! 20 And now, because you haven’t believed me, you are to be stricken silent, unable to speak until the child is born….. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth were regarded as godly folk who were very careful to obey the laws of God (vs 13). Zacharias was a faithful servant of the Lord and served on a roster in the temple. They were well along in age and had resigned themselves to the fact that God did not see fit to bless them with a child. However, whether through spoken prayer or just in the depth of Zacharias’ heart, God knew that it was the desire of his heart that he and Elizabeth could have a child. This was a miraculous story that was precisely timed with the miraculous birth of Christ! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| When the messenger of God stood besides the temple altar and share with Zacharias a message from the Father above, this awesome man of God was so taken aback, like many of us would be, that the shock caused him to actually doubt that God could be serious about creating a miracle for he and his dear wife. Can you identify? “Sir, I could only wish that you are serious about what you are saying, but you and God must know that my wife and I are very old – way beyond child rearing age, and now you are messing with my mind and trying to give me a ray of hope that something so ridiculous could actually happen to us?” – This might be along the lines of what I might say if approached by anyone with such a message for my wife and I at our current age. In fact if there was a slight ray of hope, I would begin thinking about what our church folk might think or say if we walked through the doors with my wife showing evidence of pregnancy! If a godly man like Zacharias doubted, doesn’t it make you wonder why on earth do we even pray for things that seem impossible to us? Friends, let’s remember that our God created this old world, He created you and I, and He created everything that we eat, enjoy and are blessed with everyday. Why again should we doubt the power of our God to answer our prayers and provide for our daily needs? Perhaps this is a matter of faith? Jesus said that with faith, we could speak to a mountain and it will be moved! How many challenges do you have that’s near that big? Trust God with the big and small things in your life. Answers to your prayers will help mature your faith and prepare you for receiving even the largest answers to prayer. Develop a relationship with God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Believe on Him and know His awesome power. Give glory to God for the awesome things that He does for you. Have faith my friend! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, You made teh blind to see again, you healed teh sick and brought the dead back to life again. You even caused an elderly couple to miraculously have a baby about the same time that You caused a virgin call to become pregnant with Your precious Son. Why would we doubt or fear, when we serve the same God that has proven Himself one miracle after the other? Lord, please develop a faith in us where we could see that the God we love can do the same miracles for us as He did, or will do, for others. I adore You for who You are, my Savior, Lord, and soon coming King! AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Nuggets From God's Word 