Category: Righteousness

Overcoming the World

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Love, Obedience, RighteousnessLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: 1 John 5

 

OBSERVATION

1 John 5:1-5 – If we believe that Jesus is truly Christ, we are God’s children. Everyone who loves the Father will also love his children. If we love and obey God, we know that we will love his children. We show our love for God by obeying his commandments, and they are not hard to follow. Every child of God can defeat the world, and our faith is what gives us this victory. No one can defeat the world without having faith in Jesus as the Son of God.

APPLICATION

These are very powerful verses and reveal several truths to remind me of what a child of God, Christians, should look like and how we should act:

  1. The reassurance for us, in order to comprehend verses 2-5, is that for those of us that believe that Jesus is truly the Christ, we are children of the Almighty, the King of all kings, the Lord of all lords, the Master of the universe. We are royalty! Words from a popular old hymn, “…I, though so unworthy, Still am a child of his care, For his word teaches me …”;
  2. If we love the Father, then we will also love His children. – How then can we say that we hate a Christian brother or sister?
  3. If we love and obey God, then we will love His children. – Slightly different to #2, because this point says that not only if we love but also if we obey God, then we will love His children;
  4. A major way that we show that we love God, is by obeying His commands. Read and/or listen to the Word, and obey what God says to us. Prove that we love God by obeying Him;
  5. Exercising our faith in God is what gives us victory over this world. We become so depressed when things of this world really burden us, yet through Christ, we are reminded that we are more than conquerors. Let’s place our hand, our faith, our trust in the hand of the only One that has power to overcome all the sick, violent, evil, hateful things of this world, for He has the power and the wisdom to overcome it all!

Why do we whine when the world seems to be against us, for we don’t serve the world. We are not servants of the world, for Jesus is our master. Our stress levels would be much improved if we place our faith where it belongs, in the only One who sacrificed it all for us.

 

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, please help us, Your children to get our act together, get our priorities in order, help us to just simply obey Your Word and allow You to be God, to be our Master over everything, especially the challenges of this old world, for there is power in the name of Jesus. I love You Father, and need to frequently remember who is in charge so that I can direct my energies towards obeying and serving You, and to loving Your children. Thank You for challenging me with this today!

Did you Know……???

On By Ed AlgreenIn Born Again, Christian, Faith, Humility, Obedience, RighteousnessLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Jeremiah 33

OBSERVATION

Jeremiah 33:2-3 ~ “This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’

APPLICATION

When first reading these verses I thought, what a comfort to know such a wonderful Savior, one that made this whole earth and now He is telling Jeremiah, and us, to call to Him and He will answer. Then as I meditated more deeply on this I saw in the later part of verse three that God said He would tell us great and unsearchable things that we do not already know. Now unlike our natural desire to want to catch up on to gossip and hear something for the first time so that we have something ‘juicy’ to spread around to those that we speak with, I am thrilled to be reminded of these words spoken by the Lord for these reasons:

  1. God would tell us these things because He is growing us closer to Him and wants to fill us with more of His glory. We should therefore celebrate in praise as we learn something new from God, whether through reading His Word or in responses to our prayers;
  2. He wants to encourage us, because we may be feeling so out of it all in finding an answer to a problem that we are dealing with. We should therefore have the faith to implement the Word given to us by the Almighty;
  3. He has a mission for us to tell others something special directly from Him. We should be careful not to boast about this, after all who are we that God should use us? However, I believe that one of the important ways that God speaks to others, or confirms a Word that He may have given directly to them, is through another saint. Therefore while following through on sharing the great and unsearchable news with others may be a blessing to us, it could be a confirmation for a brother or sister in the Lord and a great relief to them.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus who am I that You should find me worthy to speak Your great words of wisdom to, or through? Praise God that You consider me a son of the King and therefore royalty! Praise God that it is not of anything personal that I can boast, but rather Your love for me and for others that You answer our prayers and tell us great and unsearchable things that we do not know, so that Your glory may be shown in this dark world that we live in. Thank You for loving me so much that You gave of Yourself that I may have eternal life, and that I may have peace in this troubled world. May I always be careful to pass the praise on to You anytime others are blessed by something You may have given me to share with them. You are an awesome God! My God and my King! Amen!

Faith under Fire

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Humility, Obedience, RighteousnessLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: John 18 

OBSERVATION

John 18:25 ~ Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.”

APPLICATION

It might be very easy for us to read this chapter and comment about the coward that Peter was. The truth is that we do this almost every day of our lives, for we act differently and/or speak differently when we are under pressure. A few examples are:

  • The ease we have in lifting up holy hands and worshipping God inside church, vs the challenge we have in doing the same when a fellow Christian tells us in front of coworkers about a miracle that occurred in their life or the life of a loved one. Sometimes the motionless way that we may respond might lead coworkers to question whether we are of the same faith at all;
  • We might easily openly pray in Church, but we don’t want to appear ‘holy’ by praying in public over our food or for a friend in need;
  • We will sit and not only laugh at dirty jokes, but not even acknowledge in actions that our ‘holy’ ears were just poisoned or stained by ungodly or unholy garbage;
  • We will quickly fill our glass with alcohol at a function so we could look/act like our buddies, even though we just said a loud ‘amen’ to the preacher that spoke so openly about ‘the sin of defiling the body’ the day before.

In the above examples I feel like our faith is being tested. Someone is watching to see if we would act the same way on Monday that they saw us pretending to be on Sunday. The sad thing is that we have not only just given them the opportunity to point a finger at our inconsistency, but we have shown that when our faith is under fire, we will act just like Peter and deny Christ. What the world needs most, is to see followers of Christ that they could see enough consistency in their walk and talk that they will freely ask questions about God’s grace, and particularly what it takes to draw closer to God in a personal relationship. The best sermon spoken to a friend is the one that shows by our actions who, and whose we truly are.

PRAYER

  1. Father, in the same way that I seek your face daily for many needs in my life, may I also be careful to not be hypocritical and act as a stranger to You when in the presence of my friends, acquaintances, coworkers, business associates, etc. Perhaps today I can be such an example to someone that they will welcome hearing from me about the Christ that I know, worship, adore and live for each day of my life. Please grant me the strength and boldness to be Your witness today dear Lord. Make me a blessing to someone today!

Benefits of Worship and Obedience

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Forgiveness, Humility, Obedience, Righteousness, WorksLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Psalm 112

OBSERVATION

Psalm 112:1-9 ~ … The LORD blesses everyone who worships him and gladly obeys his teachings. Their descendants will have great power in the land, because the LORD blesses all who do right. They will get rich and prosper and will always be remembered for their fairness. They will be so kind and merciful and good, that they will be a light in the dark for others who do the right thing. Life will go well for those who freely lend and are honest in business. They won’t ever be troubled, and the kind things they do will never be forgotten. Bad news won’t bother them; they have decided to trust the LORD. They are dependable and not afraid, and they will live to see their enemies defeated. They will always be remembered and greatly praised, because they were kind and freely gave to the poor.

APPLICATION

I have included a lot more scripture verses than usual today because I was so touched by it. God is so moved and blessed by our worship and obedience to Him that He used David to show us that there are many benefits to us:

  • Our children will be given great power, because God blesses all who do right;
  • We will get rich and will prosper and will always be remembered, because of our fairness;
  • We will be so kind, merciful and good, that we will be an example or role model for those who endeavor to do the right thing;
  • As we freely lend and be honest in business, we will see life go well for us;
  • We won’t ever be troubled;
  • The kind things that we do will never be forgotten;
  • Bad news won’t bother us, because we are so determined to trust the Lord in all things;
  • We are dependable (so we should be some of the best employees!);
  • We will not be afraid;
  • We will live to see our enemies defeated (although I hope that we will never have enemies!);
  • We will always be remembered and greatly praised, because we were kind and always freely gave to the poor.

Wow, wow, wow! What more can we ask for? What more can we expect? If you are like me I believe that we will say, “But I just want to worship my Lord and obey His Word”, and we will have the best goal in life, but these verses are placed to let us know that there are definite benefits to doing just that! Now put that in perspective and ask why we would deserve this kind of love and I believe that, like me, you will conclude that it is the grace of God that saves us, not anything that we might do, otherwise we might selfishly boast. God is awesome, let’s devote ourselves to worshipping Him and obeying His commands, and in turn be blessed by Him beyond all that we could imagine or expect!

PRAYER

Father, I am committed to worshipping You and obeying Your Word. I acknowledge that this will require much devotion and commitment from me and much help from You to help me keep my focus and devotion to what You teach in Your Word. I know that I will have to depend on You daily, thank You for being there for me. I am so appreciative that You would love even me to the extent of blessing me in all these ways if only I will do what I am suppose to do. Thank You Jesus!

What It Means To Know God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Forgiveness, Humility, Righteousness, WorksLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Jeremiah 22

OBSERVATION

Jeremiah 22:15-16 ~ ….Your father was satisfied to have food and drink. He did what was right and fair, so everything went well for him. He helped those who were poor and needy, so everything went well for him. That is what it means to know God,” says the Lord.

APPLICATION

I believe that a few wise words of Jeremiah the prophet were placed in God’s Word for the purpose of drawing our attention to what it means to truly know God. These things are:

  • Be satisfied with what we have – God cares so much for even the sparrow, I could only imagine how special we are to Him seeing that He made us in His image and His likeness, and gave us the understanding to know how much He truly cares for us.
  • Do what is right and fair – I believe that God expects us to treat one another with love and respect, just as He does in our case. Jesus taught us through His example that we should call sin, “sin”, but that we should always love the sinner, who is a creation of the Almighty God.
  • Help those who are poor and needy – following this description of Josiah, a king of Judah whose sons were not following in his footsteps, that everything went well for him because he helped the poor and needy. Unfortunately, today so many are trying to grab what they can so they try to take advantage of a giving society and/or government, however there are many who are truly poor and needy living very close to each of us and we must do all we can to do what is important in the little time that God has given to each of us here on this earth, so let’s put aside the evils of this world and try to reach the heart of God, His poor and needy children.

PRAYER

In doing these things I am told in this passage that not only will everything go well for me, but that I will actually be displaying what it means to know God. It is so important that I use my life wisely and to always strive to please God in all that I do. I pray that I will be made very aware of the needs around me, and that I will strive to follow the will of my Master each and every day through:

  • Being satisfied with what I have been, and being blessed with each day;
  • Making every effort to follow the will of God and do what is right and fair in every circumstance; and
  • Helping those who are poor and needy in every way that I can.

In doing these things, others will see and believe that God exists and still works through His servants even today. May others come to know You Lord as You become visible to them through me. Make me a blessing to someone today!

The Evidence of Jesus in Us

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Born Again, Christian, Eternal Life, Faith, Humility, RighteousnessLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: John 3

OBSERVATION

John 3:30 ~ Jesus must become more important, while I become less important.

APPLICATION

John had just compared the importance of allowing Jesus to shine in all that is accomplished through us, to that of a wedding where the groom must be the shining star and not the best man. I believe that if we ever hope to see family, friends and loved ones accept Jesus as Lord, then we must be careful to allow Jesus to shine very brightly through us. In fact, I would like Jesus to shine so brightly through me that everyone will see Jesus and think only of Him because of my actions or words, and this is because I want to see them do God’s will for their lives and not my selfish desire.

PRAYER

Father I pray that Jesus will shine so brightly in all that I say or do that it will be evident to the lost person that it is You getting their attention. I am Your servant, so please use me to accomplish Your work in the areas in which I find myself, but in the cases that really need it, may it be very evident that it is You at work. I acknowledge this morning that I am nothing without You, and I can do nothing without Your wisdom, power and knowledge, so please speak to Your children through myself and other Christians today that want to see Your work accomplished. May this be a day that we can celebrate Your work in the lives of those close to us.

Born Again?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Born Again, Christian, Eternal Life, Faith, Heaven, Humility, RighteousnessLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: John 3

OBSERVATION

John 3:3-7 ~ Jesus replied, “I tell you for certain that you must be born from above before you can see God’s kingdom!” Nicodemus asked, “How can a grown man ever be born a second time?” Jesus answered: I tell you for certain that before you can get into God’s kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the Spirit. Humans give life to their children. Yet only God’s Spirit can change you into a child of God. Don’t be surprised when I say that you must be born from above.

APPLICATION

We often hear the terminology “You must be born again” or “You must accept Jesus as Lord” in order to enter into heaven one day. To those that are unfamiliar with the Word of God, it must be difficult to understand this terminology, and it must sound to you like it did to Nicodemus in these verses. However, Jesus explained that just as in our natural birth we are born from the womb through water into a new birth – a true transformation, the second birth is from a natural sinful life through the Spirit of God that will give us a brand new birth in Christ, another transformation. It is as easy as A, B, C to do this. Be ready by ADMITting that you are a sinner in need of a Savior (Jesus). BELIEVE that Jesus is Lord and that only He can save you and give you access into heaven. Then CONFESS your sin to Jesus and ask His forgiveness. It’s as simple as that, Admit, Believe and Confess. Do this and you will be saved, friend! Go then and tell your friends about the change/transformation that has occurred in your life!

PRAYER

Father I thank You for saving me, and for forgiving me of my sin, and giving me life eternal. Please speak to anyone reading this today and convince them of any decisions that they need to make. Please tender the hearts of my family and loved ones that still need to surrender their lives to You. May this be a day of decision for them. May they go to bed tonight with the assurance of knowing that they have made the most important decision of their life and that it is a positive decision towards knowing You as their personal Savior. As this is read, decisions will be made. One decision will be to accept Jesus as Lord or the alternative is to continue a life without Christ that could be into eternal damnation (Hell) before the sun sets tonight. I love my family and friends too much to know that any of them will make the latter decision, so please soften their hearts even now dear Jesus.

It’s You I Live For

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christian, Faith, RighteousnessLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Psalm 62

OBSERVATION

Psalm 62:8-9 ~ Trust God, my friends, and always tell him each one of your concerns. God is our place of safety. We humans are only a breath; none of us are truly great. All of us together weigh less than a puff of air.

APPLICATION

We often say, well I am so disappointed because a good friend of ours let us down. In these verses David reminds us that all humans put together weigh less than a puff of air, for it is God that we should tell all of our concerns and it is in Him that we should depend for our safety. We are so dependent on what others think of us. If only we would be so careful to place that much emphasis on what God KNOWS about us, and if only we would act in ways that would please God as much as we try to please others.

PRAYER

  1. Father, “It’s You I live for“. Please help me to live my life in a way that is pleasing in Your sight, and that follows Your commands. Please help me to daily dig deep into Your Word so that I may stay in tuned with all that You would have me to do.

A Mighty Rock In Whom I Am Secure

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Faith, Humility, RighteousnessLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Psalm 62

OBSERVATION

Psalm 62:1-2 ~ Only God can save me, and I calmly wait for him. God alone is the mighty rock that keeps me safe and the fortress where I am secure.

APPLICATION

“What a Mighty God We Serve“, “You Never Let Go – Whom Then Shall I Fear” are two songs that come readily to my mind as I read these verses, for the God that I serve is the only One that can save me, He is the only One that I consider as a ‘Mighty Rock’ on whom I can stand/depend or trust with the challenges that may come my way, for He is a fortress where I can be safe and secure. Savor these three songs that are hyperlinked as you meditate on this devotion and reflect on the awesome God that we know, love, serve and plan to spend eternity with!

PRAYER

Lord may I always be ready to thank You and praise You each and every day for being my strength and my guide and my rock on whom I can rest. “I love You Lord, and I Lift my voice, to worship You oh my Lord“.

The People God is Pleased With

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Faith, Heaven, Humility, Righteousness, WorksLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Isaiah 66

OBSERVATION

Isaiah 66:1-2 ~ This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. So do you think you can build a house for me? Do I need a place to rest? My hand made all things. All things are here because I made them,” says the Lord. “These are the people I am pleased with: those who are not proud or stubborn and who fear my word.

APPLICATION

The first part of these verses really caught my attention, because I feel like we are so busy having church, doing things for the church, keeping up the buildings and grounds, and doing, doing, doing, until we often leave out the time that is necessary to study God’s Word and draw close to Him in our personal relationship. While I love the verse in James that speak of faith without works, I believe that God reminded me through His prophet Isaiah in these verses that there is nothing more important than my personal relationship with Him and living my life in a manner that pleases Him. To put this in perspective, I believe that we should surrender our lives to Christ and allow Him to be Lord of our lives. We should then stay in God’s Word so that we may get to know Him better and seek after what it takes to please Him every day. God is the only one that did it right, for He lived a perfect life, therefore we should seek to model our lives after Him. As we come to know Him better, we will automatically be of service to and help others, like He did when He was here in human form. But I believe that we must be extra careful to not let our desire to help others overshadow our constant need for growing more like Jesus every day. His Word is filled with ‘nuggets’ that will show us our human weaknesses and teach us His ways.

PRAYER

Teach me Your ways oh God, so that I may live in harmony with Your will for my life. I pray that while here on this earth You will give me strength and wisdom to live my life in a manner pleasing to You. From Your Word this morning, I realize that I need to be certain that I am humble and therefore not proud or stubborn, and that I will live in the fear of God and in the knowledge and subsequent obedience to Your Word. You are my God, please help me to live like Your son.