Category: Commitment

Keep On Keeping On!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, encouragement, Hope, MotivationLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The New Living Translation – Hebrews 10:23-25): 23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

THOUGHTS: These verses follow a teaching where Christians were being warned about the impact of ignoring the faith, in which they once believed. This was also covered in a devotional shared yesterday, so we see where this was really a concern in the early church, as I am confident it is today. It seems like we are very spoiled, and when things are not going our way, or the way that we have instructed God, we pack up our toys and move on to more fun that, hopefully, will be more appealing to us. This is very unfortunate in so many ways friends. Jesus went to the cross for us, not because it was the most fun thing for Him to do at the time, but in obedience to His Father and because of pure love for us. There is evidence after evidence where Jesus kept His promises throughout the Bible. This was not only to show us that He could be trusted, but also to show us the love and commitment He had towards us. So what about us? What makes us waiver in our commitment? What makes us so determined to please self rather than holding true to our commitment with Jesus Christ? We are like spoiled brats, aren’t we? Direction is given to us in these verses that would serve to help us overcome this weakness. First of all we are reminded that our faith and trust is in the strong hands of the Almighty God. What have we to fear when we know who is at the helm of our ship? When it is the One who has designed and created us; sacrificed His own life for our benefit; and the One who has promised to prepare a wonderful place for us to spend eternity with He and the Father, what have we to fear? Secondly, we are to meet together with like believers, and not neglect doing that at every opportunity possible. This helps us to receive encouragement from others traveling this same road that we are on, and it helps us to get our minds off our own struggles while we look to help and encourage others who are probably facing things a whole lot worse than we are. Friends, when we follow this advice, we regain strength and encouragement from, and see extreme value in, the Savior in whom we first believed. We identify with other Christians who we find are just as needy as we are, or many times they are a lot more needy. And we appreciate ourselves more, as we will quickly realize that there is no case where we would trade our sorrows and our struggles for anyone else’s that we come into contact with. We will quickly realize that we truly are blessed beyond anything we deserve, and become more determined to keep on keeping on!

PRAYER: Lord God, You are good and Your loving mercies endures each and every day and in every way. Please help us to get over ourselves and gain a deep understanding of how blessed we truly are. Help us to look for ways to help others with more intensity than the effort we put towards pulling ourselves down. We are a child of the King! Created by You, loved by You, cared for by You and thought of in advance by You regarding our eternally destiny. Thank You Lord Jesus for loving even me! Please intervene in the lives of all those that You will lead to this devotional today. May the redeemed gain strength and encouragement to keep on keeping on, and may the stubborn and unsaved be reminded that it is in You that we have hope for tomorrow and can therefore live today as a people who are blessed and lifted up! I ask these things in faith and in the strong name of Jesus, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Protect Your Crown

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, Distractions, HeavenLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – Revelation 3:11): 11 “I’m on my way; I’ll be there soon. Keep a tight grip on what you have so no one distracts you and steals your crown.

THOUGHTS: On this earth, when we become careless with something, we lose it. If you observe children carefully, you will notice that they might hide their favorite toy when a friend is coming over that they know might love that toy, and possibly fight to take it with them when it’s time to leave! Christians have found the answer to this world’s sin problem, in the person of Jesus Christ. Satan is most upset over having lost the battle with these children of God and he is waging war against them by trying to steal their joy. This process by Satan is intended to distract Christians from the joy of their salvation and, in this passage, God is warning that we had better be careful that Satan not pull us down to the extent that he reaches out and snatches our crown of glory from us. Friends, if you think about a race – the opponent has two ways they can win – they can do better than you and reach the finish line before you, or they can trip you up so that you don’t stand a chance of winning, or earning the prize. Sin can’t enter heaven, so Satan doesn’t stand a chance of getting there. Child of God, may I please encourage us today to hold firm to our faith. Stay committed to the Lord Jesus Christ through thick and thin, in every circumstance of life, for He cares for us and He wants us to win the prize laid out for us in heaven. Let’s keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and not the distractions that will come our way. All things are possible through faith in Jesus, our Lord. So let us keep our eyes on the prize – our crown! Let us seek out Jesus in every circumstance of life, so that the circumstances not turn into distractions that Satan can use to steal our joy and our eternal crown. Distractions will come when Satan sees opportunities, or slippage in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Let us therefore stand firm in our faith, determined to live for Jesus, depending on His strength to help us through every circumstance of life. There’s a song with lyrics: “Oh I want to see Him, look upon His face, there to sing forever of His saving grace…..” I am looking forward to the day that I reach the shores of heaven and look beyond my relatives already there, to see the face of my Master and King! This is a prize/crown worth living for and is worth every ounce of effort and determination to live for Jesus today! How is it with you friend? Please watch for the distractions of Satan, and remember that greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. With Jesus being in control of your life, you can do this friend!

PRAYER: Thank You Father for the promise of heaven, a time when we will see You face to face! A time when we will worship and adore You without the distractions of this old world and its leader, Satan. Dear Lord, You know how strong the advisory is here on earth, especially in lives where there might be lack of commitment. Please touch the hearts of Your children today oh Lord and renew within us a right spirit and a desire to stay firm and committed to our faith in You. There is no one stronger than You, nor more loving that You, nor caring than You, so I know that as I place my faith and trust in You, that You can do all things. Please have Your will and way in my life today oh Lord, rule and reign in every aspect of my life, especially when I’m weak enough to let distractions sneak in and set me back. Touch the lives of my readers today also oh Lord, as I’m sure that many of them are walking similar paths as me today and will face these same distractions. Give us strength for our walk and renew a right spirit within us so that our eyes might remain fixed on the prize that awaits us in glory. I ask all this in the precious and strong name of Jesus, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Our Unshakable Devotion to God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, Dedication, Devotion, UnswervingLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Century Version – Daniel 3:28): 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their God has sent his angel and saved his servants from the fire! These three men trusted their God and refused to obey my command. They were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god other than their own.

THOUGHTS: From the subject, I hope that no one gets the impression that this faith of ours is automatic, or that because of our faith in God, all Christians are as devoted to, and stands firm in their faith like Daniel and his buddies did. Yes, we should all be that devoted to our God who sacrificed so much for us, but I believe that for many Christians, we stay way too long in the transitionary stage of releasing all of Satan’s pull on our lives, to a full and dedicated, unshakable faith in God. The reason I believe this is true, is because I don’t believe there are very many people today who, claim that they are ‘Christian’, will be willing to ‘take a bullet’ for their faith. I believe I am safe in going as far as to believe that most church goers are probably in ‘the same boat’, for often we attend church as a ‘status thing’, or as a way to please someone else who places pressure on us, rather than attending to return thanks, worship and learn from the preaching of the Almighty God through His earthly servants. Friends, just take a moment and meditate on the chosen verse very carefully. Notice how the same king who despised the god of Daniel and his friends, was totally changed and even broke out into worship and praise to their God, when he saw their faith in action? Let us remember, that there are no other Gods besides our Master and our King. Daniel was willing to go the distance with his God, even if it meant being burned to death in a fiery furnace. There is no indication of Daniel’s thoughts as he was thrown into the furnace, but I get the distinct impression that there was not a worry of any sort on the mind of Daniel for he knew, like other saints have declared in the Bible, that whether he lived or whether he died, blessed be the name of the Lord. He knew that if this was the time that God would declare him absent from this world, he would be welcomed into a new world in the presence of Jesus and His Almighty Father. A better world, prepared for all of God’s true followers! A bright future that we can all look forward to! The question for each one today is: are you dedicated enough in your walk with the Lord, that you are willing to risk everything – all worldly desires and pleasurers, to truly show Jesus, and this world, to whom your life is devoted, committed as you live in anticipation of His call to join Him at the Father’s feet soon? This type of devotion solidifies our relationship with God and has an awesome impact on those around us who might be watching to see if we are a sincere, truly dedicated child of God, or just another hypocritical, wishy-washy person who claims the title of ‘Christian’ when convenient, or needed? If you are doubtful as to where you stand friend, then it would benefit you to read my Footnote and sure things up with the Lord. In spite of all who you might fool about your relationship with the Lord, He knows the ‘real’ you and wants to help you be truly committed to Him today and until the day He calls you home to himself. Get ‘real’ with yourself friend, for God knows the ‘real’ you!

PRAYER: Father, I believe that there is nothing more disgusting in Your sight than to look at a self-serving, uncommitted, wishy-washy person who claims the name of Jesus for personal gain, rather than in total commitment to You and available for ministry in spreading Your love to all that they come into contact with. Lord, Daniel has shown us that being ‘real’ and standing firm in our commitment to You, will impact even the most challenging persons, as Your love is expressed through Your servants, encapsulates the sinner, and convinces them of Your perfect love, and Your unswerving desire to see them totally surrender themselves to You. Thank You for not giving up on us, but instead expressing unexplainable love towards us while we serve out our time here on this earth. Please use us as Your servants, Your agents of change, Your representatives, as we walk our talk each day. You are in control, so we totally surrender our self-will to You and ask for Your perfection in us as You guide, protect and use us. I ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, my Master, my King and soon coming Lord, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Who’s In Control?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, Holy, RighteousLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Good News Translation – James 1:19-22; 26-27): 19Remember this, my dear brothers and sisters! Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry. 20Human anger does not achieve God’s righteous purpose. 21So get rid of every filthy habit and all wicked conduct. Submit to God and accept the word that he plants in your hearts, which is able to save you. 22Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word; instead, put it into practice.
26Do any of you think you are religious? If you do not control your tongue, your religion is worthless and you deceive yourselves. 27What God the Father considers to be pure and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering and to keep oneself from being corrupted by the world.

 THOUGHTS: Bankers must follow the rules, regulations and sometimes even the desires of their regulators, in order to stay in their good graces and know that they are doing what they understand the law requires of them. I believe this is pretty prevalent in many things that we do in life, but being especially concerned in this blog with what I interpret from the Bible that God requires of us, I want to remind us of exactly what God said through His servant James, in the highlighted verses today. God’s ultimate desire, I believe, is that we be as much like Him as possible. Particularly, that we be righteous, even as He is righteous. I believe it is evident from these verses, and God’s Word in general, that we will never attain righteousness as long as we allow Satan a foothold in our lives. So how do we know when this is occurring? When we do those things, and act in ways that do not represent what we know about God. We are reminded in the scripture today that self-control is very important. In other words, way too often we allow our anger to get the better part of us and we react way too quickly, based on our own opinions, rather than listening a little longer. The only way we can listen longer, is the speak less. When we do this we avoid jumping to our conclusions prematurely, and instead hearing the full story from the heart of the one speaking. Think about it friend, while God desires peace and goodwill towards our fellow man, Satan desires just the opposite to God. So when we speak prematurely and cause an argument or hard feelings in the other person, we are pleasing what Satan wants from us, not God. I am so amazed and always blessed by God’s Word, because whenever we read about God’s demands or His ‘thou shall not’s’, we can often read on and see what it is that He desires from us instead. Look at verse 27, and notice what God wants us to do with our time, instead of being Satan’s vehicle to stir up trouble and discontent. If we desire to help, and practice helping those who cannot help themselves and love them like Jesus would, don’t you see that we will be overwhelmed in appreciation of all that God has blessed us with, rather than letting Satan use us to tear down and destroy others – which is his main goal? Friends, please remember that if we have surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ, our actions are driven by God, otherwise we are naturally driven to please Satan. Strictly based on your actions, who’s driving you?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for showing us the way to righteousness and thank You for being ‘the way‘ to righteousness. You are the One that directed what You want from us, and You provided us with the means to accomplish that. Thank You for Jesus, and the life that He lived here on earth, in order that we might learn how to live righteously like He did. Father, in a life totally committed to being like You, I need Your hand upon my every thought, my every action and my every word, so that I might follow Your way, Your desire, and Your will for my life. May I be so committed to this kind of life that Satan will find no room to tempt or use me in any way for his dirty work. Lord, I believe that my friends reading this devotional may have similar temptations today, so I pray that You might impact their lives in such a way that they may commit to giving You full control of their life and experience a total transformation. May You have Your will and way in our lives so that we may be obedient, holy, and righteous, as You intended. I ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, AMEN!

 

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Stop, Listen and Consider

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, Listen, PriorityLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Good News Translation – Job 37:14-16): 14Pause a moment, Job, and listen; consider the wonderful things God does. 15 Do you know how God gives the command and makes lightning flash from the clouds? 16 Do you know how clouds float in the sky, the work of God’s amazing skill?

THOUGHTS: I’ve often said around my house that if my family could move to the garden in quiet solitude, without any electronics, including the house phone, and just listen to the birds sing, catch a glimpse of the beautiful creation that God has put in place for us, and after a period of quietness before God, just chat with each other, I believe we would draw closer to God and to each other – if we don’t go totally insane through withdrawal symptoms!!! Ever noticed how we must always be attached to a device of some sort, or have background noise to seemingly block out the quiet? It ‘kills’ me to call someone and compete with the loudness of their television set while trying to speak to them! Like Job, I believe that often someone may try to comfort us or share a message with us, and our minds are so busy that we hardly remember they were in the same room with us. Can this happen with God? Of course it could, for often it’s not until we are laid out on our backs, that we stop, listen, and look up to God to consider how helpless we are without Him. Unfortunately, it’s often not until we have tried everything and failed, before we finally decide to call on God and seek His help. Friends, I believe that it is critical that we make time in our day to get alone with God. We need time in His Word so that we can listen for His voice through the written Word, but we need to stop the busyness of our lives for a few minutes each day to stop and gaze into the wonderful face of our Lord and give welcoming time for Him to just minister to us. Please don’t try to convince me, or God, that you just don’t have time for one more thing in your already busy schedule. When challenged by your accountability partner about your time with the Lord, try saying that it was just not a priority for you that day. For not having time for something directly relates to those things you gave priority to, or didn’t make priority for. I believe that if you respond in this way, you will be quickly challenged by God to reconcile who really is first in your life!

PRAYER: Father, ashamedly I come before You recognizing that the above sermon was first preached to myself, for I allow my day to be filled with so much that I often fail to step away from all of the modern day devices and distractions to truly look into Your wonderful face and savor time with You. I thank You for Your Word, and Your help in giving me energy to meet with you very early each morning to hear You speak through the written Word, but I would love to have time alone, with no other activities or time constraints, so that I might hear You speak through Your creation. Like Job, I have deliberately imposed upon myself very tight and busy schedules. In fact, it may even appear that I have scheduled You right out of my life, and for that I must apologize and seek Your forgiveness. I believe that many of my friends reading this devotional may have developed the same bad habits, so I beg You to patiently speak with each of Your children today and remind us of the importance of our time with You. I could only imagine how You must wait for us each day, and wind up disappointed at how we’ve scheduled You out of our lives yet another day. Please forgive us Lord, and please don’t give up on us. We need Your powerful touch upon our lives, so that we might be revived in our spirits and return to making the ‘main thing’ the ‘main thing’ once again. I ask all this in the patient, yet all-powerful name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior, AMEN!

 

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Spiritual Maturity

On By Ed AlgreenIn Allegiance, Commitment, Dedicated, MaturityLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Hebrews 5:11-14): 11 Much more could be said about this subject. But it is hard to explain, and all of you are slow to understand. 12 By now you should have been teachers, but once again you need to be taught the simplest things about what God has said. You need milk instead of solid food. 13 People who live on milk are like babies who don’t really know what is right. 14 Solid food is for mature people who have been trained to know right from wrong.

THOUGHTS: There are lots of references in the Bible that speak to maturity in the Lord, so when I read this passage this morning I thought perhaps we should look at this a little closer and try to discern if you and I are making any effort to mature in the Word of God and our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that it would be good to see the values in an infant versus the values we see in maturing individuals. Infants are very needy and very dependent on others to provide for them and help them survive. In an infant Christian we see similar traits, for they need to be fed the Word of God and taught about how this new found relationship with God needs the Word of God imbedded in their knowledge and expressed in their character and life values. In the life of a maturing individual, we see where they are able to feed themselves and perhaps able to earn a living so they could provide food and shelter for themselves. In a maturing Christian, we should see where they go after spiritual food on their own – through personal Bible study and applying biblical principles in their lives. They become grounded in their relationship with God and depend on Him every day for their spiritual growth and maturity so that they in turn can turn around and help others who are still ‘infants’ in their spiritual walk. In physical life, when an adult remains a child in their maturity level, it may become very challenging for independent, maturing adults to respect them and treat them properly, for it often appears like they may have made a deliberate choice to be irresponsible. It appears like the writer of Hebrews may have faced similar frustrations with immature Christians, for he stopped his line of teaching because he realized that he was talking to a group of people still stuck in their infancy maturity level. Friends, we must be careful to not fall in the group who not only needs constant training and growth in the Lord, but our very existence depends on that spiritual food taught by others. This detracts from the teacher assigned to help new Christians get a head start on their walk to maturity, and adds to their frustration level as to why you insist on remaining in your infancy stages of Christianity. If approached about the hope that lives inside of you, be ready with an answer. Please don’t refer that person to your Bible teacher or preacher, they identify with you and want to hear your story. If you have to use the Word of God to tell the story, then always have a verse in mind that you feel explains your story. Develop a personal relationship with your Creator and be prepared to share your story with any that might ask, or need it.

PRAYER: Dear God, I believe that we are all challenged to say that we have attained full knowledge of You, for Your mercy is a daily thing and it endures forever. I believe that each time we open Your Word, You reveal new truths to us, but I also believe that it behooves us to always do our part by getting into the Word daily so that it might be a light unto our path for the day, and knowledge and leadership for sharing spiritual truths with all those that we come into contact with. Lord, please help us to strive for self-sufficiency and maturity in our relationship with You so that we might go on to be mentors to others who need You and not continue in our infancy stages of full dependency on our earthly spiritual leaders. I know that we will always increase our maturity under the teaching of our earthly Godly leaders, but I also believe that this only comes to those who have committed to a daily walk and personal growth plan in their personal relationship with You. Please have Your will and way in our lives today is my earnest prayer dear Jesus, that I ask in Your magnificent name, AMEN!

 

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Encourage One Another

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, EncourageLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Hebrews 3:12-14): 12 My friends, watch out! Don’t let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God. 13 You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called “today.” If you don’t, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn. 14 We were sure about Christ when we first became his people. So let’s hold tightly to our faith until the end.

THOUGHTS: There are several commands in these verses that not only encourages us to stay strong in the faith, but also to be a helping hand and/or encouragement to our Brothers and Sisters in the Lord. This attitude spoken of here reminds me of the attitude of a couple in a successful marriage. For daily, we must do a self-check to insure that there is no evil building up in us that could harm our marriage. Also, because we love each other deeply, we tend to encourage each other and try to help each other succeed in our marriage and in life in general. Our Christian walk is much the same. We are in a relationship with God, and we must protect that relationship by insuring that our lives are kept holy and pure before a holy and righteous God. This will break down to a consistent walk with the Lord, with at least a daily time in the Word looking for Truth and direction for our lives that we intend to imitate the life of Jesus and in full obedience to God’s commands. I also believe that when our lives are in order, we will automatically seek out the best in our fellow Brothers and Sisters and make decisions that will lift up others and not tear down. As reminded in the very last sentence, let us do this until the end. Let Jesus find us faithful!

PRAYER: Thank You Father for Your love, for Your protection and Your love for mankind – even me.  I pray that You will give strength for those times that we are tempted to stray or to give in to the many distractions of this world that cause us to sin, and therefore cause separation between You and us. Please give us the encouragement we need to be an accountability partner to those friends that need us and need a closer walk with You, for You are our strength and our protector. Thank You Father. I ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, AMEN.

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Lest We Drift Away

On By Ed AlgreenIn Born Again, Commitment, Eternal Life, God Cares For UsLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Hebrews 2:1): We must give our full attention to what we were told, so that we won’t drift away

THOUGHTS: Lest we miss the meaning of the words “drift away”, I want to take the liberty of reflecting on what it means when a boat ‘drifts away’. Normally after a day at work in a boat, it is properly secured to a mooring and extra anchors, so that it would stay secure until the next day when its owner is again ready to take it out fishing. Here’s what it means to secure a boat, and these terms will also apply to our spiritual lives:

  A boat must be properly secured to avoid it drifting away, so a mooring is put in place for that purpose. Our ‘mooring’ is the security of our faith in Jesus Christ. Both the boat, and Christians will drift away without their anchor/lives being fully secure. Only boats tied to their mooring have the security of that heavy, but secure hold. Only those who have placed their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ have the security of His strong grip on us and His protective hand upon us to keep us from drifting away. Unfortunately there has to be a mooring in place for a boat to use it. For us, we must have a commitment to Jesus in place and a relationship with Him, so that our anchor is secure in Him.

  In the case of a boat, a secondary anchor is always used to support the effort of the mooring. For the Christian, it is vital that we surround ourselves with fellow Christians for support, uplifting, encouragement and correction. We need each other while still here on this earth;

  Drifting away often results in a boat being lost forever, as it might sink, or perhaps is stolen while drifting in a vast ocean. However it sometimes drifts into the rocks and is either battered so badly that if it is found by the owner, they may decide to just leave it, or if not they may choose to return it home and with some TLC restore it to its original condition. For the person who is not secure in Jesus Christ, you will tend to drift away from the Truth, from the love of a Savior who gave His very life for your eternal salvation, and from Christian Brothers and Sisters who keep you accountable. A boat can often be restored if found by its owner. People who find or return to Jesus can always be repaired of sin and quickly made whole by our loving Lord!

So where are you at in life today friend? Are you secure, or are you drifting and want to be secure? Jesus loves you a whole lot friend, and He wants to see you secure in His keeping. Please read the tips in my Footnote on what you might do to know this Savior of mine, or how you might return to His watchful and protective care. He’s our anchor/mooring that keeps us secure until the day that our Father calls us home to be with Him! 

PRAYER: Father, we read in Your Word where there were times that You really had to deal seriously with folk who refused to accept Your help. Lord, I don’t want to see that happen in my life, nor in the lives of those that I love and care about. Please use Your Word today as a reminder to help folk deal with the sin in their life, as I believe that this is one of the biggest things that destroys their relationship with You and causes them to drift away from the safety and security of the one true Rock, Jesus. Please touch the lives of Christians who should be striving to stay secure in that ‘Rock’. May this be a daily commitment for us as we strive to love and keep You foremost in our lives. Thank You for hearing my prayer and giving me hope and security in the Savior of this world, Jesus my Lord, for I’m asking all this in His name, AMEN! 

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

What Can Your Life be Likened To?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Allegiance, CommitmentLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – 2 Timothy 5:6-7): 6 …. My life is like a drink offering being poured out on the altar. 7 I have fought well. I have finished the race, and I have been faithful.

THOUGHTS: I believe that we might want to stop and think about an earthly example to help us apply this heavenly application. Let’s imagine for a moment we are being interviewed for a job, not as in a first job scenario, but later in life. The interviewer asks you to summarize your life so far so they could better understand the heart of the man/woman they are considering to bring into their employment. While this will challenge us to think about all of the good things that we’ve done in our lifetime, in order to promote ourselves for the job being applied for, I believe that we will still give a different response than if we were standing before the Lord and answering the same question. Think carefully about this as you consider your answer before God, Paul declared that his life was like a ‘drink offering’, a sacrifice, a life surrendered totally to what pleased God and responding in every way to His will and direction. It would truly be a challenge for any of us to come close to saying anything similar to Paul, especially before an all-knowing God, wouldn’t it? So then, how do we strive towards that? Well, I believe that this comes from a daily commitment to truly seek God, both in prayer and in the study of His Word; and through a totally committed life to the Master, so that we don’t let the ups and downs of this world get to us, weaken us, or cause us to wander off the course charted towards eternity with our Master. Friends, we must live today as for the Master, then when we stand before Him on Judgment Day, we’ll have nothing to be ashamed of. Paul proved that this CAN be done. We just need to be as committed as he was!

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the clear-cut path You have developed for us. Not only have You provided the rule book for us, but You have given us clear instructions in Your Word to help us succeed in our walk here on earth. Please empower us with the will and commitment to honor Your Word, to obey it and allow it to guide us daily in every aspect of life. Lord, I believe that each of Your children would declare allegiance to You, however, please help us to have the will of Paul, so that we may live as a sacrifice to You, allowing Your will to override ours, and Your Word to direct our path each day. With the temptations of this world, I believe that we can only achieve all this under Your complete guidance and with Your all-powerful hand. Please continue to bless and endow us with Your strength each and every day. I ask this believing wholeheartedly in You and depending on You, in the name of Your Son, Jesus, my Lord and Savior, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

He’s Still God!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, Compassion, SurrenderLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (The Good News Translation – Isaiah 30:19-21): The Lord is compassionate, and when you cry to him for help, he will answer you. 20The Lord will make you go through hard times, but he himself will be there to teach you, and you will not have to search for him any more. 21If you wander off the road to the right or the left, you will hear his voice behind you saying, “Here is the road. Follow it.”

Thoughts: Friends, I am a firm believer that our God never changes, and that He is the same today as He was yesterday and He will be same until He calls us home to be with Him in glory. I also believe that God inspired His written Word, the Bible, so that we might be drawn to Him, grow in Him, encouraged in Him and be counseled and/or corrected by Him to enable a consistent walk with Him. I therefore believe that just as these highlighted verses were prophesied by Isaiah to challenge the people of Israel who had strayed from Him, that God is also encouraging us today to keep our heads up, to return to Him, and to be encouraged in knowing that no matter what struggles and discouragements and challenges we face, that He’s still God, that His love for us is everlasting, and that we can come to Him, or return to Him, in confidence knowing that He is compassionate and that He will answer our cry for help. Please be reminded that God is not a yo-yo, or a puppet, but instead He loves you enough that He will answer your prayers in ways according to His will for You, and that would best satisfy your needs. In other words, if you ask Him for a new Cadillac and He knows that you will remain humble, and could afford a Toyota Corolla better, then you may receive transportation (answer to prayer), just not the car you asked for, because it would increase your struggles and not help your situation. Some reading this devotional today may also feel like they, or a loved one, is ‘at the end of their rope’, because life seems so impossible. May I encourage you to look to God, place your faith and trust in Him, and surrender your life totally to Him? As you do this friend, You will:

  • Have peace in knowing the ‘hand-off’ has taken place!
  • Find peace in your circumstances, knowing that the God of this universe is working on your behalf! Remember, He is a great big God, who has this world in His hands, so He can easily handle your circumstances;
  • Be encouraged in knowing that God loved you, even as a sinner, enough to sacrifice His only Son so that you may have life, and have it more abundantly in and through Him. And it is that type of deep love that is your today as you trust in Him!

Because He’s still God, I must remind you that He loves you today friend! I believe that His love is even more intense, but He will not force Himself on you. He wants you to take the first step, by surrendering your will to Him and allowing Him to do all that I have shared above. If you have never made a personal commitment to Jesus and invited Him to rule and reign in your life, then I would encourage you to make this most important decision today. Perhaps there is one meditating on this devotional who has previously invited Jesus into your life, but has strayed far away from Him. Friend, you will see from these verses that Israel had strayed far away, yet God was ready to welcome them back and love them with the intense love possible only by God. He’ll do the same for you, if you recommit to Him! I have included helps for you in the ‘Footnote’ below. Please make this the first day of ‘real’, ‘committed’, life in Christ today!

Prayer: Thank You Jesus for the reminder in these verses today of Your awesome love for us, and how You are so ready and willing to accept us, Your children, when we call upon Your name in humility and forgiveness. Many of my friends are hurting and filled with one disappointment after another because of worldly circumstances or possibly bad choices by them. Please use Your Word, and possibly this devotional to encourage them, to soften their hearts to the point of surrender, and a new life in You. This my humble prayer that I ask in faith, and in the name of Jesus my Lord, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!