Our Awesome Lord!

Post Date:

Monday, 2017-06-05
SCRIPTURE

From:

Psalm 37:3-7 (NCV)

Text:

Trust the Lord and do good.
    Live in the land and feed on truth.
Enjoy serving the Lord,
    and he will give you what you want.
Depend on the Lord;
    trust him, and he will take care of you.
Then your goodness will shine like the sun,
    and your fairness like the noonday sun.

Wait and trust the Lord.
    Don’t be upset when others get rich
    or when someone else’s plans succeed.

OBSERVATION:
This is a very positive Psalm where David gives those of us who trust in the Lord some very positive actions: Do good; Feed on the truth; Enjoy serving the Lord; Depend on the Lord; Trust in the Lord; Wait on the Lord; Don’t envy others who get rich or succeed. In concentrating on these things, our goodness and fairness will shine like the sun!
APPLICATION:
I found that some of these very things that David mentioned, are some of the very things that Christians struggle with today. So I believe that it is important that we take note of key points that David teaches us on how to achieve favor with God and be happy in our life experiences:

  • Trust in the Lord and follow His ways – always do good;
  • While living here on earth aim at filling your mind with truth. Ultimate truth is from God almighty, so feed on His Word daily. News reports are so twisted and slanted anymore until listening to their reports will give you impartial truths, and often untruths. Look for truth and don’t be so quick to accept what the world says;
  • Seek out work that benefits the Kingdom, and enjoy what you do for the Lord. Churches are always looking for volunteers, and often it is so challenging to get that help. God attaches a reward to this point, that He will give you all you want!
  • Another point with a promised reward, is that when you Depend on the Lord and trust in Him, He has promised to take care of you!
  • Don’t be so quick to look at the riches in others or their ability to succeed, God has a reward for you that is ‘out of this world’!

Friends, verse 6 sums up our rewards in ways that this world cannot understand or appreciate: our goodness will become obvious, and our fairness will be recognized just as the noonday sun! In other words, our efforts to be like Jesus and show His goodness to the world will please God and ultimately bless us in return! Glory to God for His goodness to us, His humble servants!

PRAYER:
Dear Father, thank You for using Your servant David to encourage us to live our lives pleasing You and blessing others. Lord, You bless us in so many ways and we are eternally thankful. May we be encouraged through Your Word today to be Your hands extended to those in need, and may we love and encourage just as You have done for us, so that You may be glorified in all that we do and say. 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!

The Path to Integrity

Post Date:

Saturday, 2017-03-25
SCRIPTURE

From:

Proverbs 4:10-15 (Voice)

Text:

10 Hear my words, my son, and take them in;
    let them soak in so that you will live a long, full life.
11 I have pointed you in the way of wisdom;
    I have steered you down the path to integrity.
12 So get going. And as you go, know this: with integrity you will overcome all obstacles;
    even if you run, you will not stumble.
13 Tighten your grip around wise advice; don’t let it slip away.
    Protect Wisdom, for without her, life isn’t worth living.
14 Do not start down the road of the wicked—
    the first step is easy, but it leads to heartache
    do not go along the way of evildoers.
15 Stay away from it; don’t even go past it—
    and if you find yourself anywhere near it,
    turn your back and run as far as you can in the opposite direction.
OBSERVATION:
Wikipedia gives the following meaning to ‘Integrity’: Integrity is the qualifications of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. It is generally a personal choice to hold oneself to consistent moral and ethical standards.” That sounds like a pretty close match to what the Proverbs is describing in these focal verses today, I feel!
APPLICATION:
I believe that many strive to live a life of integrity even if they know nothing about the promises of God to bless us as we strive to live in the wisdom of all that He has taught us. Often this may occur because of the upbringing of the individual, or because of someone that they are looking up to in their life. For the child of God, we have the Word of God to guide our actions, thoughts and principles, and we have the power of God to help us overcome obstacles that may try to hinder our walk to consistent integrity. When we accept Jesus as Lord of our life, He places the Holy Spirit within us to guide us along the right path. He is our Helper and our Guide when puzzled about which path to follow; He is our Comforter and Protector when trouble comes our way; He is our Deliverer when tempted and we call on Him for help. So with that kind of support within us, can you think of any reason why we can’t follow the Word of God and the will of God for our lives? Friends, if ever our employers should find employees of integrity, that they can trust wholeheartedly, or if ever our friends could find and trust people of integrity that they could depend on and trust with sharing their heart, it should be in those who have honestly invited Jesus into our heart and committed ourselves to allow Him full control over our lives. Jesus has always been, and always will be considered a person of integrity, for He is the only Perfect One, so having Him as our Lord and Savior, we too can be people of integrity. It’s your call friend. As for me, I choose to be a man of integrity, God being my helper!
PRAYER:
Lord, in a world that seems filled with strife, backbiting and lack of trust in each other, I reaffirm my desire to be a man of integrity, with the help of Your Holy Spirit. I pray for commitment of this attribute for my readers, my family, my friends and my coworkers. Lord may this lost world see more of You in more of us. May we be known as people of integrity because of whose we are! 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!

Humility and Dependence

Post Date:

Friday, 2017-02-24
SCRIPTURE

From:

Matthew 18:2–5 (NCV)

Text:

2 Jesus called a little child to him and stood the child before his followers. 3 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you must change and become like little children. Otherwise, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 The greatest person in the kingdom of heaven is the one who makes himself humble like this child.
5 “Whoever accepts a child in my name accepts me.

OBSERVATION:
At the very time that the disciples thought to get the children out of their way, Jesus called them to Himself and illustrated the characteristics of a child that mankind should learn from. We will look at ways to apply these principles…
APPLICATION:
In life, parents and other family members try so hard to teach young children how to be just like them – in words (manners) and in actions (smiles and in looking at you). Isn’t that ironic, for Jesus taught that we (adults) should really learn a thing or two from children also! Some translations declare Jesus as saying that unless you become like a little child. This version today reads that we must change (from our normal, worldly character) to that of a child. Think about it friends, as adults we are taught to avoid strangers – is there ever a stranger in a young child’s eyes? As an adult we are taught to be careful who we show affection towards – I believe that a child will love on anyone, in any place, at any time, no matter who’s in the audience; As an adult our biggest objective is to become independent, even from God at times, as we will always try to do everything ourselves first, and only turn to God if we need help – as a child they are totally dependent, and has no qualms about it, for they will cry or yell for what they want; Adults are taught to trust no one, because everyone is out to get them – a child will jump from a wall into the arms of a parent or caretaker without a second thought, and they will depend on them for food, shelter or other provisions without ever questioning how, or why. Friends, it always takes a humble spirit to accept the fact that you need someone to help you, yes even to acknowledge that you need the help of God in your everyday decisions, provisions and direction of life itself. I believe that God loves His children passionately and wants so badly to help us achieve the best out of life. In fact, I believe that He even wants to fill us with His divine power to be duplicates of himself in ministering to the needs of others. However, God also knows that it would not be good for us to pollute the world with more of our sinful ways, so He wants us to draw close to Him and allow Him to control our lives, so that we might become one with Him. In this way, with Christ in us, as we share with others, we will actually allow Christ to share His love through us. How is it with you friend? Do you know my Jesus? Have you surrendered your life to His control, like a child? While I would suggest that you click on the link below ‘To Know Jesus’ and read the scripture references included, I would also offer my willingness to pray with you, if needed or desired. Please drop me a quick note and allow me to be your prayer partner.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, thank You for being God, and thank You for being our heavenly Father. Thank You for caring for even adults, especially those who think that they have everything worked out on their own. For us to accept Your help, we must become like a child again – with outstretched arms and hearts. Please continue to work with us on this Jesus, so that we might always be willing to humble ourselves and look to You for help, for guidance, for reassurance, for direction, and for a character that mirrors You in every way. No matter how independent we may feel like we are, others clearly recognize when You are missing. We want to be effective witnesses and ambassadors for You Lord, please help us to always humble ourselves like a child and accept the help that You lovingly offer. 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!

What If We Say Only What God Says

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

Today’s Bible Reference: 2 Chronicles 11:13-14
Today’s Bible Text: Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah said to him, “Look, all the prophets are promising victory for the king. Be sure that you agree with them and promise success.” But Micaiah replied, “As surely as the Lord lives, I will say only what my God says.”
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: I believe that much like our ‘worldly’ counterparts, Christians are often guilty of trying to be the popular one in a conversation, or a party, or a family, or among our friends. We all want to be thought highly of, and we would really like to be the popular one in the group. But let’s think that through for a moment. Did we commit our lives to God so that we could have one more on our side, or on our team? Do we need to have one more that we could tell what to do? Friends stop and think this through, did God need us when He created the earth, or the skies, or the heavens? What about when He created you and I, did He do all that alone – without us telling Him what to do or how to do it? I would dare say that I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ because I realized that I didn’t have all the answers; that I have no idea about what tomorrow will bring. I was convinced that Jesus was the answer to all of life’s questions, hopes and dreams. I knew there must be a God, but I also knew that He was far beyond anything I could imagine. I knew that I needed a Savior to fill the gap between myself and the Master, and praise God I found that to be the Lord Jesus Christ! So recognizing that this was a need, why on earth do I try so hard to still make decisions on my own and try to please my peers/friends? Can I possibly be a ‘Micaiah’? Friends, Micaiah’s bravery and determination to be God’s spokesman is a challenging thought for us, because as we can gleam from this story, he declared what God had revealed to him in a dream, even though it was the unpopular thing to do, and even though it led to his imprisonment, and not his place at the head of the king’s banquet table. So why is this important, you might ask. First of all, can you imagine the freedom this must have given Micaiah? He spoke exactly what he knew the Lord had given him to him say. No guilty conscience, but a freedom in knowing that the God of the universe was then controlling his mouth and his words. Can you remember taking a message to your young siblings and adding the words “hey, don’t look at me, that’s what daddy said. I’m just the messenger”!! What if we took that stance in all walks of our Christian life? But wait, that’s exactly what God expects of us. We surrender our lives to Him, because we trust Him to be totaly in charge of all aspects of our life. Are you ready to let Him do exactly that? Our stresses would be greatly reduced, and God will actually make a lot more difference in this world, if only mankind would step away and let Him be God!

Prayer: Oh Lord, may we do exactly what You taught us in and through Your Word today. Micaiah’s boldness proved to us that it is important that we allow You to perform Your mighty works without interference from us, and in spite of what might be the popular or even demanding thing to do. Lord, we mess up way too often and I believe that we stand in the way of Your perfect decisions and will, way too often. Please touch the lives of Your saints today and give us boldness to stand firm for what we believe, and confident in whom we believe. You are Lord of all – or really not Lord at all to those who doubt Your power and who run interference in all that You want to accomplish in and through Your people. Please forgive us Lord, and please redirect our thoughts to one of total dependence on You. I ask these things in the name of the one and only Savior of this world, Jesus, the Christ! AMEN! 

Footnote: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

2016

Solid As A Rock

The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)
The Bible Reference: Deuteronomy 32:3-4
The Bible Text: I will proclaim the name of the LORD; how glorious is our God! He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!

My Take Away: To all my followers of ‘Nuggets From God’s Word’, please allow me to wish you and your families a very Happy New Year! I pray that you were blessed as you read one or more of my ‘Nuggets’ posted last year, and that you will come back often in 2016! Please remember to read these as inspirations from God, not some tangent that the writer is running on about! Therefore, I would suggest that you ask God to show you what He is saying to you through my postings. For some, accepting my wish for a ‘Happy’ New Year, will be an extreme challenge to even think about, as you may be bringing with you a lot of the unpleasant ‘baggage’ that you dealt with in 2015. Unfortunately, this may have probably shaded your perspective on what good, or happiness, could possible come forth in 2016, especially as you reflect on 2015. For other readers, you may be on a spiritual high, and your expectations for a brand new, clean-slate, kind of New Year is probably something that You have been pleading with God about for weeks, because You want to see the powerful hand of God work through you in brand new ways, and in ways that God would be glorified. Friends, please remember that our God is not One to take sides, or play favorites. In His eyes, He sees no particular religion, or denomination, or gender or ethnicity, for He sees children that He created, and that He allowed His very own Son to die on a cross for their salvation. I believe where we are weakened in our faith is when we pray like people in charge, for we must always remember that we are nothing – pleading before a God who is everything, has all power, and is very willing to deal with any little thing that may seem like a mountain to us. Where we often go wrong is that we lose hope when God doesn’t handle things exactly the way that we ask it of Him. May I encourage you to continue into this new year with every confidence in the God that made this universe, that created you and I, that causes the sun to shine each day, that brings the beauty of each season for us to enjoy? Friends THIS is the God that we serve! Can we place our faith and trust in THIS God? I will gladly acknowledge that my God is solid as a Rock; In Him I am well grounded, and in Him I know that I can depend on His responses to things in my life, whether it’s in the form I asked for it, or better – because of His foreknowledge and His love for His children. Won’t you consider placing your hand in the hand of the One who calmed waters when His children were in trouble; healed the sick when they merely touched the hem of His garment; and even brought back to life those who had been dead for several days? I have accepted, and willingly serve this awesome God, and I want you to consider accepting Him as your Savior, your guide, your protector and your friend today!

Prayer: Father, as we enter into this New Year that is only several hours old, may we reflect on the lessons learned in 2015, and may we reaffirm the strength that we have found in You. Moses described You through the image of a rock – solid, unmoving, durable, unchanging, supportive and no respecter of persons. May we draw closer to You oh God, and may we find even more value in the awesome God that we serve. Not for selfish reasons oh Lord, but that others might see, hear, touch and believe in the One true God. I commit myself to You in 2016 and look forward to serving You in ways that would impact others for You. I ask these things in all humility, and with all dependence on You oh 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. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

2016

Tested Faith

THE HOLY BIBLE (The New Living Translation – John 6:5-9): 5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. 9 “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?

THOUGHTS: When faced with monumental decisions, how do you normally respond? Think about a child. Ask them how they could possibly get something done that may appear ‘huge’ for them, and in most cases they would refer you to their role model – their dad, mom, grandpa, uncle, etc. However, adults are also faced with similar questions every day, just as Philip and Andrew were faced with the very challenging question by Jesus. I believe that our response will be based on our level of faith at the time. In spite of the many miracles Philip would have seen performed by Jesus, still he responded from a human perspective on how much money it would take to purchase the food necessary to feed the crowd. Now, Andrew was able to think ‘outside of the box’, and mentioned to Jesus about a token amount of food that he had seen while walking around the crowd. So Andrew’s response shows a little faith, because if he hadn’t, he would not have mentioned the fish. However, neither of these two disciples showed faith in the awesome power of the man they had followed, and watched perform unimaginable miracles time and time again. I wonder how we will respond to life’s circumstances today. We will be faced with situations that appears like we can easily handle – may I suggest that you seek the will of God and His power so that you might do His will even in those cases? We might also be faced with God-sized challenges today, where we don’t have a clue on how, or what we should do. I would respectfully and faithfully suggest that we surrender our day to God, so that His mighty hand might be upon us – causing us to exercise our faith, depend on Him, and glorify Him for how He will interact in our decision making and in every aspect of our surrendered life. Our response in life shows the unsaved who’s in control of our lives, our thoughts and our decision making.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I pray that we will be about our Master’s plan today. I pray that the evidence of who’s inside of us will be evident in all that comes out from us. May our words, our thoughts and our actions reflect the awesome God that You are. May the world know that we’ve been with Jesus, and may they have a growing desire to know You, the more they are around us. As You test our faith today, may we depend on the power of the One within us to pass the test with flying colors! Depending on You as my all in all, I ask these things in the name of Jesus, my King, 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!

Be on Guard

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – 1 Peter 5:8-11): 8Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack. 9 But you must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith. You know that all over the world the Lord’s followers are suffering just as you are. 10 But God shows undeserved kindness to everyone. That’s why he had Christ Jesus choose you to share in his eternal glory. You will suffer for a while, but God will make you complete, steady, strong, and firm. 11 God will be in control forever! Amen.

 THOUGHTS: Ezekiel 33:7-9 was part of my Old Testament reading where God ordered Ezekiel to be on guard for Israel, which included watching out for their sin and quickly warning them of the ultimate penalty for their sin. So of course when I got to the New Testament reading and found where once again God is asking us to be on guard, God immediately got my attention. Friends, I’m pretty sure that you too have experienced how easy it is to worship God, and serve Him inside the church, and often inside of our homes, but why do you suppose it is so challenging to live out our convictions in the world? Why do you suppose that it appears like Satan is on our heels trying to trip us up in every aspect of life where we want to be strong and declare a good testimony for the Lord? I don’t believe this will surprise you, but this is the primary function on his job description! So how do we defend ourselves? Without God on your side, this is virtually impossible. With God’s help, and with our constant determination to serve only Him, and our keen ear to what God has to say to us, we can defend ourselves against Satan. In other words, we can be vigilant, or on guard against the enemy. God will watch out for His children, if we know Him, if we trust in Him, and if we allow Him to have His way with us. Will you commit to serving only Him today friend? If you already know Him personally, will you let go of self and truly trust Him to teach you how to guard against the evil one, who is out to kill, steal and destroy your soul?

 PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I realize that You are well aware of the many traps set for us each day by Satan as he tries to destroy our witness for You and the godly character You have developed in us. Please hear our cry for mercy, protection, guidance and peace as we aim to serve You wholeheartedly today and every day of our lives. We want to represent You well and we want our lives to be more in line with Your will and Your Word every day. Please build a shield around us that can’t be penetrated by Satan, and then give us the boldness to share Your love and Your witness with all that we come into contact with. We are Yours Lord, please protect us and use us as Your instruments of light and life to this dark sinful world that is wide open to the enemy, Satan. We need You more today than ever before Lord. Please protect Your children and Your witness. I ask this in the precious name of Jesus Christ, 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!

Dependence on God

The Holy Bible (Contemporary English Version – Isaiah 40:29-31): 29 The Lord gives strength to those who are weary. 30 Even young people get tired, then stumble and fall. 31 But those who trust the Lord will find new strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring upward on wings; they will walk and run without getting tired.

Thoughts: I remember my parents emphasizing to me that I should wait for them before doing some things that really made them nervous. I remember coaching my daughter to do the same. However the one being coached is usually the one trying to be independent and do things on their own, and of course the ones that wind up learning from their mistakes or possibly even getting hurt. But isn’t it interesting that we who try to help, guide and protect our young, find it so difficult to place our faith and our trust in our God who loves us and wants to help, guide and protect us? Like our kids, we still fight for our independence and often live in unbelief, pride and self-confidence. We try to do things in our own limited strength that often results in failure and moving in a direction out of God’s will. This scripture is encouraging us to live life to its fullest by trusting in God, allowing Him to control us and our situations, so that we can find new strength for the day, so that we can soar above our problems and enjoy this walk of life without tiring. Friends, our dependence on God can give us independence from all that this world burdens us with each day. This is the way for us to follow. Will you recommit with me by surrendering our lives, our challenges and our struggles to God and totally trust Him to guide us through? It’s only then that we will soar above the concerns of this life and look forward in peace to all that God has in store for us!

Prayer: Lord God, it has become increasingly challenging to trust others, because of past disappointments, but thank You for Your precious Word today that has reminded me that I can place my full faith and trust in You. This world has proven to be way more than I can handle on my own, so please help me to stay focused on the truth of Your Word, and to depend on You for renewed strength each day. I want to soar above the troubles and challenges of this life, but I need Your wings to do this. You are my strength when I am weak, my sight when I am blinded by the enemy and my hope when everything seems so out of control and hopeless. Please use Your Word to encourage all that might read this devotional today. Please direct ones to read this who need encouragement or a sense of redirection in their life today. Teach us to be totally dependent on You, so that we may soar above the challenges of this life. May You receive praise and glory from all that is accomplished in our lives today, for it is in the name of Jesus Christ that I ask it, 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!