Category: Encourage

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!

Be Encouragers of God’s Messengers

On By Ed AlgreenIn Encourager, PastorsLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (The Contemporary English Version – 1 Thessalonians 2:2-6): God gave us the courage to tell you the good news about him, even though many people caused us trouble. 3 We didn’t have any hidden motives when we won you over, and we didn’t try to fool or trick anyone. 4 God was pleased to trust us with his message. We didn’t speak to please people, but to please God who knows our motives. 5 You also know that we didn’t try to flatter anyone. God himself knows that what we did wasn’t a cover-up for greed. 6 We were not trying to get you or anyone else to praise us.

Thoughts: I believe that when one does a job in spite of opposition, or in spite of whining and complaining by those they are trying to help, then we should appreciate that they are specially called for that job, and they are therefore working as a result of their obligation to a higher calling. This is what we see in this message by Paul, and if we are real honest, this is what we see in our pastors and teachers at our local churches. Although they may never openly complain, I believe that our pastors face a lot of correction, ideas, suggestions and self-proclaimed righteousness from their congregations to whom they preach and teach. Please don’t get me wrong friends, I believe pastors welcome your constructive input, because it helps to show them that you were listening and indeed care enough to correct them or encourage them with your words. But let’s try to be careful to be encouragers, and not on the list of ‘trouble makers’ or ‘opposers’ to the gospel. When our pastors have the freedom to share the unfiltered Word of God with us, then perhaps we can hear directly from God. If they have to speak in parables to make sure they don’t hurt the feelings of some, then many of us will totally miss the point! Paul shared that he had no other motive than to see Jesus accepted and God magnified and lifted up by the folk he was ministering to. I believe that we still have men of God who endeavors to do this through their preaching, teaching and actions in their life. I hope that even today we can commit to aiding these gentlemen – these men of God, to be transparent in what God wants to say to us through them, and not be hindered by us in any way. I was taught many years ago that each of us might mess up at times, but let’s learn to look at the heart and see what the other brother’s heart might be. Many times we will be convinced that although he may have said something differently to what we would have said, his intent was to help and/or to magnify God. So where do you best fit in this scenario today: Encourager; Opposer or just don’t listen close enough to care? I believe God wants us to all be encouragers, and we can do this through an encouraging word to our pastors and/or teachers, or we can pray for God’s ongoing hand upon them as they surrender to Him and try to share His Word with us. Let’s commit to improving our stance, so that our pastors might be improved in their walk and their talk!

Prayer: Lord, You have indeed blessed us with great messengers who sacrifice daily so that they might share Your heart and Your will with us. I sincerely thank You for my pastors and teachers and I pray that they might be even more energized by Your touch on their lives today. May they be drawn so close to Your bosom today that they might be reassured of Your love and Your direction for them as they lead us. May they receive a fresh anointing of Your divine Holy Spirit so that as they stand before us this weekend we may hear the unfiltered Word of God and not have to guess what You are trying to say to us through them. May our pastors have the freedom to be transparent in what You might need to say to us through them, is my humble and sincere prayer that I ask in Your precious name, with thanksgiving. 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 Is Your Role In The Local Church?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christian, Disciple, Encourage, Evangelism, Imitator of ChristLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

     The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.

The Message:1 Corinthians 12:25–26

Thoughts:

I am constantly amazed by folk who attend church and would normally answer the question posed in my title by saying “O I’m just a visitor” or “I’m just a regular attendee”! Friends, in light of this passage, Paul likens the church to our human bodies. So for a moment, imagine with me if the hand said to the brain “hey, I’m just here for show, as I wanted Mr. XYZ to see that you had a hand also, but you go right ahead and pick that food up by yourself”, how would that work for you? I know the example sounds silly, but in the context of these verses, and in light of the reasons given by some for church attendance or involvement, I believe you might get a better understanding of my illustration. I will give another very real illustration to you. My dad had injury to a kidney after having a heart stint installed. The doctors decided not to operate, as they relayed to my dad that the non-functioning kidney would just dry up like a prune and remain in his body. Unfortunately, I believe this is what happens to those who ‘just attend’ church and never become, or feel like, a functioning part of the church. However, based on our study in this chapter, I feel like there are two aspects worthy of attention here. First, is the visiting, or regular attendee who just shows up, sits in a very inconspicuous place hoping that no one will see them or come to trouble them. Perhaps, although God prompted them to attend church, Satan may still be working powerfully in their lives to stop them from getting anything out of attending, so I would strongly encourage this person to please do your part as a vital part of the body. I recently had a tooth implant and it was amazing how the body quickly accepted that foreign piece of metal and starting knitting to it! Likewise, I believe that an individual such as described, will be quickly received if they do their part in being loveable and showing interest in wanting to be a part. Secondly, I believe that the existing church members have a responsible to fight hard in making all attendees feel welcomed, loved and encouraged. Remember, this is like a foreign body to the human body, so they need extra care and attention. If God sends someone to a church, then those Christian members who are already a vital part of that ministry must do their part in response to God. Friends, you are in one of the roles mentioned, are you doing your part to further the kingdom of God? Will you commit to being more conscious of your role in growing the spiritual lives of all that worship with you?

Prayer:

Dear God, thank You for creating us and forming us into a body of believers for corporate worship. May I be more conscious in my daily life about the needs of others and respond in a manner that will be pleasing to You. For those that attend my church, I pray that although I may have no official role in church terms, I will respond to the key role you have made evident to me through the study of Your Word today. Sharing the love of Jesus through the spoken word, or just in a friendly smile or encouragement of some sort, is something that any of us can do. Please give me the boldness to do my part dear Lord. Friends meditating on this devotional today might also need help in this regard, please give us Your strength and Your vision to be the hands, feet and words of Jesus in all that we do and say. I ask this in the precious name of Jesus, my 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.

24/7/365 Availability!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Ask and Receive, Bible Believing, Christian, Encourage, Faith, God Cares For Us, Hears Us, Sees UsLeave a comment

The Bible – New Century Version

Psalm 94:8–11

8               You stupid ones among the people, pay attention. You fools, when will you understand?

9               Can’t the creator of ears hear? Can’t the maker of eyes see?

10             Won’t the one who corrects nations punish you? Doesn’t the teacher of people know everything?

11             The Lord knows what people think. He knows their thoughts are just a puff of wind.

Thoughts:

When we pray hard about a situation, especially one that we are very close to, we have our desired wishes in mind about how the situation should be handled, and I believe that we tend to pray towards that end. Often God will show us who is in charge, and who knows best, by answering our prayers in accordance with His perfect will and design. That answer may be exactly along the lines of what we had pleaded for, or it may be even better in the long run for the subject of our prayer. I believe that we sometime may question why God chose to respond in a particular way, and sometimes I believe we may feel like He may not have heard us at all, or perhaps we may question if He can’t see for Himself what is going on around us. These verses served to remind me that my Creator definitely hears me, otherwise why would He have given me ears! He definitely sees what’s going on around us, especially those things that really impact the lives of His dear children, otherwise why would He have given us eyes. If God is without ears or eyes, surely he would not have seen the need to create us with these extra tools! So friend, stand with me and be reminded that our God is all powerful, all knowing, sees everything and hears everything. He showed His power to calm even the rough seas, raise the dead, gave the blind back their sight and allowed the lame to walk again. What did you say your ‘major’ problem is, especially in light of these miracles wrought by His hands? Remember friend, He is there all the time for us. Let us learn to reach out to Him, love Him and depend on Him more so that we might see His mighty works, and reap the results of His awesome love!

Prayer:

Dear Lord, please teach us to pray in faith believing on the Son of God and the power and might of His perfect will, and that ALL things are possible with the touch of Your mighty hand, or the simple word from Your mouth. Please help us to get off our soap boxes of thinking that we can tell You what to do. You are the Master, Designer, Creator, Almighty God, and we are merely Your humble servants bowed before You with outstretched arms fully dependent on You. Thank You for giving us ears and eyes that enables us to do Your works here below. But more than that, thank You for the reminder that we are to continue reaching out to You knowing that You can hear our heart’s plea, and You can see the wickedness that we encounter around us every day. Thank You for loving us and caring for us, even in our human weaknesses and frailness. Hopefully we can be more focused on You today and the power available to us by our Father who loves us way too much to see us fail or fall. Please be our guide today. For it is in Your precious and holy name that I ask all this dear Savior, AMEN!

 

NOTE: 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.

Restore Your Church Oh God

On By Ed AlgreenIn All have sinned, Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Chosen by God, Christian, Encourage, Eternal Life, Evangelism, Faith, Follow Jesus, Forgiveness, God our Helper, Grace, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Humility, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Love God, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Power of Prayer, Praise, Repentance, Righteousness, Servants of God, Surrender, Trust, WorshipLeave a comment

The Bible – New Living Translation

Psalm 85:4–7

    4 Now restore us again, O God of our salvation. Put aside your anger against us once more.

    5 Will you be angry with us always? Will you prolong your wrath to all generations?

    6 Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you?

    7 Show us your unfailing love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.

Thoughts:

In my first read through this passage of scripture I was touched by the prayer of David to save his people, and my heart was deeply touched by his prayer because I can clearly see how many around us, in our neighborhoods and in our cities, need the Lord. However, on closer study of this I realized that you can only restore something that at one time was resident there before. So my heart immediately went out to what David was really praying, because I believe that we are seeing churches dying today at a greater record than ever before in the history of our land. In part, I believe that this is because we need an equally as large evangelism effort to the once ‘saved’ who have fallen by the wayside, as we do to the ones who have totally disregarded the message of the cross. Like you, I am very concerned about all that is going on in our land, and in this world, where we are killing each other without any regard for precious life itself. However, this should come as no surprise to Christians, because even back in 2 Chronicles 7:14 it was declared that God is looking for His people, His children, to humble themselves and pray, before He would give consideration to healing our land. When Christians treat their relationship, their commitment, so flippantly, and when there is no humility in looking to God for His powerful, healing and restoring hand upon His people and our land, what is it that we should really expect differently? Friends, we are bringing damnation on ourselves, on our churches and on our land. Remember, God is still in control and His Word will endure to the end, so we must follow His plan if we ever expect to see God restore us again! What is your role? Are you following His plan, so that you might expect to see Him restore us again? Please, let us humble ourselves and pray…..

Prayer:

Jesus, my Lord, in all humility I pray that You might touch the hearts of Your people once again. Begin with me, I pray. May Your church be revived once again, I pray. May each person meditating on this devotional today realize that this is not the ‘place’ we call church, but the body of Christ that at one time or another made a sober decision to accept You as Lord and Savior of their life. May the places that we call ‘church’ burst wide open from the crowds that will be renewed/revived and reminded of their obligation to their Master and Lord. May Your ‘church’ truly come alive again, so that we may follow Your commands and humble ourselves before You and pray. Lord, may the uncommitted one that may be lead to read this devotional today realize the importance of surrendering themselves to Your Lordship today. We are in desperate need of a touch from You oh King, please hear my prayer and heal us. Please cause us to recommit ourselves to do Your perfect will. For I ask all this in the name of the only One with the power to do anything about our pitiful condition, Jesus, my Lord, AMEN!

NOTE: 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.

Nothing We Say Overrides The Power of the Cross

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Chosen by God, Christian, Encourage, Evangelism, Faith, Helper, Holy Spirit, Power, Power of Prayer, Praise, Servants of God, Service, StregthLeave a comment

The Bible – The Amplified Bible

1 Corinthians 1:17–19

17 For Christ (the Messiah) sent me out not to baptize but [to evangelize by] preaching the glad tidings (the Gospel), and that not with verbal eloquence, lest the cross of Christ should be deprived of force and emptied of its power and rendered vain (fruitless, void of value, and of no effect).

18 For the story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition, but to us who are being saved it is the [manifestation of] the power of God.

19 For it is written, I will baffle and render useless and destroy the learning of the learned and the philosophy of the philosophers and the cleverness of the clever and the discernment of the discerning; I will frustrate and nullify [them] and bring [them] to nothing. [Isa. 29:14.]

Thoughts:

Thank God for seminaries and dedicated theologians who teach and counsel our pastors. But I am most thankful for the intervention of the God of this universe sending His Holy Spirit to dwell among men and to impact our lives daily. I am amazed how God is able to use the uneducated and especially those having graduated from seminary. As I said, I am thankful for our seminaries, so I have nothing against them, but a person filled with head knowledge but who refuses to call on God for help in delivering His message is totally missing the point, and therefore much of their preaching is in vain. Friends, I know that all seminary graduates do not fall into the same box, so I am not condemning them. However, we must all remember that the Word of God is worthless without the power of God and the presence of God. For without God, we speak mere words of man, and it is only through the Word of God and His mighty hand that man is saved, or hardened hearts are touched. In fact, when we stand before a crowd and attempt to preach or teach without inviting God to direct us and fill us with His words and His wisdom, we are assuming that our knowledge is greater than the power of the cross of Jesus Christ. Friends, we are truly wasting our time and making a mockery of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we meet (supposedly in His name) yet deliberately leave Him out of our meeting and not totally depend on His mighty hand. To our pastors, preachers, evangelists and teachers, please be encouraged that you can’t do the preaching or teaching on your own. Yes, you are capable, but why open your mouths and speak empty words that can’t possibly touch the heart of man? Please allow God His rightful place as Commander-In-Chief of worship services dedicated to Him. Please allow Him to use you in spreading His Word to His people that need Him so badly. Friends, we have a responsibility to pray for our pastors and teachers. We need a word from The Lord when we go to our worship services. Words from mere man is a waste of our time, so let us pray earnestly for the hand of God to work actively through the man of God that stands before us each week. God could demand even the stones to speak, so as we pray let us do it in confidence that He could speak through His messenger in ways and with the words that will touch, uplift, encourage and challenge our hearts.

Prayer:

Lord, to mere man this whole passage of Scripture must seem very fictional, but to the believer in Jesus Christ who knows Your power and have read about and seen your mighty works in action, we humbly pray that You would work very powerfully in the hearts and lives of our pastors and teachers this week, so that as we gather in Your name, we would receive a word from You. Please humble the hearts of the educated, and please uplift the uneducated, so that as they stand before your people this week, they will each depend solely on the power of the Almighty to do His good work among His people gathered together. Lord, as we strive daily to live for You and like You intended, we are constantly marred by Satan and his evil followers in this world. Please forgive us for our weaknesses and encourage us to draw even closer to You so the power within us might always be greater than the power in this old world. Jesus, we depend heavily on You daily, please forgive us of our sinful attitudes and desires and strengthen us to do Your will, and this I humbly pray in Your name, knowing that only You can grant this, AMEN!

 

NOTE: 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.

Lip Service vs True Repentance

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Discerning, Encourage, Eternal Life, Faith, Follow Jesus, Forgiveness, God our Helper, God our Provider, Helper, Holy Spirit, Imitator of Christ, Sin, Things that make God angryLeave a comment

The Bible – New Living Translation

Psalm 78:36-39

36 But all they gave him was lip service; they lied to him with their tongues.

37 Their hearts were not loyal to him. They did not keep his covenant.

38 Yet he was merciful and forgave their sins and did not destroy them all. Many times he held back his anger and did not unleash his fury!

39 For he remembered that they were merely mortal, gone like a breath of wind that never returns.

Thoughts:

In this Psalm we are reminded of all the good that God did for the Israelites as they traveled through the wilderness for 40 years, and also all the bad or challenging things that God had to do in an effort to get the attention of the people and to see them return to Him, recognize Him as God and worship Him once again. It reminds me so much about our people today that I wanted to share these thoughts with you. You see, God blessed the Israelites in some very wonderful ways, including providing their daily food from heaven. Yes, in a way that they couldn’t help but recognize that it was from God. To the other extreme, He caused the death of their strongest men, hoping to get the attention of His people, but to no avail. He started taking the lives of those very close to them, and it got their attention, but it was only temporary. In fact these verses quoted above state that they only gave ‘lip service’ for their hearts were still hardened. Friends this reminds me so much of what I have seen over the years right here in our own country. Disasters have brought many to the church and many to the Lord, but it must have only been ‘lip service’ as they soon faded away and returned to their life of sin and rebellion. Could it be that we are putting way too much dependence in verses 38 and 39? Could it be that we are waiting for danger to strike very near to home before we kneel before the Father and plead for forgiveness of our sin and rebellion? An important note to us all is that Jesus knows even our inmost thoughts, so He knows when we make decisions under duress from family, friends or the preacher. Friends, God was so serious about His love for us, and so concerned about making provisions for us to enter heaven, that He allowed His one and only Son, Jesus, to die a cruel death on a cross, so that when we become serious about surrendering our life to Him we wouldn’t have to look for additional sacrifices, but merely talk to Jesus and accept His gift of love. Are you like the Israelites where you accepted the gift(s) of God (Jesus as Lord and Savior) at some point in your life, but have since returned to your old life of sin and disregard for the gospel? Please don’t wait for another disaster to occur, recommit your life to Jesus today and be reconciled with Him. He loves the repentant sinner and would welcome you back in a heartbeat. Please contact me if I might be of any help to you friend.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me enough that You sacrificed Your only Son to die on Calvary’s cross so that I might have life eternal. You did this in spite of the sin in this world – an act of love in its purest form. Please forgive me for the times that I allow sin to enter my life and distract me from Your commands. Please touch the hearts of all those that may meditate on this devotional today, and help us to be so committed to You that our family and friends will also have a desire to recommit their lives to You and live as You intended and instructed. There is so much sin and evil around us Lord, that we need a fresh touch from You so that Your power will become very evident to us and that our personal desires would fade away as we welcome Your grace and Your power. In 1 Peter 1:22 we are reminded that obedience to Your Word will be evidence of the One to whom we belong. Lord, please grant Your servants a deep, sincere heart of obedience today, is my humble prayer that I ask in Your precious and wonderful name, AMEN!

 

NOTE: 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.

What Are You Known For?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Encourage, Follow Jesus, God our Helper, Helper, Humility, Imitator of Christ, Our Help comes from God, Reflecting Christ, StregthLeave a comment

The Bible – The Good News Translation

Romans 16:12-13

12 My greetings to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who work in the Lord’s service, and to my dear friend Persis, who has done so much work for the Lord. 13 I send greetings to Rufus, that outstanding worker in the Lord’s service, and to his mother, who has always treated me like a son.

Thoughts:

I want us for a moment to think about a friend of the church that may have left town, and now writing a letter back to the pastor. As they try to tell the pastor what they remember about each one left behind they will reflect on some where they remember their name, and on others where that may not be the case. For those that they remember the name, it may be for good reason, because they may have gone out of their way to care about them. They may have called them by name, or they may have developed an even more intimate name for them. Some they recall from a courteous greeting or just a humble prayer for them. For some they may recall exactly where they sat every service, or the color of their hair or some other physical peculiarity. For some it may be the sweet Godly character that exuded from them every time they saw them, while other were causing trouble and always giving the leadership a ‘run for their money’. In verses 3-15 Paul relayed the individuals that stood out in the crowd, to him. Often at funerals we learn things about the deceased that you never knew, but to the individual giving the remarks, the character of the deceased was special in very memorable ways. I’ve said all that in preparation for a bold question to each one meditating on this devotional today: What are you known for? Ever heard someone describing you and they didn’t realize that you were near enough to hear them? Were you surprised, disappointed, angry, blessed, overwhelmed or encouraged? I believe another challenging question would be: If all of your friends arranged party to honor you, would your work friends by surprised by what your church friends have to say? How about vice versa, would your church friends and prayer partners and Bible study friends be surprised to hear about you from your work friends or fishing partners? What would God say about you? Friends, we are to live our lives in light of the gospel and in the righteousness of our Lord Jesus before everyone. God knows our every action and yes, even our thoughts. We can’t fool Him, so why should you fool others?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I am thankful that You know our most intimate thoughts and our every action. We cannot fool You, so please convince us and convict us anytime that we try to fool anyone else. The way we live our lives, speaks volumes about who we are and whose we are. Being a part of Your royal family demands that we live our lives in the same character, with the same love, and in all sincerity like You. If we belong to You we should walk and talk like You. Help us Lord to be an example of You, especially before a lost and dying world who is longing to see the hands and feet of Jesus here on this earth. I ask this in faith believing that You can do all things, as directed by Your perfect will. I ask this in the name of Jesus, my Savior and Lord, AMEN!

 

NOTE: 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.

Reflecting on the Past Gives Confidence for the Future

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Christian, Encourage, God Cares For Us, God our Helper, God our Provider, Our Help comes from God, Thank You JesusLeave a comment

The Bible – The Good news Translation

Psalm 77:11–12

11              I will remember your great deeds, Lord;

I will recall the wonders you did in the past.

12              I will think about all that you have done;

I will meditate on all your mighty acts.

Thoughts:

Although faith is a powerful thing, we have a lot to increase our confidence and our faith, especially when we reflect on the past. Example in point, is the hard physical work I’ve seen from my dad that helps me to stay focused, and press on, especially when I attempt physical tasks myself. I know that the hard work only made him a tough, persistent, determined man who cared for his family, so instead of me looking at the trends of today, I gain my strength from looking at my dad’s past accomplishments that stemmed from his hard work. So it is in our Christian walk. We have the option of listening to the critics that we must base our faith on the things that can be seen, but reflecting on the mighty hand of God in so many Biblical stories, gives us the faith and confidence to know that He can do it again! What’s even more exciting is that God doesn’t have to do it the same way again! He once parted the waters for His people to safely cross over and avoid massacre by the army behind them – don’t you think that He could also free us from our oppressors in even more exciting ways today if He thought there was a need to? He raised Lazarus from the dead, don’t you know that He could also speak the dreaded decease of cancer out of a child of His, if only we plead with Him for healing? Furthermore, God has promised to watch over us, care for us and love us through to the end. Whom then shall we fear? Why then should we worry ourselves sick when we face challenges beyond our human control? Friends, remember that we have a Savior who is very capable of blessing His children, and just as capable of seeing us through our challenges, that otherwise seem hopeless to us. However, let me be quick to remind you friend that our God is a God of relationship, not a ‘Jeanine-in-a-bottle’. He hears the prayers of those who know Him, not those who just need a temporary relief in a situation. Asking a stranger for a favor is just about hopeless, but calling on family (real family that live as, and love like, family) in our time of need, is two totally opposites in our expectations. To build that relationship you must have invited Him into your life, have you done that friend? Please use the contact information below to allow me to pray with you about this very important decision you need to make. God is the only One that can, and will, help you in and through life’s circumstances, so yes, this is a ‘needed‘ decision you should make!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank You for the record You have left in Your Word to comfort us and reenergize us into making good, solid decisions. May Your kids who meditate on this devotional today be humbled about their need for a Savior, the Savior of this world, the One who loved them enough to die on a cruel cross so that they would have the means of entering heaven’s gates and one day sitting by Your side in Your kingdom. Thank You Father for loving us this much. Thanks for keeping Your record book (the Bible) alive so that we might see from Your past record how truly powerful and loving You are. This gives us confidence that You can do these things and more in our day, if they become necessary! What a might God we serve! Thank You Lord for Your blessings on me! Father, the evil of this world is way more than I can handle alone, so I commit myself to You again, with the confidence that You can see me through every circumstance! I ask all this in Your precious, powerful and loving name, Jesus my Lord, AMEN!

 

NOTE: 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.

Strength is for service, not status

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Encourage, Follow Jesus, Helper, Holy Spirit, Humility, Imitator of Christ, Love, Love your Neighbor, Obedience, Pleasing to God, Service, Status, StregthLeave a comment

The Bible – The Message

Romans 15:1-6

1-2             Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?”

3–6           That’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t make it easy for himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out. “I took on the troubles of the troubled,” is the way Scripture puts it.

Thoughts:

Our reaction to someone’s problems is that we normally feel very sorry for them, followed by: “we will pray for you”. Personally I am very guilty of forgetting that promise as soon as I am out of the person’s presence. Not intentionally, but often because I feel like this is my Christian responsibility to tell them that I will pray for them. But it is very unfortunate that I have taken this serious responsibility so very lightly, especially when my mentor, Jesus, cared for people so much that He didn’t worry about food for himself, but for the 5,000 that had followed Him. It gets even worse, because people will share their worry with us about them not having food to eat or money for the electric or clothing for their school kids, and so often we say how sorry we are to hear that, or perhaps that we will tell our pastor about their problem. Sometimes, that’s the most that some of us can do at the time, but often it is because we do our best to shrug the problem off and leave it for the leaders of our church to handle, since that’s what they are getting paid for! Friends, I believe that God places us in a situation that requires our help, not to simply pass the buck, but to follow through and do our part. It might be a growing experience for us! Let’s remember that we are a Christian not just for the status in our family, workplace and community, but we are to follow the example of our Lord and Savior and serve others as given the opportunity. Can you do more in this respect? I know I can, God being my helper!

Prayer:

Father, often we look at other ‘Christians’ and look down our proud noses and say how sorry we are for them and their circumstances. I am sorry for the times that I have fit into that mold dear Jesus, but I must say that I am not proud of that, and I want to dedicate my life to being a true example of You in every way. I know that this will sometime lead to certain things not pleasing to self, but it’s You I live for Jesus and You that I want to please and follow. Please help me to be Your hands and feet on the ground, so help me to characterize You in every way throughout my life. I believe that many of my Christian friends fit into the same mold as I do dear Lord, so I ask that you shower Your wisdom and Your power on their lives today as well, so that together, we may be Your church – your bride. Lord Jesus, I ask all this in Your name and for Your glory, Amen!

 

NOTE: 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.