Category: Focused

Your ‘Must Do’ List

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Focused, Focused on the Goal, goal, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Saturday, 2022-10-22
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Luke 2:48-49; Luke 4:43; Luke 9:21-22;
TRANSLATION: New King James Version (NKJV)

BIBLE TEXT: Luke 2:48 …. “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” 49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”
Luke 4:43 but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.”
Luke 9:21 … He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

APPLICATION: Those who go about life without a specific purpose in mind, will be tossed about by every wild idea that fills the mind of those we come into contact with. For example, if you hang around a fisherman, it is very lightly that you will be convinced that there is no greater sport that fishing. Soon you will be purchasing a fishing rod to test out your friend’s theory! Some pastors prefer to keep their occupation a secret, so that you won’t have time to raise your defenses and build up a desire to fight with them about their beliefs. Instead, you will see them as just another human being going about life, just like you. Normally it won’t be very long before you start seeing them act and talk differently than the usual drunk on the corner, or the hopeless person you sometimes encounter. Each of us will discover that there are lots of options for us to choose from each day, and I don’t believe it was much different for Jesus. However, it seems very evident that Jesus had goals, or principles that he tried diligently to keep His activities and interactions in line with. Over time, we should also develop goals and principles for our life, for there are some things that cause us grief; some get us into trouble with the law, or our spouse, or our employer; some bring us genuine happiness; and often some will help us to grow, based on the value we find in the results of seeing those things work themselves out. In the three Scriptures quoted above, there were at least three things that Jesus felt compelled to do: 1). Promote, enhance and work at His Father’s business; 2). Preach the Gospel to a hungry and desperate world. It doesn’t take long for us to see the needs of people that we make contact with each day. If the love of God is in us, and the Word of God embedded into our choices for conversation and acts of service, then it won’t be long before others will see the value in becoming a child of the King! and 3). Jesus knew beforehand what was ahead for Him at Calvary, and He had no intention of trying to circumvent that suffering. Instead, He wanted that to also be meaningful to the Father, and to those who would be impacted by it. There are things that you are destined to face. You can either default to the bitterness that many fellow humans tend to experience, or you can opt to accept your destiny and ask God to use it for His glory.
I hope that, like me, your eyes have been opened to the wonderful life that God gave to His Son – including His crucifixion, and you will commit to do like Jesus did – accept with ‘a grain of salt’, the good, the bad and the ugly that others might see in life, and realize that God placed you here for a purpose just like He did with Jesus, His Son. The world was forever impacted by Jesus, and your world – your family, friends, coworkers, etc, could also be impacted by your life, if you allow Jesus to take control, lead you, and give you strength to endure every circumstance of life. Do life His way dear friend, and do not allow the sway of every friend or circumstance of life to control your reactions and commitment to your lifegoals. Jesus first, and all these things will be given to you, God being your Guide and unwavering Helper.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: We must all decide in our own hearts whether we are willing to allow the wind and waves of life to shift us around, or with God’s help, accept and strive towards a life patterned after the Lord Jesus Christ. Our goals in life will determine our words and our actions.

PRAYER: Your ‘Must-Do’ list is quite the example for us Lord. Too often we tend to just do what comes our way, and our words seem to be an unfiltered expression of whatever is on our mind. Please help us to be intentional about allowing You to fill us and use us for Your glory. Give us the strength, wisdom and determination to center our hearts on the One in whom we committed our allegiance to, and surrendered lordship of our life to. As we determine our ‘Must Do’ list, with Your help and under Your direction, I am convinced that it will be Your pleasure to embolden us, direct our speech and our path, so that others will see and experience our Lord. To God be the glory for the awesome things You will accomplish through Your children today and every day that we determine to make Your Kingdom our ultimate goal. 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 might 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 subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

How Christians Avoid Heartaches

On By Ed AlgreenIn Dedication, Devoted, Devotion, Focused, Heaven, WorryLeave a comment

Monday, 2019-08-05

Bible Reference: Colossians 3:1-3
Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

Bible Text:  1 Since you became alive again, so to speak, when Christ arose from the dead, now set your sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven where he sits beside God in the place of honor and power. 2 Let heaven fill your thoughts; don’t spend your time worrying about things down here. 3 You should have as little desire for this world as a dead person does. Your real life is in heaven with Christ and God.

OBSERVATION: What occupies your time? What do you tend to become worried about? Do you feel like your mind, and your life is properly aligned with the Creator of heaven and earth? Jesus displayed an incredible love for you, and He wants His very best for your life, but He needs your undivided attention. So STOP and meditate with me for just a short while today! It may be the most meaningful out of anything else you do today!

APPLICATION:  When Christians worry, do you suppose it’s because we are worried that God will not do what He promised? When we doubt and stress out to the limit, do you suppose that we are concerned that God is unfaithful? When we feel unloved and like no one cares, do you suppose that we allow ourselves to ponder why God must have left us alone and no longer care about us? Friends, I believe that when we allow these types of feelings and/or thoughts to enter our minds, it’s because we have taken our eyes off Jesus and becoming overwhelmed by the the things of this world, and perhaps looking for the attention of earthly friends or loved ones. I believe it is times like these that Satan moves in for the attack, for he sees that we have taken our eyes off Jesus and allowing the distractions of this world to take hold in our lives. I would highly recommend these verses to all Christians today, for if we follow the advice in verse 2 and fill our thoughts with heaven – our future home, then we will be reminded that it is a place prepared just for us. A place where we will unite with Jesus at the foot of His throne and worship Him with unending praises. A place where we will hear the voice of the Father who will encourage us with words such as “well done good and faithful servant”! A place where the creator of love, the One who loved us enough to die on a cross so that we might have everlasting hope and assurance of heaven. A place where there will be no distractions, but instead where our full undivided attention is attracted towards the Savior of the world! Try getting away where you are totally disconnected from cell phones and devices for a week. Wow, what a release! Oh how our attention is quickly drawn to the things and people who are truly important to us! Friends, I must remind you that we have allowed so much interference in our day that we not only lose sight of our one-on-one time with the Lord, but we also have lost sight of one-on-one time with our spouses, our children, our friends, our coworkers and all others. Is it any wonder that we have trouble evangelizing to them? If we can all agree that verse 3 is totally spot on and accurate, then we will agree that our real life is in heaven! I would dare say that our minds, our attention, our aim and our devotion should be there today and everyday also. Do these thoughts apply to you, friend? If not, why not? Is this something you need to take time to talk with God about?

PRAYER: Lord God, we are such worry warts, but it’s always over things that really don’t matter – things of this world. Being reminded in this scripture that our minds are to be set on our heavenly home, and our time with You, we humbly come before You today asking for forgiveness for our misguided thoughts and worries. We realize that all these things do is to distract us in our walk with You and our witness of You. For when we become solid in our faith and demonstrate it in our walk with You, we will influence those who follow in our steps. Lord I pray that You will do an awesome work in my life and in the lives of my readers, so that we might become healthy Christians focused on the ‘main thing’ – our heavenly home. I further pray that this new focus will have such an impact on others that Your name might be lifted high as Your children become better aligned with Your perfect will for us. I ask these things in the strong, mighty and holy name of Jesus – your Son, and my Redeemer, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org 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 or listening to this devotional, please go to 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. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

How Christians Are To Avoid Heartaches

On By Ed AlgreenIn Focused, Heaven, WorryLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Living Bible – Colossians 3:1-3): 1 Since you became alive again, so to speak, when Christ arose from the dead, now set your sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven where he sits beside God in the place of honor and power. 2 Let heaven fill your thoughts; don’t spend your time worrying about things down here. 3 You should have as little desire for this world as a dead person does. Your real life is in heaven with Christ and God.

THOUGHTS: When Christians worry, do you suppose it’s because we are worried that God will not do what He promised? When we doubt and stress out to the limit, do you suppose that we are concerned that God is unfaithful? When we feel unloved and like no one cares, do you suppose that we allow ourselves to ponder why God must have left us alone and no longer care about us? Friends, I believe that when we allow these types of feelings and/or thoughts to enter our minds, it’s because we have taken our eyes off Jesus and looking for the attention of earthly friends or loved ones. I believe it is times like these that Satan moves in for the attack, for he sees that we have taken our eyes off Jesus and allowing the distractions of this world to take hold in our lives. I would highly recommend these verses to all Christians today, for if we follow the advice in verse 2 and fill our thoughts with heaven – our future home, then we will be reminded that it is a place prepared just for us. A place where we will unite with Jesus at the foot of the cross and worship Him with unending praises. A place where we will hear the voice of the Father who will encourage us with words such as “well done good and faithful servant”! A place where the creator of love, especially love for you and I, will help us to appreciate His handiwork and find reasons to worship Him for it. A place where there will be no distractions, but instead attract our full undivided attention! I recently took a missions trip into another country, and we disconnected from cell phones for a week. Wow, what a release! Friends, I must remind you that we have allowed so much interference in our day that we not only lose sight of our one-on-one time with the Lord, but we also have lost sight of one-on-one time with our spouses, our children, our friends, our coworkers and all others. Is it any wonder that we have trouble evangelizing to them? If as verse 3 indicates, that our real life is in heaven, then I would dare say that our minds, our attention, our aim and our devotion should be there also. Does that describe you friend? If not, why not? Is this something you need to take time to talk with God about?

PRAYER: Lord God, we are such worry warts, but it’s always over things that really don’t matter – things of this world. Being reminded in this scripture that our minds are to be set on our heavenly home, and our time with You, we humbly come before You today asking for forgiveness for our misguided thoughts and worries. We realize that all these things do is distract us in our walk with You and our witness of You. For when we become solid in our faith and in our walk with You, we will influence those who follow in our steps. Lord I pray that You will do an awesome work in my life and in the lives of my readers, so that we might become healthy Christians focused on the ‘main thing’ – our heavenly home. I further pray that this new focus will have such an impact on others that Your name might be lifted high as Your children become better aligned with Your perfect will. I ask these things in the strong, mighty and holy name of Jesus, your Son and my Redeemer, 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!