Category: Helper

Never Tire of Doing Good

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Help, Helper, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Worship1 Comment

DATE POSTED Thursday, 2022-09-15
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Galatians 6:9-10
TRANSLATION: Amplified Bible (AMP)

BIBLE TEXT: 9 Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give in. 10 So then, while we [as individual believers] have the opportunity, let us do good to all people [not only being helpful, but also doing that which promotes their spiritual well-being], and especially [be a blessing] to those of the household of faith (born-again believers).

APPLICATION: It has become so much of a satisfaction to give financially to missions, to outreach groups, to evangelists, and to neighborhood help groups. But I’m not so sure that Paul would agree with you that your rewards will be based on the amount you give to these groups. To test this for yourself, let me suggest that you try going on a mission’s trip, instead of just giving financially to the group that goes. Instead of giving so much advice, or giving food to neighbor outreach groups, try going with them, if only for one day, and hand out food, or pray with those in need. If you do this, I believe you will quickly develop a whole new sense of how blessed you truly are, and how desperate the needs are in our community. I love this Bible translation and how it promotes not just handing out stuff to those in need, but also encouraging them spiritually. Yes, you can pay a minister of the Gospel to go with your mission’s group and help in the spiritual needs of those recipients your group is aiming at, but what impact will that have on your soul, your conscience, your mind? Compare that to returning from a trip feeling overwhelmed by the needs and seeing repeatedly the faces of those that you encouraged while you were with them. You saw them, you spoke with them, you felt their need. You could never achieve that through simply handing the Mission’s Team member a $50 bill. Friends, when we witness first-hand how God returns to us one hundred-fold for all that we do in His name, we will then fix our minds on the soul of men instead of fighting inflation and trying to maximize our bank account. Paul challenged the church, you and I, to be cognizant of the needs right in our very own churches. Strangers walk into our doors not to see how we are blessed by the God that we worship and adore, but to see how real our God truly is, and how He reflects His love and His power through you and I. What do you suppose they walk away thinking after their encounter with you? Did they truly see God’s amazing work, and His love and concern for mankind? Hopefully they didn’t see our selfish desires, or our pride still very prevalent in our words and actions. If they did, then perhaps they will walk into the church down the road to continue their search for ‘real’ Christians/followers of Christ. When Jesus rode along the road on a donkey and heard a blind man shouting out for help, Jesus didn’t hold his hand out from the 100′ mark and heal the man, instead He went over to this ‘reject of society’, asked him of his need, and healed Him. May this stir our minds to ‘jump in there’ and personally help in the needs of those in our church, along the path we travel each day, or buried deep in the trenches of our community. Paul said, let us not grow weary in doing this.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: There is no greater satisfaction than standing in the presence of Almighty God with a clear conscience because you have done all that He has asked of you. This includes being His hands extended to the poor and destitute that we come into contact with on a daily basis.

PRAYER: Precious Lord, please help us to see what You see. You know exactly what we need, yet You respect us and ask us to verbalize our needs before You. Too often we tend to see the needs and then try to find ways to brush off the urgency of the need or the reasons why we shouldn’t help. Please Lord, help us to always see people and their needs in much the same way as You first saw our need and then helped us arrive at a state where we sought Your help, forgiveness and love. People still need the Lord. Additionally, people have needs that the world would rather leave for the government to satisfy, but I pray that You will help us Lord to reach out and touch those in need. May our love and Your forgiveness be more than enough to help those we come into contact with. As they see Jesus at work in the lives of those they recognize as Christians, may they also reach out to You Lord to assume control of their lives. 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!

The Source of all Help!

On By Ed AlgreenIn God our Helper, God our Provider, Helper, Our Help comes from God, ProviderLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE  FROM:   Psalm 121:1-2 (VOICE)

TEXT:  1 I look up at the vast size of the mountains — from where will my help come in times of trouble?
2 The Eternal Creator of heaven and earth and these mountains will send the help I need.

OBSERVATION:   David was a simple man, and many of his writings reflect the time that he spent reflecting on, and enjoying the natural beauty that God provides. Standing at the foot of a huge mountain, you could only imagine how awesome it is in size, compared to the stature of a mere man. Therefore some would go to that mountain and look for help. But David found someone much bigger and ever so much more powerful that He chose to worship Him and make his petitions before Him. Do you run to the main source of all power for help?

APPLICATION:   It may be challenging for many of us to identify with the people of David’s day, because we may not see folk bowing down to a huge mountain, or a very tall building, or a vast ocean, asking for their help during the individual’s most challenging times. So this Scripture may not be meant for us, right? Not so quick my friend! Let’s think about our process today – what do most of us do? For the sake of time, I will only concentrate my thoughts about ‘self’ today: When things start to go wrong with our health, do we talk to the manufacturer first or do we run to another human first, and ask for an evaluation and possibly a few pills to help correct the matter? When there are challenges in our family, do we surrender to the Developer of that family unit and seek His guidance on seeing the issues, and look for God-led ideas on how to correct the matter? Do we sing God’s praises when things are really smooth in our family, then cry out in our petitions before Him when we feel helpless in correcting an obvious obstacle? Do we thank Him daily for our jobs and seek to learn ways from Him on how we might excel in our jobs, or do we take the easy way out and gripe and complain about every little thing, including having to get up and go to work? Notice that David never thought of using Google to help him resolve his concerns, nor did he bow before the huge mountain that he could see ahead of him, but instead he went to the One whose presence he felt along the still waters that he spoke of in Psalm 23, and the One he was convinced had restored his very soul, as reflected in that same chapter. Why David knew that God had created the huge mountain that stood before him at the time, and with just a little bit of faith, he could even ask God to move that mountain. So with those thoughts in mind, what kind of problem might David have had that would have forced him to look any further? Friends, that’s the same with you and I. There ain’t no problem big enough that our God can’t handle, no mountain tall enough that He can’t help us climb over, no ocean deep enough that He can’t help us cross over, so why is it that we would turn to anything, or anyone else? Let’s learn to ask others to pray with us, not for us, for this shows that we are in touch with God already over our situation. An old chorus reminds us to praise Him in the morning, praise Him in the evening and praise Him all day long. Let’s practice that, for it will remind us from whence comes our help, and we will be reminded to whom shall we run when we feel inadequate in our health, happiness, finances, family situations and in every aspect of our lives. He’s our Savior, our Healer, our Redeemer and our soon coming King! Do you know Him friend? Otherwise, to whom will you run?

PRAYER:   Heavenly Father, King of all kings and Lord of all lords. Thank you for looking at mankind, standing alongside a huge mountain, and still loving us as Your very own sons and daughters. What a joy to know You as Lord and Savior! Please open our eyes daily to the truths of Your Word so that we might be like You in every way, especially to a lost and dying world. People need the Lord. Oh that You may use even us to speak, love and act just like You. 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 Sebring, 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 Lord Is Here To Help

On By Ed AlgreenIn God our Helper, Help, Helper, Our Help comes from God, SalvationLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE  FROM:   1 Corinthians 7:23-24 (TLB)

TEXT:  23 You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him—be free now from all these earthly prides and fears. 24 So, dear brothers, whatever situation a person is in when he becomes a Christian, let him stay there, for now the Lord is there to help him.

OBSERVATION:   Paul had just addressed married individuals where one in the union may have been saved and the other unsaved. While Paul spoke to the challenges this brings to a marriage, he wanted them, and us, to understand that the thing that trumps our circumstances in life, is the condition of our heart before God. We know that God has an unconditional love for us, but do we need to change to receive that love? Let’s examine this…

APPLICATION:   Paul had just emphasized that it was critical, as part of accepting Jesus as our Savior, that we begin to faithfully obey His Word. To obey God’s Word, means that we must read it and meditate on the overall meaning of what God is saying to us. This should bring us to a point of changing the ways that we have looked, reacted and dealt with life’s circumstances. I found it interesting that Paul would remind us that most often these changes will not dictate us changing who we’ve always been, but instead we might do those things in much the same way that Jesus would have done them when He was here on earth. As part of becoming a child of the King, we want to also be more like Him, knowing that He was the only ‘perfect’ One. We would also have a strong desire, and a definite nudge from the Holy Spirit that now lives inside of us, to now imitate Jesus in all that we say and do. There is no doubt, life’s circumstances will come our way. Hopefully we will not really be put to the test like Job was challenged with, but we should be close enough to God that if we were challenged like Job, then like him, we would have the lasting joy of knowing where our help comes from, even in our toughest times.

PRAYER:   Oh Lord our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! A calm assurance to know that You are with us when life around us seems so out of control. Yet You are our strength, our vibrancy, and our reassuring hope when the stresses of this world seems like it is resting right on our shoulders. Thank You Lord for creating us in Your image! Thank You Lord for looking out for us from the very beginning of life, through various walks of our life, and for giving us assurance even while we live, that You have a much better place prepared for us, where there will be no sin but instead the everlasting joy of worshiping You and the Father for all eternity! It – will – be – worth – it – all, friends! Are you ready? Read my Footnote and follow the appropriate link so I might help you KNOW without a doubt where you will spend eternity. 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 Sebring, 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!

Where Could I Go But to the Lord?

On By Ed AlgreenIn God our Helper, Helper, Our Help comes from God, SecurityLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Monday, 2017-11-13
SCRIPTURE

From:

 2 Samuel 22:2-4 (TLB)

Text:

 2 “Jehovah is my rock,
My fortress and my savior.
3 I will hide in God,
Who is my rock and my refuge.
He is my shield
And my salvation,
My refuge and high tower.
Thank you, O my Savior,
For saving me from all my enemies.
4 I will call upon the Lord,
Who is worthy to be praised;
He will save me from all my enemies.
OBSERVATION:
David faced many giants in his life, but as we could see in this Scripture today, he was well aware of his source of help. He knew in advance where he would turn for help, and on whom he could depend. Knowing that our world comes crashing in on us in an instant, we must also be very mindful of where we will turn for help and peace of mind. Let’s dig in on this subject…
APPLICATION:
In reality, I believe that most of us tend to react differently when we are faced with difficulties and challenges. Some get mad, or sad, or frustrated, or hopeless and are ready to give up. Some might be reminded of how faithful God is, and eventually think of asking God to help – especially when all other hope has expired. Friends, I actually believe, and would recommend to you, that when you start feeling that things are not going as you and God had planned, that you immediately work with God to analyze your relationship with Him. For this is a specialty area of God’s, because He wants His children to call on Him at all times. I believe it is most important that we learn from David that we don’t leave communicating with God as a last resort but, especially since He is your very best Friend; your Master and Lord; your Jehovah; your soon coming King who is sovereign over all things; who loved you enough that He skipped calling on ten thousand angels to rescue Him from the cross, but died to not only show His love, but also facilitate God’s provision for us to make our way to heaven. This is the One that holds the key to all of life’s questions, dilemmas, frustrations, and heartaches. He is the one that we call on FIRST and foremost, not after we have tried every trick in our knapsack.
PRAYER:
Dear Jesus, thank You for not only being our redeemer and soon coming Lord, but also our Help and our Rock in times where we would otherwise feel like ‘throwing in the towel’. Father, Your Word reminds us that it’s You who David turned to when challenged with, what must have felt like, the whole world on his shoulders. Because we often feel just like David, we want to plead with You Lord, to keep us strong in our faith and help us to take our Father/child relationship very seriously. On earth we would tend to run to dad when there is trouble brewing, please help us to do no less with You as our eternal Father. Thank You for Your love and concern for each of Your children. May that be a deciding factor for many who may read this blog today, for they all need reassurance of the fact that You love them unconditionally and would welcome them into Your fold instantly upon their request. In Jesus’ name, 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!

Your Hands – God’s Hand Extended

On By Ed AlgreenIn God our Helper, Help, Helper, Our Help comes from God, VisitationLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Friday, 2017-07-21
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Proverbs 3:27-28 (MSG)

Text:

  27-28 Never walk away from someone who deserves help;
    your hand is God’s hand for that person.
Don’t tell your neighbor “Maybe some other time”
    or “Try me tomorrow”
    when the money’s right there in your pocket.
OBSERVATION:
This Proverb is teaching us to help one another and be a neighbor that would remind people of God. Have you ever stopped to consider that, as God’s servants, we are His hands and feet on the ground? When we see a need, God encourages us to think about what He would have done if He was here, then impresses on us to press on to ‘get ‘r done’! What an honor it is to feel like someone might recognize our helping hand as that inspired and designed by God for that very action that we are helping them with! To God be the glory!
APPLICATION:
How often have you arrived home at the end of your workday, tired beyond words, and trying to get in the door of your home so you could relax and clear your mind, when your neighbor calls out for your help on a project, or just needs someone to talk to? Do you suppose that your reaction was noticeable to the neighbor? Do you suppose God recognized your reaction as something He did while here on earth? Have you ever been in need of help yourself? Some months ago I purchased a shed, and it was delivered the day after I had a back surgery. I was anxious to have it erected, so I asked a neighbor for help. Much of the time I was absolutely of no help at all, because I couldn’t. It was a very humbling experience hearing him outside working, with me being totally incapable of helping him. However, I feel like he did something that Jesus would have done when He was here on earth. Did my neighbor have other things to do, I could almost assure you that he did, but whether he realized it or not, I saw Jesus at work in my yard that day. Friends, we often hear an old saying ‘what comes around goes around’. Please stop and ask God what you might do to extend a hand to someone today. Friends, family or church members might be in hospital. They obviously can’t visit you, so please consider visiting with them. It will help them feel better knowing that others cared enough to sacrifice time to visit with them. They will thank God for you and your visit. Call a friend you haven’t heard from in a long time, they may have gone through awful times and couldn’t call you, but your call might really serve to encourage them knowing that you cared enough to miss them, and then to call them. Perhaps, more of Jesus in our lives, and less TV and internet devices, might help us be real neighbors again, and extend the love of Jesus through our meager efforts here on earth. Be willing to share friends. It takes no money – just your willingness to listen to God and be His hands extended to someone else.
PRAYER:
Lord, You unselfishly gave of Yourself for us, and You gave us a wonderful life to enjoy here on earth until You are ready to call us home. Please help us to constantly be aware of our surroundings and the needs that cry out for our involvement – Your hands extended. Lord, may others be drawn to You and give thanks continuously for Your outstretched arm of love, and action through Your saints. May all the glory be Yours oh King, my Lord and Savior, 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!

Helping Others

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bless Others, Help, Helper, Love others, Needs of others, Others firstLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2016-10-04

Scripture

Bible Reference: Ephesians 2:9-10

Bible Text:  9 Salvation is not a reward for the good we have done, so none of us can take any credit for it. 10 It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.

Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take

After reading this scripture today, I feel like we should carefully examine whether we are living as God intended – helping one another. It’s almost frightening to think how greedy, and self-engrossed we have become with living our days to get as much as possible out of life for self. It seems like we are always expecting the needed help for our friends or family to come from someone else. Friends, I believe that it goes with saying, that if God sent His Son, Jesus, through the miraculous means of a virgin birth, and then He followed years later with a cruel death on the cross and a supernatural resurrection, so that our sins might be forgiven and therefore attain brand new lives, that He must have had intentions far greater than anything we could imagine. Yes, I believe that part of this plan was to make it possible for us to attain assurance of our salvation and an eternal home with our Maker, but what do you suppose he meant for us to do until the day He calls us home? Our scripture today tells us that it was God’s intent from the very beginning that we use these ‘new’ lives to help others. Think about it friend, you can tell some folk how to receive eternal life, but for others you have to show them. If we are truly Jesus’ kids, then we will act just like Him and display the same characteristics that He did. He was loving and kind even to those who were against Him and despised Him. How are you doing friend? Are you being mistaken for just about any other ‘Joe Blow’ on the street, or is it evident that You have walked and talked with Jesus and living according to His purpose? Only what’s done for Jesus will last, friend! Make it count today!

Prayer

Dear God, we have become so self-centered and greedy for all that we can personally benefit from, that we truly needed this reminder from Your Word today. Praise God that You saved us from our sin! Now Lord, please use us for the purpose You intended right from the beginning, that we help others. You placed us here on earth as brothers and sisters, not as enemies and not as one to lord over another, but in humility that we might help each other. Please open our eyes to the opportunities available to us today, and may we make You proud as we pick up the banner and help others along the way. Thank You Lord for saving my soul, and thank You for touching the hearts of so many others out there. 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!

Spending Your Life Like God Designed

On By Ed AlgreenIn Help, Helper, Sacrifice, Servants of GodLeave a comment

Thursday, 2016-09-15

Scripture

Bible Reference: Ephesians 2:8-10

Bible Text:  8 Because of his kindness, you have been saved through trusting Christ. And even trusting is not of yourselves; it too is a gift from God.9 Salvation is not a reward for the good we have done, so none of us can take any credit for it. 10 It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.

Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take

Ever reflected on your day and feel like it was a wash, or that you don’t feel like you accomplished enough to say that it was successful or meaningful? I believe we can see from this scripture today how we could mark success, instead of just looking at your task list for the day and not being able to check off anything on the list. Paul dealt with this issue with the Ephesian church, and he told them that for those who have ‘New Life’ in Jesus Christ, God designed it so that we would spend our lives helping others. So wouldn’t that be a neat thing to reflect back on each day? Instead of checking off your personal agenda items, that you chat with God and thank Him for allowing you to get directly involved in someone else’s life and help them in some way! Imagine the benefits friend. You would not only have helped them mark off an item on their agenda, that they had no idea of how they were going to accomplish that, but you also had the opportunity to be a witness to them of real, unselfish, godly love, and also to show them that God IS very much alive as He ministered to them through you (His child)! I believe that when God places a scenario in our path like that, He will use that for His ultimate glory. Yes, we may be used as His hands, or His feet on the ground, or His audible voice as we help and/or encourage in some small way, but when that person stands before God and gives thanks for His servant that He sent along to help them, and that caused their eyes to be opened to the love of Christ, then I believe it will be worth it all. We may never see the results this side of heaven, and we should never help someone with that selfish motive in mind, we are merely called on to be obedient servants of God, doing all we can with what He taught us through His awesome example. If we simply do that, and someone’s eyes are opened to the gospel and love of Jesus Christ, then praise God for using even us! So try looking back on you day and see how God miraculously placed someone in your path to help. Give God praise and glory for the opportunity and pray for the individual(s) you helped, that they saw a glimpse of Jesus and surrendered to His call on their life.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, may I be willingly obedient to all that You have designed for me to do today. Please touch the life of each reader so that they also may be open and obedient to all that you expect of them. May others be touched today with the love of Jesus as they come into contact with each one reading this blog, for I ask these things knowing that all glory will be Yours and for the sake of Your kingdom growth. What an awesome God that we serve! Thank You 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. 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!

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.

Be Completely United

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Follow Jesus, Forgiveness, Fruit of the Spirit, Getting Along, God our Helper, Helper, Holy Spirit, Imitator of Christ, Love your Neighbor, Marriage, Our Help comes from God, Pleasing to God, Power, Reaching the Lost, Reflecting Christ, Stregth, Surrender, WitnessingLeave a comment

The Bible – The Good news Translation

1 Corinthians 1:10

10 By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ I appeal to all of you, my brothers and sisters, to agree in what you say, so that there will be no divisions among you. Be completely united, with only one thought and one purpose.

Thoughts:

I bet that as you read the above verse you may have thought that it was something that I came up with concerning your church, or perhaps telling you gossip from my church, right? I agree with you friends, however this is obviously one of those verses that Christians today throw over their shoulders and let it go on to apply to the church on the next block for whom it was truly written!! In our secular jobs we often remark that the most challenging part of our job is dealing with the people/staff. I would imagine that for our pastors the most challenging part of leading a small, or a large church is the same – dealing with the folk who cause upheaval that could quickly lead to division. Paul addressed two important areas that we should consider as we think about what we might do to prevent division:

  1. To agree in what you say – I believe that if we did like one pastor suggested when he said “Let the main thing be the main thing” then we would quickly refocus our minds, and subsequently our conversation, to the mighty works of God among the congregation; the Word of God that speaks to us in powerful ways today, as it did in the days we read about in the Word; the blessings that God has bestowed on us instead of the small aches and pains that we might feel; the great teachers that God has provided to share knowledge with us instead of the small insignificant, humanly faults they may have; and the heartfelt desire to see our family members saved; and
  2. Be completely united – Do you know what happens in marriages when a husband and wife cannot be completely united in one thought and purpose? Don’t you imagine that the same thing would happen if we bring that type of behavior into the church? Independent thinking is important friend, but in a heart of compassion and love and caring about the good of others, we must learn to be understanding, appreciative and patient in what others have to say also. We are not all at the same maturity level, so sometimes we will find that someone else may have a different idea about a topic than we do. They may not be wrong – in fact they may be trying to say the same things as you are saying, just using different terminology. We must learn to not only talk, but also to listen, and try to appreciate the heart of the person speaking.

I heard a preacher approach this subject recently and he advised that should a third party be brought up in a conversation you are having with another church member, stop the conversation until such time that the other party could join you in the conversation! Great advice to avoid the issues that Paul was addressing with the Corinthian church, and to help with the unity of our churches today! These are tips on how we can help keep unity in our church today, are you willing to do your part friend? Let’s ask God for the strength to do His will, even in our relationships with others who should know better!

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for Your patience with Your people as we try to get along here on this earth and live in such a way that we would be a witness of You to our lost family and friends. Lord, please remind us often that we will never impact the lost when we act just like them. If we are different, and if we belong to the King of Love, the King of compassion and the King of all Kings then it is time for us to leave the things of this world behind and center our hearts and minds on You, and not our personal desires and selfish ways. More of You in this old world will force out the ways of Satan that has become so prevalent, even among Christians. Please have Your will in my life dear Lord, and may my friends also see the need for a similar prayer today, is my humble plea, that I ask in the precious name of Jesus, my Lord and 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.

You Have All That You Need

On By Ed AlgreenIn All have sinned, Bible Believing, Christian, Eternal Life, Faith, Follow Jesus, Fruit of the Spirit, God our Helper, God our Provider, Helper, Holy Spirit, Humility, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Love, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Pleasing to God, Praise, Purity, Reflecting Christ, Righteousness, Trust, Truthful, Victorious LifeLeave a comment

The Bible – New Living Translation

1 Corinthians 1:7–9

7 Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 9 God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Thoughts:

I was reminded of my working career where, from time to time, I go off to conferences or training seminars to sharpen my skills and make me a better employee. These verses made me think about this, because when we surrendered our lives to the lordship of our Lord Jesus, we were given everything that we need to succeed as a Christian. So why do we go to church? Much like I said in my career, we go to church to receive that ‘tune up’, that personal accountability where we allow God’s Word to challenge our lives and show us what we need to do differently in order to be best aligned with His will. Furthermore, Paul reminded the Corinthians of the importance to be blameless when Christ returns. This is vitally important for two reasons: 1). We don’t know the day or the hour when Jesus Christ will return, so we need to be ready and watching at all times, and this must be in a blameless fashion if we are to join Him when He returns; and 2). We need to be holy as Christ is holy, so that we can be the proper representation of Him to our lost family and friends, while we are still on this earth. If we are not blameless before them, we will be considered hypercritical and undesirable to anyone else. The reassurance in these verses can be found in verse 8, for Paul reminds us that God will keep us strong to the end! Praise God that He watches out for us and directs us as needed so that we may remain strong in Him. Now all we need to do is to free ourselves of any rebellion and allow Him to do His mighty work in us. May it be so, God being our helper!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, it is so very interesting to see how your people are the same today as they were in Paul’s day. We still tend to rebel at times and pretend like we have everything under control. Unfortunately, we know full well that we can do nothing without Your strength and Your guidance. Thank You for our pastors and church leaders who teach us Your Word and gently guide us into the path of righteousness so that we may stay aligned with Your Word, accountable to You, and a bold, honest example to our lost family and friends. Lord, may Your perfect will be made whole in my life today, and may Your presence be so bold in the lives of those that may read this devotional, and in the lives of those that we come into contact with. As Paul reminds us in this scripture this morning, You are faithful to what You have said in Your Word, so I rest in the comfort of Your loving arms and depend on Your guidance and perfect will to be accomplished in all things that I may be involved in today. I serve an awesome God in whom I rejoice today! Praising Him and asking for ongoing guidance in the precious and loving name of Jesus, my 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.