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Post Date: |
Friday, 2017-06-02 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Mark 14:37-38 (CEV) |
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Text: |
37 When Jesus came back and found the disciples sleeping, he said to Simon Peter, “Are you asleep? Can’t you stay awake for just one hour? 38 Stay awake and pray that you won’t be tested. You want to do what is right, but you are weak.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| A crowd followed Jesus up to the garden, however He took just three disciples along with Him to a place of solitude so that He could pray. At the place of prayer, Jesus asked His disciples to stop, watch and pray, while He went on just a little farther for some one on one time with the Father. Knowing what was in store for Him, He had some very serious conversation with His Father, yet He was also concerned about His disciples, so He kept checking on them. I feel like those three disciples vividly represent ‘Christians’ today and, with God’s guidance, I will expand on that in our ‘application’. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Jesus was praying so earnestly with the Father that His very heart was broken. I would imagine that He should have felt some relief knowing that His inner circle of disciples were right there praying with Him, or were they? God created this beautiful world in which we live, and He also created each of us especially to worship Him while living on this earth enjoying it. While we are definitely living on this earth and being blessed by everything around us, how would you think we are rated in truly worshipping the one who provided all this for us? Simon Peter had just sworn to Jesus, a short time before the garden scene, that He (Jesus) could depend on him to be faithful right until the end of time. Yet when Jesus returned to check on His three disciples, they were all asleep – including Peter. I often feel like a very large percentage of ‘Christians’ are ‘asleep on the job’ as we plunder through our time here on earth while placing priority on everything else, besides our commitment to worship our Lord and be His faithful followers and missionaries. Some attend church services, while most others are asleep on the job and can’t find an hour a week to join with believers in worship to our Savior and Lord. Unfortunately, many that attend a worship service pretty much represents the three disciples in our Scripture today, for our arms are strapped to our sides, our lips are sealed, and our expression shows that we can’t wait for the service to be over. Many will listen to the pastor pray, the praise team sing and, if we could stay awake, we may listen to the pastor share his heart about something from the Scripture. Excuse me, but where did ‘our time of worship’ fit into any of that I just explained? Our presence inside of a church does not count as worship to the Father, nor the Son, nor the Holy Ghost. Where was our heart, our thoughts and our concentration during that time together? How would we respond to Jesus if He returned today and asked us the same question as He did to Simon Peter? Are we truly appreciative of the sacrifice made for us at Calvary? Is Jesus pleased with our daily expressions of gratitude? In most workplaces employees are fired for falling asleep on the job. How do you suppose God should act about us falling asleep on the job of worshipping Him, witnessing in His name, being good honest representatives of His to a lost world that needs Jesus? | |
| PRAYER: | |
| What a sobering reminder to us today dear Jesus, for I feel like Your saints here on earth are very much in the same boat as Peter, James and John. Please forgive our unfaithfulness and today fill us with Your unction to be the hands, feet and voice of Jesus as we face a bitter world where most have no appreciation for the sacrifice You made and the love that You share with us every day. Regardless of their position in life, please grant us the boldness and deep desire to bear Your cross and be a living witness before them, and all those that we are privileged to come into contact with. Please awaken Your church, so that together our communities may witness the outstretched arms of our Savior and Lord. 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! | |
Category: Honest
Deep Concern For Prayer Matters
Sunday, 2016-11-06
Scripture
Bible Reference: 1 Samuel 1:10; 16-18
Bible Text: 10 Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the LORD.
16 Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.” 17 “In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.” 18 “Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad.
Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)
My Take
I would like for us to reflect on our personal prayers, both private and public. Now I would like for us to re-read the referenced scripture again, in fact why not click on the Bible Reference link and read the whole context (just 9 verses) and carefully note the heart of Hannah as she prayed. Friends, I am not asking you to judge (other than yourself), but I want you to really grasp the sincerity of the prayer by Hannah, and consider a few things:
- Deep, Earnest Prayer – When last have you truly been concerned enough about a specific item or person, that you went before God in deep anguish and weeping bitterly? To help you understand this terminology I also read other translations that describe Hannah as going before God ‘miserable’ and ‘terribly upset’. Friends, this is not something we can conjure up and go before God with a fake cry, for these feelings are expressions of our heart. And I believe because of the sincerity and deep concern that the praying believer might have, the Bible speaks to this in several ways: In Psalm 30:5, the Bible says: “Weeping will be followed by joy“; In Isaiah 53:3–9, the Bible declares that ‘Jesus understands sorrow‘; In Matthew 5:4 the Bible declares “God promises comfort to those who experience sorrow; and in Revelation 21:3–4 – “Sorrow will not exist in God’s Kingdom“. This gives me the distinct impression that our Father is concerned about the things that we are deeply troubled by!
- Others may mistake our deep concern – Our pride may prevent us from openly expressing to our God, as we may easily become concerned about what others may think. Notice in these verses that Eli thought that Hannah had come to the temple drunk, for she was praying in such earnest and anguish, that he had probably never seen before from most who came to pray. God already knows your heart friend, so to go before God with a heavy heart and pretend to be happy, is like faking what you really feel or want to express to God. Let us learn to be open and honest with God;
- Joy results from a heart that has unloaded all concern before God! Prior to going to the temple Hannah was unable to eat because she was so upset. After her encounter at the temple, Hannah left quite different, for she was no longer sad, and she was able to eat again. I believe this is an example of what we can expect when we pray to the Father in deep, honest concern.
Friends, I have been desperate in prayer before, and I’m sure that you have been at one time or another in your life. This scripture reminded me of the need to really take to heart those things that God impresses upon us, and then open up our hearts before Him in prayer. To go before God in a casual, superficially happy mood for something that is really bearing on our heart, makes me wonder if God doesn’t look at His kids and say “Really?? You are so concerned that you are actually showing a smile on your face??”. Friends, I realize that God knows our heart, but I also believe that He wants us to be transparent before Him – wide open honest with Him, even to the extent that our emotions may be impacted and publicly expressed, if need be. Hannah impacted Eli’s life when he realized how sincere she really was about her prayer. Will others really know the sincerity of your heart and be impacted by it?
Prayer
Father God, thank You for looking deep into our hearts and knowing our most innermost thoughts. You created us so that our emotions would reflect our heart, yet we often try so hard to suppress our emotions because of what those around us might think. Please help us to be straight up honest with You, regardless of who might be around us to witness our deepest emotions. You have promised us in Your Word that ‘joy comes in the morning’, and I believe your intent was to help us realize that there would be times that our hearts are deeply saddened because of our own needs, or those of family or friends that we may connect with You on, and pray for. Please help my readers and I to face You with opened hearts today, so that You may fill us with Your immense love and care. We are Yours, heavenly Father, and we sincerely need You in every aspect of our lives, especially when our hearts are saddened. 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!
Represent God In Total Honesty
Wednesday, 2016-08-17
Scripture
Bible Reference: Job 42:7
Bible Text: 7 After the LORD had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.
Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)
My Take
I believe that too often we are like Job’s friends, where we tell folk what we believe they want to hear, hoping that will help them to feel better. However friends, there’s a great danger in that, because when we do that we often sacrifice the Word of God for the will, or wish of man. Friends, we must always remember that the wishes of mankind are carnal (not spiritual), and the desire of their heart is very selfish. The will and design of our God is very well defined and will speak to the heart of man in ways that only God can. So when we visit with someone and share what we want with them, or reinforce the things that we believe they want to hear, we are totally wasting our time, and as in the case of Job’s two friends, we are totally upsetting God with us. Don’t you suppose that the reason our friends are in such deep depression, like Job was, is because they have looked inside for so long that they see no hope for anything or anyone brighter? Friends, what we have available to those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, is the ‘GOOD NEWS’ of God’s Word. It’s something that the world is lacking, and that they deeply yearn for. Imagine how your friends feel when you have nothing better to share with them, than more of the same misery and bad news that brought them to the place where they are at already? Imagine how much better they would feel when they know that there is a better way; and a God who who loves them and can’t wait to show His love for them? Friends, many times we will find that what God says in His Word may be totally opposite to what our friends believe. Many times, they are well aware of that fact and they are miserably trying to turn their life around. When you speak with them by phone, or visit them in person and you try to make them feel better outside of the scope of God’s Word, they immediately recognize that you are a phony and not giving them straight answers. So at that point, not only is God disappointed at you, but your friend is also. It pays to just be very honest in representing God in whatever you say or do friends!
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for being so honest with us. You have declared Your Word for all mankind, no matter who we are, or what our circumstance might be. Your Word is about the only constant we can think of, for it never changes based on our emotional state, or softened for those of us who are struggling with everyday life. We need that Lord, and we thank You from the very depths of our heart for being totally honest with us. Lord, may we work at, and depend heavily on You to help us not only be totally true to You in all things, but may we learn to be true to those that we come into contact with. May we be loving in every way, but totally honest in what the Word of God says, at all times. To be effective disciples of Yous, we must please You, and not the world. In deepest respect and honor, I ask these things of a holy and righteous God, through His only Son, 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!
You Are Part Of A Much Bigger Picture
May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………
Today’s Bible Reference: Romans 12:4-5
Today’s Bible Text: 4-5 Just as there are many parts to our bodies, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of it, and it takes every one of us to make it complete, for we each have different work to do. So we belong to each other, and each needs all the others.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)
My Take Away: Friends, I believe that we can all agree that when a member of our family hurts, we all hurt. When there’s reason to celebrate by one member of our family, we all tend to celebrate with them. There is just that oneness that tends to penetrate our very soul. I believe that our scripture today reminds us that this ‘oneness’ is apparent in our Christianity also. For when our God looked at the enormous demands He had placed on us through sacrifices, and because He then found a better way, by sacrificing His only Son on Calvary’s cross, He showed His unexplainable love for us, and He showed us that He is an integral part of our lives. When we accepted Jesus as Lord, we committed to being united with Him. Because we are united with Christ, when others also become united with Him, we also have a unique oneness with them. Friends, don’t you see the picture? Just as you will do everything possible to make sure that you have healthy limbs, so that you could live without pain, you will want to do the same thing for those you are united with in Christ. There will be times that you will need them to help you through, and there will be times that they will need you. God created us to fit together in His perfect plan. Can we try all the harder to fit into His plan; to love one another; and to promote good health between each other so that we may all grow in Christ until the day He calls us home? I believe this will fulfill God’s desire for His church, and in doing so, we will be drawn closer to God and to each other. This kind of witness will speak volumes to the lost around us, for they need to see this ‘God-thing’ in action, for them to be convinced that it works! Are you ready to do your part, friend?
Prayer: Thank You Lord Jesus for all that You have done to provide for our happiness here on earth and the contentment in knowing that we have a common thread that will unite Your children while here below. Thank You for the assurance of having everything aligned for our future with You also. What more can mere man ask for. Lord, I ask that You give us strength each day to fight off the attempts by Satan to destroy unity among Your children here on earth. As You have shown ultimate love for us, may we also love one another, and by that love, may the unsaved grow in desire to know You. This is my plea, Lord. May Your perfect will be accomplished in my life today and in the lives of my readers who are willing to surrender to Your will and way, AMEN!
Footnote: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!
2016
Your Walk Is Under Scrutiny
May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………
Today’s Bible Reference: 1 Peter 2:11–12
Today’s Bible Text: 11 Dear brothers, you are only visitors here. Since your real home is in heaven, I beg you to keep away from the evil pleasures of this world; they are not for you, for they fight against your very souls. 12 Be careful how you behave among your unsaved neighbors; for then, even if they are suspicious of you and talk against you, they will end up praising God for your good works when Christ returns.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)
My Take Away: I believe there are really two things that can result from today’s scripture challenge. People that you hang around will have one of the following to say about you:
- You are who you say you are – This means that your life around them has proven who they thought you were, or who you claim to be. This is where they have seen proof of your Christian walk, and your talk has aligned with the Word of God. Friends, I have seen this go both ways, for there have been proclaimed Christians who have lived among friends with no distinct witness. In other words, you could not tell the difference. However there have been times where Christians have lived their claim to the gospel in front of their friends, just like they would do in front of their pastor. I believe that Peter is reminding us that we must be very careful not to be a stumbling block to those we hang around, for although they may live like the devil himself, they will not consider changing that lifestyle if they are afraid of being hypercritical like they may see in you and I. In another part of scripture we are told that we should let our yes be yes and our no be no. Don’t say that we are a child of God, but not evidence that in our character. It should be evident to those we hang around, even without walking around with a huge Bible under our arms.
- You are indeed a fake, just like everyone suspected – Friends, this is probably the worse thing that could happen to us. Our neighbors have seen us rushing out of our homes to go to church at the appointed times, yet they can’t get to sleep most weekends because of our loud parties. They refuse to let their kids hang around us because of our foul language. They wish everyday that they would have the opportunity to speak with your pastor, so they could really tell him who his parishioners really are. Do you suppose that you could ever witness to that neighbor and ask them to accept your Lord as their Savior?
I believe that Peter is telling us that it is best that we live in such a way, that if someone is spreading gossip about us possibly fitting the 2nd description, that there is enough evidence preceding that incident, that your non-Christian friends would speak up and try to correct the false statements about you. So where do you think that you stand friend? Do you live the life that you claim to your Christian friends? Others will watch your actions a whole lot closer than they would listen to your words. May I encourage you to be sure that your life always reflects whose you are? Be careful to not cave in to the things of this world when backed into a corner with a bunch of friends. Be a Christian at work, at home and at play, just as you are in church.
Prayer: Precious Lord, You stood up to all opposition and hesitated enacting Your awesome power on the cross because of Your commitment and obedience to the Father . Please help us to be just as committed to following You in obedience and dedication to our Lord and Savior, especially out in the world as we hang around folk that need to see physical proof of You in and through Your children. Lord, may it always be evident whose we are, even when it may mean us standing out from the crowd. May our lives always be about You and in full obedience to You. I ask these things in the precious name of Jesus, my Master and my Lord, AMEN!
Footnote: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!
2016
Jesus, The Same Yesterday, Today and Forever!
May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………
Today’s Bible Reference: Psalm 102:27–28
Today’s Bible Text: But you are always the same; you will live forever. The children of your people will live in security. Their children’s children will thrive in your presence.”
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT
My Take Away: I believe there are many things that we can reflect on from our past that we really liked, and that we wish was still around in lieu of the sometimes faulty things that we have available today to give, or refer to our kids. In fact, there were places that we once frequented that we can no longer refer to our kids, because they are no longer around. There are wise old folks – you know, like our grandparents and others, that we can no longer refer our descendants to, because they are no longer around. However, there were some stories told by grandparents who knew the Lord, that we have proven over our lifetimes, and as David reveals in this Psalm today, we can afford to share these with our kids and grandkids, because it is not only a sure thing, but God’s love will be available to those that would have Him, for as long as life here on earth continues. Friends, the beauty of this is that the stories passed on down to us are not just stories, but they are real experiences that took place during the lifetime of our ancestors. Similarly, there are stories we can pass down about the work of God in our lives – the work He is currently doing right in our lifetimes. The experiences that our kids and grandkids can experience are then reassured based on the stories of our experiences that we share with them! However friend, the stories that will be meaningful to them are the ones telling our our rich experiences with the Lord Jesus Christ, for those are very personal, and still very much available to our kids today. Do you know this Jesus that I am referring to? Can you share with your kids about the rich personal experiences you have encountered during your lifetime? We can enjoy the relationship with Him forever, if we have made the necessary commitment to be with God even after this life here on earth. Where do you stand friend? This is far more important that trying to store up a fat bank account for them to fight over, and this treasure of which I spoke, is everlasting, and it never fails!
Prayer: Father, I pray that the experiences our kids will discern from us and cherish during their lifetimes, would be the characteristics that they saw in us. The godly lives that we lived and the sincerity of living what we taught them to do. Please touch lives today, including mine, so that I may live the life that I claim in You. May others be drawn close to You because of Your character being lived out in me. You, oh Lord, are my all in all! Thank You for loving me and providing for my everlasting happiness! In Jesus precious name, AMEN!
Footnote: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!
2016
The Value In Experiencing God
THE HOLY BIBLE (The New Living Translation – John 9:24-25): 24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.” 25 “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
THOUGHTS: Try asking me what it was like to land on the moon the very first time, and I would have to look to the internet and/or the local library to find information on the first landing. No doubt I would share some of the personal feelings of those first pioneers as they landed and as they walked around on the surface of the moon. Now, think about the difference in that story versus the response I might write to the question: “what is it like to live in the Bahamas?” You see, I am originally from the Bahamas, having lived the first 33 years of my life there. So I don’t need to do research in order to share a valid response with you. In my response to the first question I would share feelings and facts from the hearts of the first adventurers that landed on the moon. In response to the second question, you would hear about those things I personally experienced, and more about the physical descriptions of the beautiful waters and beaches. You will quickly discern the passion in my response, because my life was, and always will be, impacted by the people and places of the country where I was raised. In our Bible verses today, we see where a man who was once blind, is passionate about Jesus who impacted his life forever. For through His majestic touch, this man could now see for the first time in his life. In fact, the man is getting very frustrated because the Jewish leaders are trying to convince him that the healer is a fraud and that there must be something erroneous about his experience. Friends, this is representative of what happens in Christianity. To those of us who have surrendered our lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ, we have experienced His saving power; His love that was poured out for us on Calvary, in spite of our sin and evil ways; and the eternal hope that is ours to one day unite with Him around the throne of grace in heaven. Anyone carrying the title without the personal experience or interaction with their Master and Lord, can tell you about a Savior they read about or heard testimony of, but they can be easily swayed and distracted to another story that may sound more convincing. A personal experience is embedded in us and will help us to stay firm in the faith and true to our commitment until the day we are called away to be with the Lord in glory! As in any relationship, this experience will only happen as we dedicate ourselves to true and honest servanthood to the One we have surrendered our lives to. I pray that each of you reading this devotional will stop the pretense and seek a personal relationship/experience with a very personal, yet powerful God, through His Son Jesus Christ. Please use information in the ‘Footnote’ to contact me with any questions this may have aroused for you. It is super important that we each seek and experience a ‘personal’ relationship with Jesus. Today can be the day for you, friend!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for reaching down from the glories of heaven to touch my life in such miraculous ways that I can declare today that I know my Redeemer Lives, because He is Alive in me. Lord, may this be evident in every aspect of my life so that others will experience the risen Lord, and not just hear about an event that may have impacted my life. Although I know that You are our main defense against the enemy, I believe that our personal and intimate relationship with You brings peace, solidarity and a witness that will stand firm against the attacks of Satan and his earthly cohorts. May others look to us with a hope today, and not consider us just another hypocrite. I thank You for saving my soul Lord Jesus. May my life exemplify You so vividly today that others will be convicted of their sin and want to know you personally. I ask these things in the strong name of Jesus, my Savior and Lord, AMEN!
FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!
Our Accountability
THE HOLY BIBLE (The New Living Translation – Hebrews 4:12-13): 12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.
THOUGHTS: Ever get frustrated by someone telling you something, but not really telling you enough to help you understand the full impact of what they mean? Imagine telling a blind person that the sky is not blue today? Would that really help them understand what color the sky really is today? I got the impression from this scripture today that the Word of God is very much alive, meaning that it’s fresh, current, discerning, applicable, and will not cut any punches, but get straight to the point for us. It is through this same Word that God actually touches our heart, prompts our thoughts and energizes us towards living Godly lives that resemble His example. Think of it as us being an open book before God! So why is this important Christian friend? Surely God is saying to us that as a child we look to, and obeyed our parents in order to live obedient and upright lives. God is like our parent in helping us continue to determine right from wrong, and He sent His Son, Jesus, to set an example of the life He would like for us to live, and because we have invited Him to be our Father, we are His children and He will hold us accountable to all that He teaches. How are you doing with this? Are you in the Word enough to allow it to teach you the ‘right’ way to live – to walk, talk and act like Him? So then, why is this important to you who have not accepted my Lord as your Savior? I believe that there is no doubt that should remain in your mind about the choice you have made regarding the way to live your life. Without Christ, you will live by every shift of the wind, according to those around you and the circumstances that surround you. This will often lead to confusion, frustration, evil and hatred – just as the world lives. A choice to live a committed life to God, is a will to be obedient in ways that will please and honor God, to live according to the example He set for us while here on earth, and the excitement of living in the awesome expectation of one day being face-to-face with Jesus in glory. It’s the comfort of knowing that you are loved, protected and cared about by the God of this universe! How awesome is that friend? May I have the honor of introducing you to my Friend? Please read my ‘Footnote’ for additional direction. To all my readers, please read the last sentence carefully and understand that we are accountable to God for our decisions, our actions and our obedience. How would you fear if you were called before God today?
PRAYER: Dear God, we are so frivolous to believe that we can live our lives any way we please because of our freedom to choose. You gave us the freedom of choice, but we are accountable to You for the choices we make, and the resulting consequences or rewards for those choices. Please forgive us for our littleness in thinking that it’s nobody’s business but ours what we do with our life, for You sent Your one and only Son to the cross to help show us Your love and how much You care about our choices. Please awaken us and keep our eyes focused on You in all of our choices, and may this reflect in the way that we live, so that others might be drawn to You through our surrender, obedience and witness. I realize this is an awesome and powerful request Oh Lord, but because I am asking this in the name of my most awesome and powerful Savior, Jesus Christ, I am comforted that I can ask this in confidence and 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 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!
Who do You Say Jesus Is?
THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Matthew 16:13-15): 13
When Jesus and his disciples were near the town of Caesarea Philippi, he asked them, “What do people say about the Son of Man?” 14 The disciples answered, “Some people say you are John the Baptist or maybe Elijah or Jeremiah or some other prophet.” 15 Then Jesus asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
THOUGHTS: To my mother, I might be known as her firstborn and perhaps the one who gave her and my dad the most, or the least, trouble during their childrearing days. To my childhood friends I might be known as someone slightly different than I would be known as by my adult friends. To my child, I might be known as a good dad, or perhaps just the opposite if she couldn’t get her own way with me! In the case of my wife, I am probably most transparent to her, but still if asked who I really am, she might have a very biased or personal opinion. Jesus had been performing miracle after miracle around the towns He visited and especially around His disciples, so I’m sure that He would have expected an overwhelming response to His two basic questions: (1) Who do they (the people) say that I am? And (2) Who do you say that I am? As I meditated on this I couldn’t help but think about what response I would have for an unbeliever who might ask me. Then I wondered what I might respond if asked by a child, or my pastor, or my Bible School Teacher. I wondered what my wife or child might respond if Jesus asked them “what does Ed say about the Son of Man (Jesus)”? Friends, how would you respond to that question if it was posed to you by your boss? Your best friend – who may not be a Christian? By a classroom full of folk trying to decide if Jesus is for them, or not? How about if asked by Jesus in a variety of circumstances? Or how would folk say you feel about Jesus, based on your behavior, speech or witness around them? May I leave this challenge with us to contemplate today? I’m hoping that this might help us to become more transparent in God’s presence, and that includes at church, at work, at play or wherever else we might find ourselves. Friends, if Jesus is not Lord of all circumstances and in all areas of our lives, then He may not be Lord at all to us. May this be the day that you truly decide who He really is in your life. If you are reading this devotional today and have never invited Jesus into your heart and life, please read the tips in my ‘Footnote’ and feel free to contact me should there be any unanswered questions. I want you to know this Jesus I call Lord, Savior and King of my life!
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I acknowledge You as Savior and King. I thank You for providing the means for me to look forward to life eternally with You in glory. May my Christian friends and I boldly acknowledge You as Lord today. Father, I believe that when we deny You in our conversation and before our earthly unbelieving friends, we totally disappoint You and grieve Your precious Holy Spirit. Please forgive us for the times we have done exactly that. But please give us a new boldness today to stand firm in our faith and to acknowledge You before mankind. Unbelievers are looking for sincere, true and honest believers to help convince them that Jesus is alive because they see Him alive and reigning in our lives. Oh that they may truly see and believe today, is my humble prayer for all that claim You as Lord today. For I ask this in the strong, awesome, name of Jesus, AMEN!
FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!
The Power in What We Say and Do
THE HOLY BIBLE (God’s Word Translation – 1 John 1:6-10): 6 If we say, “We have a relationship with God” and yet live in the dark, we’re lying. We aren’t being truthful. 7 But if we live in the light in the same way that God is in the light, we have a relationship with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from every sin. 8 If we say, “We aren’t sinful” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 God is faithful and reliable. If we confess our sins, he forgives them and cleanses us from everything we’ve done wrong. 10 If we say, “We have never sinned,” we turn God into a liar and his Word is not in us.
THOUGHTS: There is a saying, that if something quacks like a duck, and swims like a duck, it probably is a duck! In these verses this morning we must first recognize that in the introductory words to these verses John tells us that he is sharing words with us that came directly from his interaction with Jesus Himself. I believe that the words in these verses are really powerful, yet simply very true. For how can we say that we belong to Christ, yet no part of our actions or words show any evidence of that? Friends, if we have committed to a change in our lives, then that change will be evident in every aspect of our lives. Let’s always be cognizant of the fact that God knows and sees all things, so there is no value in trying to fool Him like we do our friends or relatives. Ever heard of a chain smoker that tells everyone that they stopped smoking, yet every evening their spouse could smell smoke on their breath and on their clothes? This is precisely what happens in the face of Jesus when we tell Him, and the world, that we have sought His forgiveness and committed our lives wholeheartedly to Him, yet we live like we always did prior to our conversion. We make a mockery of ourselves and have just shown everyone that we can’t be trusted by our word. Friends, we may think that we can fool some of the people some of the time, but rest assured that we can never fool all of the people all of the time. Furthermore, we can never fool God. As I have been challenged and reminded to always live in the light of knowing that God knows, hears and sees every detail of my life, may I also encourage you to do the same? Our God is an awesome God, who loves and cares about us a great deal. Let’s not disappoint Him with our littleness in trying to fool the Creator of all things, our all-knowing God.
PRAYER: Father, what an eye-opener/reminder for us today! We are so accustomed to making ourselves look good in the face of our friends and/or bosses, that we perform, say and act the way that we know they are expecting from us. We have been reminded that You are well aware of our outward expressions that are representative of our inward self, and that there is no value in Your eyes when we do this, other than to prove to humans that we have really not changed anything about our lives. Please forgive us Lord, and please continue to work on us towards an honest relationship with You that will be reflected in every aspect of our lives. We Need You every Hour and every day, oh Lord. Thank You for Your faithfulness! I bring my petitions before You in the name of Jesus, AMEN!
FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!
Nuggets From God's Word 