Category: Honesty

The Best Employees

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christian Principles, Honesty, WorkplaceLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Easy-To-Read Version – Colossians 3:22-24): 22 Servants, obey your masters in everything. Obey all the time, even when they can’t see you. Don’t just pretend to work hard so that they will treat you well. No, you must serve your masters honestly because you respect the Lord.23 In all the work you are given, do the best you can. Work as though you are working for the Lord, not any earthly master. 24 Remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, who will give you what he promised his people. Yes, you are serving Christ. He is your real Master.

THOUGHTS: In searching for the best employees for their place of business, most employers will look for the same principles that the Christian upholds in being a person of the Word and a child of the King. In being the best employee possible, Christians/we are to first follow the principles taught to us by our King in His holy Word. We are to recognize that even though we can get away with certain things because our earthly bosses may not be able to track our locations and/or our work every minute of every day, yet we serve a God who can. If we were living according to ‘code’, and I’m talking about the code set out for us in God’s Word, then I believe that employers will be fighting for their Human Resources folk to hire staff with such high moral and ethical principles. So for those reading this devotional who may not identify with what I am referring to, let me give you just a couple principles that you should find in Christian workers: 1). There should be no worries about stealing, because we are taught by God that we are not to take something that belongs to another person without them offering it to us. Now this will pertain to physical things and such things as time – for if we are expected to work 8 hours per day, our employer should never have to check on us to see if we are giving them an honest 8 hours of work; 2). Honesty – some of this would be reflected in #1, but this characteristic also extends into trusting what we say and what we do. There should never be any doubt as to whether we are totally sincere in what we do or say, that we have the best interest of God at heart and our employer and his/her business. Now, will every Christian be perfect at these things and others that you might relate to the teachings of God’s Word? Probably not perfect, because the only perfect one is Jesus. However, should you recognize imperfection in the character of those claiming Christ as their Savior, may I encourage you to bring this to their attention? Satan has a way of working on Christians hard enough that he tries to make them feel like their wrongs become right if left unchecked long enough. You will help them return to the cross and seek God’s forgiveness for straying from His ideals. Christians, we work as for the Lord, let us be counted worthy by Him in all that we do and say – especially on our jobs.

PRAYER: As representatives of Yours, Oh God, we have our banner of expectations lifted high and we must live our lives pleasing to You not only at church, not only in the presence of other Christians, not only before our employers who might expect us to live differently, but especially before the lost world that we interface with every day, for they are looking to see what is different about us and what impact our proclaimed Savior is having on our lives that might be different to theirs. We don’t want to be hypocritical, but rather totally honest in our dealings with others. Because we know that Satan is rampant and will make every effort to distract us and have us look and live like his, then we must be all the more earnest in seeking Your strength, Your power and Your daily direction to look, live and act like children of God. Please especially help us to be great representatives in our workplace so that our bosses might recognize the differences and rejoice in the difference our God makes in the lives of His children. We need You dear Father to be our constant guide, our reminder and the means by which we can live differently – pleasing to You. I ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, and with thanksgiving and praise, 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!

Evidence Of Whose We Are

On By Ed AlgreenIn Believers, Honesty, Righteousness, SinLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Living Translation – 1 John 3:9-10): 9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.

THOUGHTS: I remember at one point in my life I was at a gas station pumping gas, when suddenly someone called me by my dad’s name. My head quickly popped up to see who knew my family. Apparently there was enough facial resemblance, or actions, to remind the person of something he had seen in my dad! I find it exciting when I walk away from a sales clerk knowing that they must be a brother or sister, because their actions, their concern, their unselfish care for me as a customer, were all indicators that they must share the same faith that I do, and have the same Father that I have learned about over the years from His handbook, the Bible. Friends there are a few tests in these verses today that I would encourage you to use as a self-examination tool:

  1. Do not make a practice of sinning – When we invite Jesus into our hearts and lives as our Savior and Lord, not only does He forgive us of our sin, but He shows us a new way to live – like Him. Through His example, we are guided and encouraged to live holy lives, even as He is holy. To depend on the power within (the Holy Spirit) to prevent us from performing the same sin that we may have committed without thought, prior to our conversion;
  2. Do not keep on sinning – Very similar to the above, but the difference is that once we have been prompted by the Holy Spirit to stop doing something that He considers sin, we are to make every effort to not repeat that sin. We must not let it rule us. God’s Holy Spirit cannot reside where sin abides!
  3. Live righteously – Live our lives ‘right with God’. We are shown throughout the Bible what God expects of us – what is right and what is wrong. With the awesome power of the Holy Spirit, we are to live our lives ‘right with God’!
  4. Love other believers – We are to live life expressing our love and concern for each other, even if they don’t love us back, or show any appreciation for what we do for them. Sadly there is a saying that “Christians in particular, tend to shoot their wounded”. We are taught in this scripture that when the world sees us loving each other, they will know that we are different and controlled by a greater power. Selfishness and Satan-led malice, jealousy or envy will eat up our desire to love like Jesus did. The power of the Holy Spirit within us will help us to love even those who despitefully use us.

Friends, living like I described above will help us to internalize whether we truly did commit to accepting, loving, serving and practicing the love of God. It will also help confirm to the world that we are who we say we are. However, please remember that God knows our heart, so He knows whether we honestly dedicated our lives to Him. I believe He is ashamed when we act up, but our outward actions only influences the world, they’re not needed to prove anything to God.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help us to be a people who acts, responds and loves like the people we say we are. ‘Hypocritical’ is a word often used when we don’t. Furthermore, folk tend to mistrust us when they feel we are hypocritical, and this destroys our possibility to honestly witness to them. Please help us to live consistent, open lives that will represent You well. Beginning with me Lord, may Your children rededicate themselves to being transparent to those that we come into contact with. May they see Jesus in and through our words and actions so that they may be influenced to follow You, and so that Your kingdom might be glorified even now, here on this earth. Your love is amazing, and Your rich blessings are beyond compare, and more than anything that we can imagine. Please forgive us for the times we fail, and grant us strength and a quick rebound so that we might get back on track without causing damage to our witness of You. I need You every hour of every day, please continue to work on me oh Lord, so that I might be all that You need me to be for the ministry/witness You have in store for me. Bless my readers today with similar grace, so that You may be lifted up more than ever before, for I ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, 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 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 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!

So That We Might Know

On By Ed AlgreenIn Honesty, Knowledge, SincerityLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The New Living Translation – 1 John 3:4-10): 4 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. 5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. 6 Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is. 7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.

THOUGHTS: You would think that mankind would know if they had surrendered their heart, their life, and their whole being over to God. However, we also know that when placed under peer pressure, or the constant nagging of a parent or even a pastor, we tend to make certain decisions in order to get them off our back. I’m not saying that the only excuse we make is peer pressure, for some of us just renege on the decision we made because we have been distracted by the things of this world. This is pretty normal for many, where they will stick to one thing as long as nothing better comes up! But friends, I want you to put all of the excuses aside today and concentrate on what the Word of God says. It is very simple, and we don’t need a theological degree to understand it, or to apply it to our lives. If we break God’s laws, or commands detailed in His Word, then we sin, and sin will never enter heaven. However, we are well aware that Jesus never sinned, and if we are to live like Him and follow His example wholeheartedly, then we also must make every effort to avoid sin. If we don’t, and if we keep on sinning, then the Word is clear – see verse 6 – that we are truly not children of the King. We also know that when a person invites Jesus to take charge of their life, that God sends the Comforter (His Holy Spirit) to take up residence in their lives. However, we also know from God’s Word that He will not reside in a temple where sin abides. So friend, as our subject declares today: there are indicators for us to confirm that we are children of God and, unfortunately, there are ‘sin’ indicators that help us to identify, or recognize our lost condition. The BIG challenge that I believe we face today is: now that we know the Truth, what will we do with it? Jesus could return to take us home at any moment friend, and He will only take those who have honored His Word and sought after His righteousness. Are you a part of that group that will be taken up to meet Jesus in the air, or have you determined in your heart that you would rather hang on to things of this world – of Satan? These Bible verses today takes away the doubt of where you will spend eternity. Only you, with God’s help, can change that and make it right today!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, the decisions we make today sets the stage for where we will spend eternity. We can’t fool You. And based on this scripture today, we are probably an open book to everyone around us, because they can see if our lives truly reflect any decision we may have made in sincerity to follow You. Please help us to get real, to do away with the pretense and to make honest, heartfelt decisions today that will impact our future destination. May we live in the light of Your Word today, and may our minds be set on one day uniting with You around the throne. This is my desire Lord, and I humbly ask that You will impact the hearts of all of my readers today also. For I ask this in faith, in Your holy name, believing in You as my Lord and everlasting Savior, AMEN!

 

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or 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 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!

Things That Impact Our Words and Actions

On By Ed AlgreenIn Clear Conscience, Genuine, HonestyLeave a comment

The Holy Bible  (The Good News Translation – 1 Timothy 1:3-7): Some people there are teaching false doctrines, and you must order them to stop. 4Tell them to give up those legends and those long lists of ancestors, which only produce arguments; they do not serve God’s plan, which is known by faith. 5The purpose of this order is to arouse the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a genuine faith. 6Some people have turned away from these and have lost their way in foolish discussions. 7They want to be teachers of God’s law, but they do not understand their own words or the matters about which they speak with so much confidence.

Thoughts:  Timothy’s mentor, Paul, instructed him to stay in Macedonia to help keep religious leaders accountable to the Word of God. Paul found this necessary because the leaders were getting caught up in false doctrines, old stories that were often untrue, and ancestry. As it was then, so it is today friends, for the church was established to tell the Good News of Jesus Christ. Imagine how hopeless Christianity would be today if we went to church to have our ears tickled by words that may or may not be true, but which sounds real good to the hearer. But Paul didn’t just tell Timothy what was wrong, he gave him leadership on what to look for and what to teach in order to help these people. I believe that Paul’s words and leadership is just as applicable to us today, as it was for Timothy in taking the message to the Macedonians. Our actions and our words must be those from a loving and pure heart, a clear conscience and a genuine faith. Some might question how Paul knew what filled the hearts of the church leaders. I would dare say to you friends that most people will quickly tell when you are speaking from a heart of love and genuine compassion. From a heart that has experienced the gospel of which you speak. Conversely, others can tell quicker than you imagine when you are fake, trying to impress, or speaking the words written by someone else without it ever impacting your own heart. There is an old saying “you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time”! However, putting aside who you can or cannot fool into believing a lie of yours, how would you feel lying in bed at night knowing that you were not totally honest with those that you shared the Word of God with that day? Furthermore, what type of expression would you imagine seeing on God’s face if you were not genuine, faithful and truthful in declaring His Word to a lost person, who will probably continue in their lost condition until they could possibly hear genuine Truth? Missed opportunities will cause you more grief than you might care to experience, friend. For many, there is no time for dancing around the subject, for they may never see another opportunity this side of heaven ….…… or hell. I want to strive towards seeing a smile on God’s face as He listens in to my conversations and/or my teaching, also in my actions, love and concern for the non-Christian. How is it with you friend? Do you suspect there is a smile or disappointment on God’s face as He looks in on your life?

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, You paved a perfect path for us to follow. Slogans such as WWJD have helped to attune ourselves to Your guidance, but we often fail in reacting with pure intentions to every scenario in life, and we often seek to please and/or impress our audiences. However, I was deeply reminded today that I may as well come before You as a child, in honesty, purity, innocence and openness, for You know my very heart – my thoughts and my intentions. Please forgive me for the times that I have tried to be anything else to anyone, especially if I misrepresented You or falsely represented myself. I pray that it will not be necessary for You to provide a Paul or Timothy to clear up misrepresentations of myself or my friends who will read this devotional today, for I pray that they will deal with any impacts on their lives, for we want to be pure and holy before You and our fellow man. Please continue to work on us when we stray away from these ideals and help us to stay true to You in our everyday lives. I pray for Your help, Your guidance and in accordance with Your will. I ask all this believing on, and in, the name of Jesus 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 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!

Search Me Oh God

On By Ed AlgreenIn HonestyLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

1 O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.

2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.

3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.

4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.

5 You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!

7 I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

(New Living Translation – Psalm 139)

Thoughts:

I acknowledge that a lot more scripture has been given today that you would normally expect, but I wish I could have included the whole chapter for your meditation! May I strongly recommend that you click on the scripture reference link and read the whole chapter? Yes, even if you are a Bible scholar, I believe that God can still speak to you through this chapter, again! Friends, read these verses as they are written, but as you read please do not assume they are the words of David, the psalmist. Lay yourself before the altar of God and acknowledge/remind yourself that He is God indeed and that you cannot hide from Him, no matter where you might go. Imagine for a moment – I just took a business trip out to Arizona. God was with me here in Florida before I left. He not only protected me on my drive to Orlando airport, but thousands of feet into the air on that airplane. Crowded though that plane may have been, He was looking out for His dear child. I was routed through Detroit, Michigan for a connecting flight, and praise God, He watched over me even through those extra miles. In Arizona, where my wife could not see what I was doing or who I may have been with, God knew all about it, because He was there with me also. I won’t go on, but I believe you get the drift, right? Don’t for a squeaky moment think that because you are out of sight of your pastor or teacher that you can do whatever you please? They are just your earthly teachers and accountability partners, God is ALWAYS present and ALWAYS watching over you. Imagine if He wasn’t, could I truly have called on Him if my plane to Detroit ran into scary turbulence? Don’t you realize that if we expect to call on Him in an instant when we are in trouble, He is also there when we are getting into trouble/mischief/cheating? Like David, we need to acknowledge God as he did in verse 17, praise God that His thoughts about us and His omnipresence is very precious to us! I sent a copy of verses 23 & 24 to my work email, because I intend to print them out and attach them to my monitor as a constant prayer to God. You see, we can be real good Christians inside the church building, and almost as good at home, but when we walk in the doors of our workplaces, we are really entering our mission field. We don’t need to tell our coworkers we are Christian, we need to show them by our actions and through the things we say, so that they might know that we must be children of the King. Please don’t let them see you as hypercritical. I challenge you to put God back in charge of your life today friends!

Prayer:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” This is my sincere prayer before You today, oh Lord, and I ask this with expectations of Your help and strength, for I want to be Your honest representative, and therefore I am asking in Your precious name oh Lord, my Savior, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. 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!

How’s Your Reputation?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bold Confidence, Christian, Honesty, ObedienceLeave a comment

Scripture: 1 Samuel 8-9.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

1 Samuel 9:6 (NLT)

6 But the servant said, “I’ve just thought of something! There is a man of God who lives here in this town. He is held in high honor by all the people because everything he says comes true. Let’s go find him. Perhaps he can tell us which way to go.”

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

I know that we are not on this earth to make a name for ourselves, but at the same time I believe that we are known or remembered by our actions and our everyday lives. For some, this may mean that you will be known for the foolish decisions you made, for others it may mean that you always sought God’s face before making decisions so that you might follow His will for your life through the decisions you made. For some, this may mean that you will be known for the way that you put your mouth in gear without giving much thought to what you are saying, who you may hurt, or whether you would consider if this is something God would say, however others may be so prayed up that the Holy Spirit would work so diligently through them in everything they say and everything they do. For some, everyone might take what you have to say with ‘a grain of salt’ because you are so known for your lying and imaginative stories, while others may be known for being so honest in what they say that their friends will take what they say at face value, know that it is the truth and can be depended on. Friends, have you found yourself yet in the examples I have given? I believe that, with God’s help, most of us would endeavor to reach for the first option in each of the examples given. However, I also believe that old Satan is quick to pull at our strings and encourage us to be the conniving, lying, cheating individual he is. So it is imperative that we daily ask God to help us to stay true to Him in everything that we do and everything that we say. Let us ask for His guidance to respond appropriately when backed into a corner with decisions and or responses that may be unpopular. Remember that if we stand for anything that comes, or the expected answer just so that we may please the boss or be the popular one, we are really nothing at all. Samuel was known throughout the region for the stance that he took in everything, and he was held in high honor. How are you known in your family, in your church, or in your community? A man/woman of God, or anything but that? God is holy, and if we are to be like Him then we too must be holy, honest and true. I know nothing unholy, or untruthful or dishonest about my God. I pray that I will be known similarly, God being my helper.

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

My prayer is that I will be known as one that consistently follows God and His commands. Trustworthy, dependable and filled with the Holy Spirit, seeking to live like Christ every day and in everything that I do or say. I acknowledge that this will require an intimate relationship with my Savior, as it is only through His strength that I can do these things, so father I am leaning on You for strength and guidance today and everyday so that You may shine and reign through me.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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What Can Jesus Do for You Today?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Honesty, Humility, Imitator of Christ, Pleasing to God, Reflecting ChristLeave a comment

Scripture: Mark 10.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Mark 10:51 (NLT)

51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “My rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!”

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

In this story of Bartimaeus, often referred to as ‘Bartimaeus, the blind man’, he laid aside any and all pride and shouted over the crowd asking Jesus to have mercy on him. Now while he could have just as easy shouted out “Jesus, give me sight”, instead he chose to ask for mercy. I like this, because I get the impression that he was saying, “Jesus, whatever Your will is, may it be so. Just have mercy on me” There is another similar story where a man said to Jesus, “Have mercy on me, for I am a sinner”. In spite of the crowd and all they were doing and saying, and shouting, Jesus told the disciples to go and tell the man to come here. In our lives, we may feel like Jesus is much too busy with all the other important people of the world, and all the more critical needs that exist, but friend we must be bold like Bartimaeus and ask for what we need from God, but in all humility knowing that it is His will that we need to follow. The other thing that I am humbled and touched by in this story is that, like us, Jesus could easily have assumed that because this man was blind he must have been crying out for healing of his sight, but Jesus didn’t do that, He asked the man “what do you want me to do for you?” Oh that this may be a lesson for us today. Let’s not assume that we know what a person needs, because sometimes this may be totally different than what we might see or assume. What if we were asked by Jesus today, “What do you want me to do for you?” what would be our response? Remember, God sees and knows all things, He knows the desire of our hearts and what it would take to draw us closer to Him and be a better witness for Him, so we may as well be honest with Him and respond in a manner that truly reflects our heart. Instead of the selfish desire to be like, or have the toys like, our neighbor, I wish that we could consider what God can do to make us more like Him. Which walls can He tear down so that we may be humbled and so that we may represent Him better to the lost?

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father God, please have mercy on me. Please forgive me for the selfish desires that I may often have so that I may be more like my rich friend, or neighbor, so that I may be envied by my friends or family. It is You that I need. It is You that I want others to see reflected in my mannerisms and in my actions. It is You that I want them to accept as their Lord and Savior, so may I never be a stumbling block to them. Please have Your will and way in my life today, and direct me into Your path to do Your will today. Please provoke the hearts of those that may read this devotional so that they may lay themselves bare before You and surrender all that is not Godly in their character or their daily lives. As children of the King, we must always be representative of Your character and Your holiness. Please direct me into that path daily!

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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May the God of Peace be evident in Us!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Christian, Discerning, Faith, Faith, Forgiveness, Fruit of the Spirit, Getting Along, Healing, Honesty, Hope, Humility, Imitator of Christ, Love your Neighbor, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Peace, Pleasing to God, Reflecting Christ, Righteousness, Victorious LifeLeave a comment

Scripture: Genesis 26 

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

26 One day King Abimelech came from Gerar with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicol, his army commander.27 “Why have you come here?” Isaac asked. “You obviously hate me, since you kicked me off your land.”28 They replied, “We can plainly see that the Lord is with you. So we want to enter into a sworn treaty with you. Let’s make a covenant.29 Swear that you will not harm us, just as we have never troubled you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace. And now look how the Lord has blessed you!”30 So Isaac prepared a covenant feast to celebrate the treaty, and they ate and drank together.31 Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath not to interfere with each other. Then Isaac sent them home again, and they left him in peace. Gen 26:26-31 (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

I’m sure that sometimes God must look at us in dismay and say, why are you being such a brat and acting this way, refusing to accept this person in love through faith in Me? After all didn’t I give you what you have to use for my glory, and isn’t this person approaching you with a peaceful intention? So often I’m afraid that we tend to feel like we are especially blessed by God and since our little feelings were hurt, why should we then share our blessings with the same person that forced us into a challenging corner in the first place. This lesson from Isaac shows me that even the same king that kicked him off his property and out of his town, which I’m sure must have created quite a stir for Isaac’s camp, yet Isaac accepted the king with open arms and in peace, agreeing to a treaty proposed by the king. What a lesson to learn here! Hopefully we will be called into a situation where we could make the difference between peace and separation; showing God’s love through our actions, rather than allowing Satan to take credit for the way that we respond to such peace offerings. May this be a year filled with God’s love expressed through us in ways that will shock Satan and his cohorts. May God win the battles though His people and may He receive glory for all that is accomplished in His name!

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Lord Jesus, there are situations and scenarios in our lives that require Your power in our lives to help us make right and peaceful decisions. I believe that You are the same God today that You were when You helped Isaac overcome the challenging decisions he had to make when approached by the king. I believe that You can, and will honor our call for peaceful resolutions and treaties so that You may be honored and receive glory for the miraculous decisions that we make. Please help me to always think primarily like You would and then depend wholeheartedly on You for power to overcome the forces of this world and Satan. May the victories and/or peaceful resolutions that occur this year through my life, and those for which I may influence through my church, bring You glory and be a visible display of Your power to a lost world.

Obedience that shows our fear of god

On By Ed AlgreenIn Allegiance to the Lamb, Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Christian, Faith, God Cares For Us, God’s Word, Honesty, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Pleasing to God, RighteousnessLeave a comment

Scripture: Genesis 22 

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

12 “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son.14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”  Gen 22:12-14 (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

Abraham had been an outstanding child of God up to this point, obeying God’s every command and doing what he thought would please God. Yet in verse 1 of this chapter we are told that God tested his faith, and oh what a test! He commanded Abraham to sacrifice his dearly loved son, Isaac. The scripture shares nothing about Abraham questioning God or trying to make any deal with God, he simply followed God’s instructions. Because of his obedience, God intervened and saved Abraham from such a sacrifice. I wonder if we, or if I am obedient enough to God’s instructions that I would do whatever He asked me to do, and secondly, am I obedient enough for God to say, OK you have proven that you truly fear Me. In my opinion, this is the ultimate proof of our love for God and our obedience to Him, when we are willing to follow what He tells us to do no matter what. God loves us so much that He willingly sacrificed His Son, Jesus, and He didn’t hesitate and withdraw at the last moment, like He allowed in the case of Abraham and Isaac. So lessons learned here tells me that God loves me so much that He sacrificed it all. He also loves us so much that He would be willing to step in and save the day for us, His children, when we prove to Him that we truly love and fear Him. Perhaps we will be blessed enough to name the place where we recognized God’s miracle in our life, much like Abraham did in the case of ‘Yahweh-Yireh’!

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

The kind of love that You extend to me is way beyond human comprehension, O Lord. You have shown in Your Word just how loving and kind You were to those before me, and I have every reason to believe that You love me equally as much. May I be bold enough, obedient enough, honest enough and committed enough to show my love and respect in all that You command of me. Abraham was obedient even to the extent that he was willing to sacrifice his greatly loved son. May I be obedient to Your voice today dear God!

O, What A Savior

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, God Cares For Us, God our Helper, God our Provider, God’s Word, Honesty, Hope, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Protector, RighteousnessLeave a comment

Scripture: Genesis 20 

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

6 In the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her.7 Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.” Gen 20:6-7 (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

God held Abimelech back from sinning by not committing adultery with Sarah, who although she was Abraham’s half sister, she also was his wife. I wonder how many times God must do that for us? I know that as we place our faith in Him and allow Him to watch over and protect us each and every day, some of the things that He might protect us from might be as bad, or worse, than what He did for Abimelech. God loves us so much that He sent/sacrificed His one and only Son for us, imagine how much more He will watch over and protect us in our everyday lives if we truly trust Him and place our faith in Him. O, What A Savior!

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Thank You Father for loving us so much that You gave everything that was meaningful to You. Thank You for reminding me this morning that You also love me enough to steer me away from trouble and You will protect me from sinning. Thank You for being such a loving, awesome Father, to want the very best for Your son, to keep me safe from the sinful desires and temptations of this world. I’m sure that many times I will never know what all You have protected me from, but what a peace to know that You are my constant guide, protector and director. Thank You Jesus!