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Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-03-01 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Exodus 3:10-12 (Voice) |
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Text: |
Eternal One: 10 So go. I’m sending you back to Egypt as My messenger to the Pharaoh. I want you to gather My people—the children of Israel—and bring them out of Egypt.
Moses (to God): 11 Who am I to confront Pharaoh and lead Israel’s children out of Egypt? Eternal One: 12 Do not fear, Moses. I will be with you every step of the way….. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Moses was challenged way outside of his comfort zone, because he was being asked to do something he had not been trained for, and that he felt very unqualified for. As we ponder the ‘application’ of this Scripture reading today, I want us to think about exactly what it would take for us to agree to such a task! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| How many times have you been asked to take on a job that you have received no training for? How many times have you been invited to a meal or a meeting with top government officials, and you turned it down because of shattered nerves or 1001 other excuses that you quickly came up with? In my work field we have customer interfacing employees, and we have support staff that strictly work behind the scenes making sure that the front line staff could perform their jobs well. We find that if an employee whose makeup best suits dealing with customers is placed in the backroom, they are seldom happy in their jobs. I believe that Moses was like that! To be asked to go and see the king was a huge challenge for him, and to further be asked to confront the king with demands that anyone could guess would be confrontational, just caused Moses to pull back and try every which way to escape his assignment. Been there and done that?? I bet that we all may have faced similar challenges before, and we could probably identify with Moses. So is there anything we can do to prepare ourselves for these types of challenges? Friends, I believe you will agree that you will very easily do what your parent or spouse tells you to do, and almost anything that a sibling might ask you to do! Why? Because you trust them, and you know that because they love you, they would never ask you to do something they know you would fail at, or that would bring harm to you. So I believe that brings us to the point of obedience to God. Trust is built based on relationship. So I believe that we must first look at how well we know the One (our Father) that we are wanting to follow and/or obey. In building this relationship we will also develop a sense of what all the One, who we are wanting to trust, is capable of doing. May I remind you that the God we place our faith and trust in, has been proven over and over again, but I also believe that He will quickly give you the assurance that You need as well. I would gladly and unreservedly assure you friend, that my God is not only the Creator of this earth and each of us, but He loves us above and beyond anything we have ever experienced here on earth. In fact, He proved that love for us by sacrificing the life of His very own Son, Jesus, so that we might have a clear path to the Father and His heavenly home. I accepted Him over 40 years ago, and without hesitation, will highly recommend Him to anyone reading this devotional. Please read my ‘Footnote’ for more information on how you might know Jesus personally. That’s the beginning of a relationship with Him! May you accept Him as Lord, trust in Him as your Savior, worship Him as God and live for Him as a living sacrifice and witness to a world that is lost and going to Hell if they are not introduced to our Savior. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Thank You Father for loving us enough to sacrifice Your very own Son to save us from our sin that seperates us from You. Thank You for hearing our cry for help, and for challenging us with assignments that cause us to trust You more, and to depend on You as our sole Provider; Healer; Friend; Deliverer; Savior and Lord. Please touch the hearts of my readers and I so that we might develop the faith of Moses, and be willing to do as You command for the salvation of Your people. In thanksgiving, and desiring more faith from You, I glorify Your holy 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! | |
Category: Know Jesus
Choices Today for 2017 and Possibly Beyond
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Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-01-02 |
Scripture |
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Bible Text From: |
Psalm 1 |
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Bible Text: |
4 But for sinners, what a different story! They blow away like chaff before the wind. 5 They are not safe on Judgment Day; they shall not stand among the godly. 6 For the Lord watches over all the plans and paths of godly men, but the paths of the godless lead to doom. |
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Translation: |
The Living Bible (TLB) |
Observation: |
This short Psalm is power-packed with information on what each of us can expect when we come face-to-face with our Master and Lord. In verses 1 thru 3 the Psalmist, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, shared with us all that believers in Jesus Christ might expect. There are such words as: Joy; Fruitfulness; Delight; Searching for ways to please God more; Fresh; Alive; Perky (and not withering). However, God knew from the very beginning of time that there would be some who would choose to ‘do their own thing’ and ignore the commands of the Lord. Unfortunately, we find throughout God’s Word that He is a jealous God and will not stand for disobedience to His commands, or contempt, or deliberate sinful actions. Because of the deliberate disobedience to God’s commands, these individuals are considered ‘sinners’ by God. So in verses 4-6 God draws the contrast of what will happen to them. There some words used in this section that we try to also avoid in our lives here on earth: Inconsistent; Unstable; Easily swayed to believe something else; Unsafe on Judgment Day; Segregation – for they will not stand with the righteous. This all results in a destiny of doom. |
Application: |
Based on the Word of God, we know that the parallel drawn by the Psalmist is not just a ‘What If’ scenario, or a scare tactic, for God confirms throughout His word that there is a place prepared for every person. He also declares in advance what the criteria is that He will use to determine our destiny. Therefore, we had best prepare for the outcome, rightfully assuming that today might be the day that God might call us out of this world, and therefore the day that He will decide who will reign over us throughout eternity. God has prepared a place called Heaven for those of us who have placed our faith and trust in Him. There we will spend eternity at the feet of Jesus and His Father, God. The path of doom mentioned in verse 6 points to the doom that will come to those who have decided to do life alone, and don’t see the need for a Savior. In todays vernacular, these individuals are sometimes called unbelievers; or sinners; or the unsaved. The doom referred to here is the unfortunate leadership of the Evil One – Satan, in a place called Hell. Knowing that you can decide today where you will spend eternity, is there any reason why you would deliberately choose Hell? Unfortunately, the default location is Hell, because unless you make a decision to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior , that’s where you will go – according to the Word of God. So what’s your decision friend? You can settle the issue TODAY by reading my Footnote and following the directions included there. It is your choice! |
Prayer: |
Lord Jesus, I thank You for prompting this humble man many years ago into making a decision to accept You as my Lord and Savior, and giving me the peace of one day being with You in heaven. Many of my readers have, no doubt, made that same decision, however Lord, I pray that You will direct one to read this devotional today who might be looking for the way to make this change in their life’s ultimate direction. You have been plain throughout your Word of how the end will turn out for us, based on the decisions made while right here on earth. We claim to be smart folk who know how to make good decisions. Lord, may this be a day of good decisions, especially as we start off this New Year with so many uncertainties. There is only one way to heaven, and it is solely based on our acceptance of the awesome plan You put in place for our good. Thank You Lord Jesus for making the way and giving us opportunity after opportunity to accept that plan. 2017 could be the year You will come to take us home with You, may we all be ready and waiting for Your return, is my humble plea, 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 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! |
A Life Dominated By The Spirit of God
Friday, 2016-10-14
Scripture
Bible Reference: Romans 8:5–8
Bible Text: 5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)
My Take
Paul shared with his Roman friends/church, and I believe that God is challenging us today as we meditate on this scripture, to consider: who, or what is dominating our lives. First of all, our minds can only be controlled by the Spirit of God when we have surrendered our own sinful nature, and accepted the free gift of eternal life, made possible through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus assumes control of our minds and our lives when He is invited, and accepted, to become our Lord and Savior. When this occurs, the Holy Spirit assumes control and sets us on a path towards a life of peace and anticipation of our heavenly home. I believe that the scripture is clear in pointing out to us that if we are not enjoying that peace, and if we still feel hostile towards God, and if we find it impossible to obey God’s laws (His instructions from the Word of God), then we must pay close attention to those red flags, as we are still under the control of our old sinful nature that will never please God. Unfortunately, this life without God will never see the face of God, nor His heavenly home – heaven. So friends, may I encourage you to take a moment and talk with God about what is dominating your life right now? If you are confident that your thoughts and your actions imitate Jesus and His teachings, and that you are always seeking to serve Him more fully, then I believe that you can use this time to praise God for His saving grace and for placing His Holy Spirit prominently in your life to guide and direct you. However, in the very next verse (9), we are warned that if we cannot identify the Spirit of God evident in our lives – our thoughts, our words, our actions and our desires, then we do not belong to Jesus Christ. Fortunately, your pastor, your spouse, your friend nor myself can judge that and question you about your eternal destination. This is a matter strictly between you and our heavenly Father – God almighty. Because this impacts your daily walk in life, and your ultimate destination even after death here on this earth, I would strongly suggest that you go before God and evaluate your position with Him urgently. Why urgently? Because you have no assurance that you will have another opportunity to do so. There is a very old hymn that addresses the subject “Is your heart right with God?”. That’s my plea that I trust you will ponder today friend. Read my Footnote and click on the menu item above to read more scripture on the matter of “To know Jesus”. There’s no greater assignment for you today friend.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I am reminded that if I am a child of an earthly monarch, then I will feel like, live like, and present myself to everyone that I meet, as a ‘prince’. My default lifestyle will imitate the sinful nature of this world in which I live. However, having accepted You as my Lord, and asked You to rule and reign in my life, then my words should sound like Yours, my actions should remind folk about Your actions while here on earth, and my thoughts should always reflect the hope, joy and love of Your sweet Holy Spirit that resides inside of me, and leads me throughout my day. My prayer is that You will not only touch my life miraculously with Your Holy Spirit every moment of every day, but Lord, may that be multiplied times over in the lives of those that may be touched by Your Word today. May the world see Jesus very much alive in Your children today, is my sincere prayer that I ask in the matchless name of Jesus, AMEN!
Footnote
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. 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!
How To Protect From Satan’s Strategies
Thursday, 2016-09-22
Scripture
Bible Reference: Ephesians 6:10-12
Bible Text: 10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)
My Take
I don’t believe that this will be news to any of you, but Satan is out to get you, especially if you carry the banner of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. I believe you have already witnessed that, way too often things happen in your life, or your day, that force you to believe that there are mighty forces fighting against you and working in opposition to you. Friends, I believe that as you talk with our valued law enforcement Brothers and Sisters, you will find that they ‘armor up’ every day so that some protection is in place, for they KNOW that they will face the evil, the disrespect, the hate, and the law-breaking of our society who, in most cases, will not think twice about ‘taking them out’ as they try to protect the innocent, like you and I. Let me encourage you to STOP and think for a moment about how that scenario differs from our day as we walk out of our peaceful homes into the world controlled by the prince of the air – Satan himself. I want to remind each of us that it is just as critical that we ‘armor up’ as we approach each day, for the battle against us is about to begin. Now for those who may not be very literate in the Word of God yet, I will refer you to the rest of Ephesians 6 so you can get more information on the armor and artillery you will take with you, for this devotional has nothing at all to do with the type, or size of the ‘piece’ that you will take with you to protect yourself. Remember, the warfare that you will face is “evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly place“ – a quote directly from God’s Word – verse 12 above. When your spirituality is being attacked, you need spiritual forces to defend you. Jesus used the Word of God – so should we. Jesus called on the Father for every battle and or decision he faced – so should we. So friends, now that I have given you the prescription to help you protect against Satan’s strategies, may I encourage you daily visit the pharmacy (the Word of God for direction from God; and the face of God in deep and sincere communication – prayer) for help in your daily battles? God is the only power known to man who has power over Satan. Don’t try to do this thing called ‘life’ without God. Please have a look at the tips in my ‘Footnote’ and ensure that your relationship with God is securely in place.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, our Protector against the evil one, we place our faith and trust in You alone today, knowing that You alone can protect us against the many forms of evil that we encounter each day that challenge our faith and our stand for You. Please save us from our frustrations by constantly reminding us who’s in charge of the Christian’s life, and that You can and will protect Your precious children like no one else. We need You Heavenly Father as we are not qualified in any way to protect against Satan and his demons. I ask these things believing in the Word of God, and the Son of God – Jesus Christ – whose name is above all names, 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!
Fix Your Eyes on Heaven
Saturday, 2016-09-03
Scripture
Bible Reference: Proverbs 4:25–27
Bible Text: 25 Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. 26 Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. 27 Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.
Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)
My Take
I have always marveled over the straight lines that farmers use to plant their crops – orange trees; strawberries; etc. I once heard that the way to accomplish that straight line is to keep your eyes fixed on a point at the end of the row, rather than any short term distances, while plowing or planting. I believe we are being directed in the proverbs today to keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, and the reward He has promised those of us who believe – to be with Him in His heavenly home at the end of our journey here on earth! Like the farmer though, we are to keep our eyes fixed on our Savior and the home He has gone to prepare for us – heaven. Friends, when we stay focused; when we have an endpoint in mind; when we have a purpose in life; we will be less apt to stray or allow side distractions that tend to take our eyes off our goal. The big problem with distractions, is that some of us may never get back on the right track again. Satan may distract us, knowing that we will probably like that, and in turn, he will win the battle of destroying one more soul. Ever noticed that some who have been on track for the Lord and who have been distracted, become almost unrecognizable by humans as ever being a child of the King? Imagine how sad and disappointing this is for Jesus? Remember, He loved you (us) enough that He suffered and died on the cross at Calvary so that we might be able to enjoy the freedom of knowing Him personally and entering into His kingdom. For us to then say thanks, but no thanks to that expression of love and sacrifice, must crush the very heart of Christ. What can you do about that friend? Is all well with your walk? Are you staying on track and ideally lined up for your eternal home? For those who may read this and have not accepted Jesus as Lord, with all the love I can muster up, let me just say that this goal of heaven is not something you can add to your wish list with hopes that Santa will bring it for you. This involves a personal commitment from you with your Savior, and a daily walk with Him, always with your eternal home as your goal. Please read my Footnote for more information on how to achieve the assurance of your salvation and Heaven as your eternal destination.
Prayer
Lord God, You created the heavens, and You sacrificed Your one and only Son so that we might believe on Him and have the assurance of being with You in heaven. What more can we ask for? However, knowing the provisions You made for us, yet we are so easily distracted from our walk and therefore from our goal of being with You in glory one day. Please forgive us Lord, and please strengthen us each and every day to stay focused on what lies ahead – our goal of being with You in heaven one day! Oh that will be, glory for me, glory for me, glory for me, when by His grace I shall look on His face, that will be glory, be glory for me! So Lord, for as long as you see fit to leave me here on earth, please help me to stay focused on You, and may my goal be seen as something my readers, my family and my friends will also catch hold of and want for their life. For I ask these things in the precious name of Jesus, and for Your glory alone, 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!
Who Is Jesus?
Tuesday, 2016-08-30
Scripture
Bible Reference: Mark 8:27–29
Bible Text: 27 Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 28 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.” 29 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.*”
Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)
My Take
Around those with whom you may work, you may hear them speak of achievements by their children, and it may probe you to ask about their kids, knowing that they are so loved by your co-worker. In another co-worker you may see some special characteristic that stands out from the rest, and you may ask them about, what appears to be, a family trait. For some of us who mention the name of Jesus from time to time, we may be asked “but who is this Jesus?” – you know, similar to the question that the disciples were hit with in the above verses. I have a strong feeling that you will not reach for your Bible to answer the question with an appropriate verse, nor do I think your co-worker would want that response, and may I add – nor will Jesus want to hear that response. Let’s get it straight friend, who exactly is Jesus to you? No coined phrases or responses that you heard from the pulpit, please! I sincerely believe that your response to this question will tell Jesus who He is to you and what impact, if any, He has been on your life (not that He wouldn’t already know). Your response will also tell your co-worker whether you’ve been faking it all this time. Faking it??? Yep, try asking that same co-worker about who they are married to. You may need extra pages of paper to write down all of the attributes that they will shower you with, and I believe that this is because that spouse has impacted your co-worker’s life in more ways than one. They will probably tell you about how beautiful or handsome they are, and all about their special qualities. In fact, I believe you will probably feel like you know them personally, just from the descriptions. So friend, may I ask again, who is Jesus to you? If a relationship exists, you will know all about Him and you will be anxious to share about the qualities that bless your heart on a daily basis! Please note that a relationship is one where there is ongoing conversation (prayer); ongoing meals together (spiritual food from God’s holy Word); trust; obedience (obeying the commands in God’s Word); giving praise (praise and worship individually and corporately); and doing everything possible to please the other partner (all of the above). When we love someone, we want to be with them as often as possible – one hour per week will just not do. So friends, do you have an active, fruitful, loving relationship with this Jesus you mention from time to time, or do you just know of Him? Jesus is waiting for your answer, for He wants an intimate relationship with you!
Prayer
Lord, it is unfortunate that we know the lingo and can talk the talk while with our Christian friends, but yet for many, that ‘talk’ is not representative of their lifestyle or their intimate relationship with You. But then we worry why so many are lost and going to Hell, or want nothing to do with church,or Christians, or even with You dear Lord. I believe it is clear that many folk are tired of the hypocrites that prevent them from seeing the real ‘Jesus’. As we meditate on these verses and perhaps on the devotional today Jesus, please tender our hearts to examine the ‘real’ relationship that we have with You. It is only meaningful if Your heart; Your love and Your character exudes from every fiber of our life every day. Lord, may we always have a Word to share with someone, when asked about You, for You mean the world to me and many others reading this devotional. Thank You for being 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 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!
Will Jesus Know You as His Follower?
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: Luke 13:23–25
Today’s Bible Text: A bystander said, “Master, will only a few be saved?” He said, “Whether few or many is none of your business. Put your mind on your life with God. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires your total attention. A lot of you are going to assume that you’ll sit down to God’s salvation banquet just because you’ve been hanging around the neighborhood all your lives. Well, one day you’re going to be banging on the door, wanting to get in, but you’ll find the door locked and the Master saying, ‘Sorry, you’re not on my guest list.’
The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)
My Take Away: Ever had someone sneak up behind you and blindfold you to see if you could guess who it is? Ever had a situation that you didn’t recognize the person, even after they revealed themselves to you? Perhaps you were mistaken for someone else they knew. It’s embarrassing when someone strongly believes that they know you, but you don’t recognize them in the slightest, isn’t it? This kind of reminds me of what it is like when someone appears insulted by asking them if they are a believer in Jesus. They may look at you and remind you that they are the one who attended Vacation Bible School with you in the 5th grade, and they have continued their belief in God by attending your church at least three times in the last year! So why would you possibly ask such a question of them? Friends I could go on giving you examples of those, whom I feel, might be surprised on Judgment Day. However, just like this translation indicates: Jesus responds that “this is none of my business”; for this is strictly something that He will work on each day until the time He calls that person out of this world. What God really wants you and I to do, is also in this scripture, for Jesus demands that we concentrate on our own relationship with the Lord. In other words, we have a fulltime job working on our own relationship with God instead of being so caught up in the affairs of others. Let me suggest that we look around and try to identify happily married couples. I believe you will do that by looking at the way they look at each other; the things they say to each other; the unending times that they strive to be together; the things the husband may do for his wife and/or her friends just to prove his love for her. Now, should that be any different when we try to show our love for our Lord? We will want to talk to Him as often as possible (prayer); We will want to be with Him and/or His people as often as possible (church); We will want to study His habits – His likes and dislikes and His desires for us (Bible Study and/or quiet times with the Lord); It will excite us to be around other folk who also love Him and is seeking to serve Him (church gatherings). Friends, these are just outward expressions of love for your Master that your friends will notice. Jesus knows your heart, so He knows what makes you ‘tick’ and why you do what you do. He knows if you’re serious about Him or just trying to impress mama by being in church each Sunday. Bottom line is that you may be successful in fooling all of the people all of the time, but God truly knows the heart of each man and woman. God will open the gates of heaven to you when He is convinced that you are sincerely in love with Him.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we often go through the motions of church attendance because we don’t want to disappoint the pastor, or because we promised mom that we would be in church at least each Sunday morning. It is obvious from this scripture today, that You look a lot deeper than that, for just like we can’t ever expect to sleep in our garage and wake up looking like a car, nor can we expect that church attendance will make us a Christian, or follower of Christ. Lord, please forgive us for our littleness in thinking that because we can impress our friends, that we can also trick You into believing we are a follower by going through the motions the world expects of a Christian. Lord, may Your Word penetrate our hearts and convince us of our sin. May we seek Your forgiveness of that sin, and may we strive daily to live for You, without being distracted about how our neighbor may be handling their lives. You are my all in all Jesus. May my life reflect that in all aspects of my character. 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 of Knowing Jesus
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!………
The Bible Reference: Philippians 3:8-9
The Bible Text: Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him.
The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)
My Take Away: I love the illustration Paul used to show how much he valued the relationship he had with the God of this universe. A few months ago my family and had the daunting task of moving out of our home of 27 years into a much smaller accommodation. We had to evaluate all of our earthly possessions to conclude that each item either: 1). Must go with us – meaning we had to find space for it in our smaller accommodation, or 2). We would hold on to the item in storage until we decide if we would ever need it, or are willing to dispose of it, or 3). We could no longer see a need to hang on to the item, and were willing to sell it or give it away. Think about that, together with the mindset of Paul, who was once a valuable resource to earthly kings and nobles, because of his readiness to destroy anything or anyone attributing its value to Jesus Christ. What Paul did could be likened to the example given above about my personal experience, dumping everything we once had, and starting from scratch. Paul did this in giving his total allegiance to Jesus Christ, without the possibility of any interference from anything he may have owned in his past. Paul said that he ‘dumped it all in the trash, so that he could fully embrace the unencumbered grace of Christ’. Friends, it was not until my family and I came to the place that we realized that our earthly belongings was merely ‘stuff’, and added no value to our eternal destination, that we were able to commit to our move. Paul is teaching us in this passage that it is not until we are willing to make Jesus the primary focus in our lives, that we would truly embrace Him and be embraced by Him. Jesus went to the cross with only the wrappings around His body, but He did it because of Him supernatural love for us, and to provide the means for the forgiveness of our sin. How much are you willing to sacrifice today to truly enhance your relationship with such a Savior as this?
Prayer: Jesus, You are my King – my soon coming King! Thank You for humbly following the Master’s will, to prove Your love for myself and all mankind who would choose You as the focus of our lives. You gave it all for us oh Lord. Please use this reminder by Paul to help us examine our motives and our intentions. Whether we choose to publicize our decision like Paul did, or whether we commit one-on-one with You, I pray that at the end of the day we will reflect back on the decision we made. Each day we make decisions, some are very deliberate and very firm, while others are simply made by doing nothing at all and being satisfied with status-quo. Touch Your children today oh God and cause them to deliberately make decisions that will draw them to Yourself and to a glorious promise of one day being with You in heaven. I love You Lord and I thank You for first loving me beyond my wildest imagination. These things I ask in the name of Jesus, the Christ, 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
Nuggets From God's Word 