Pray ‘In The Spirit’

On 2022-11-122022-11-12 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Leadership of the Holy Spirit, Needs, Power of Prayer, Praise, Prayer, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Saturday, 2022-11-12
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Ephesians 6:18
TRANSLATION: New Century Version (NCV)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers, asking for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready and never give up. Always pray for all God’s people.

APPLICATION: It seems pretty obvious that most of us tend to think, love, speak, and pray from a very selfish perspective. I attended a party one time, where the icebreaker was a challenge to avoid the first-person pronoun in your conversation for the first 15 minutes. Suddenly, the normal challenges of remembering names of people you meet; introducing yourself to strangers; and avoiding cliques of people you know; all became very easy compared to this new challenge! If presented with this challenge, be prepared to quickly acknowledge how dependent you are in sharing ‘all about you’ to others. Try it, write out a small paragraph about your last party, without using the first-person pronouns! I believe this alone will help us to quickly understand the importance of making every effort to ‘Pray in the Spirit’, because instead of the usual ‘gimme, gimme’ prayers, we will suddenly find ourselves praying about things that the Spirit provokes. We all know that no one else in the room of people you are with have greater pain and misery than you have! No one else hurts from disappointments and unfulfilled dreams like you do. But when we seek to ‘pray in the Spirit’, He will direct our minds to the person who has only one leg, so that we don’t whine and complain all evening about the knee-ache we’ve had since we woke up that morning. Friends, I am convinced that when we pray for others more than ourselves, God in His infinite mercy, causes us to lose sight of our minor aches and problems. When Paul demands that we ‘stay alert’, I believe he is suggesting that we ask God for eyes to really see the needs of others. Isn’t it amazing how we enter a room where many needs are represented, but we quickly bring our own needs to the forefront, even though they are insignificant, compared to others? While theologians have a lot to say about their knowledge on this topic, I believe that God is merely saying ‘follow in my ways and in what I found to be important. Enough about self’. Churches often hurt from their members who attend looking for a word of encouragement and strength for the week ahead, yet they leave without ever being talked to, loved on, or shown appreciation for. Perhaps ‘praying in the Spirit’, is just the beginning of a Spirit-filled believer who should also ‘live in the Spirit’, ‘encourage in the Spirit’ and ‘bless as the Spirit would’. Be reminded that at church, it’s not all up to the pastor to meet every need. God placed each of us among fellow believers so that we might imitate ‘iron sharpens iron’. We need each other, especially those who are living, acting and portraying one who ‘lives in the Spirit’. Try being the hands and feet of Jesus to someone else today, dear friends.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Just as we ‘pray in the Spirit’ and ‘live in the Spirit’ and allow the Spirit to live out His blessings through us, we too can expect to be blessed as other believers do the same!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, it just seems natural for us to act out our selfish desires, wants, like and dislikes. But as Your faithful servants seeking to follow in Your footsteps, please help us to persistently seek to ‘pray in the Spirit’ and live out all the ways of our Master. Others may not read their Bible, but may they see Your children as thorough images of our Master and Lord, and may this cause an ongoing desire to seek the Lord while You may be found. thanks for drawing us to the cross of Calvary and showing us the road to eternal life. As we live in the Spirit, may others also see that wonderful image portrayed in and causing them to have a growing desire to know You as their personal Savior. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Led By The Spirit

On 2022-11-062022-11-06 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Filled With The Spirit, Jesus led decisions, Leadership of the Holy Spirit, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Sunday, 2022-11-06
WRITTEN AT: Ormond Beach, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Luke 4:1-2
TRANSLATION: The Voice (VOICE)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹When Jesus returned from the Jordan River, He was full of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit led Him away from the cities and townsand out into the desert. ²For 40 days, the Spirit led Him from place to place in the desert, and while there, the devil tempted Jesus. Jesus was fasting, eating nothing during this time, and at the end, He was terribly hungry.

APPLICATION: Surely you’ve heard about the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness, or the desert. And that God’s perfect Son was tempted – verbally, though abstinence from food, through power struggles backed by Scripture, and yes through temptations by Satan himself. We were taught about how Jesus countered Satan’s use of Scripture , with His own quotes of Scripture given to Him by the Holy Spirit, and we heard about how Jesus stood firm to His Father’s will for His life. But why did the Holy Spirit lead Jesus into such tough times? Shouldn’t the Spirit have instead placed Jesus into a temple where sinners needed the Lord, or among the sick where people needed healing, or in the midst of the discouraged and depressed where He could have shown His love, compassion and hope for them? Oh dear friends, those are the types of things we may have been tempted to do, but God’s ways are much greater than our ways; His thoughts much deeper than our thoughts; and His knowledge of what is, and what’s to come, is off the chart compared to our knowledge. It seems evident that God wanted to show Satan once again who is in charge, and that His Son had equal authority and power to Himself – both to enact what God commands, and to submit even under extreme pressure, for the will and benefit of the Father. It’s like God wanted to show off His precious Son that He sent to earth to save the world from sin. Satan is known for messing with anyone who promotes his enemy – God. So God was sure that Satan would have a field day if he ever had the opportunity to work on Jesus. So God seemed to have deliberately set this up for Satan so that He could show off the power, the dignity, and the overwhelming will of Jesus to honor His Father even under extreme circumstances. Satan needed to know that Jesus was off limits to him because He was much more powerful, and closely in tuned with the Creator. This, my friends, presents a challenge for us to think about. What do we do when hard times come; when temptations seem to hit us on every side; when it seems like God has separated Himself from us? Are we strong enough and committed enough to show Satan who our Father is? Will the world know for sure that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world? While the world may not go to battle with us to watch us fall or fail, they are looking for children of the most high God, who will stand firm in their faith like they would expect. You see, I believe that many will remain on Satan’s side, until they can see proof of those who are truly led by the Spirit like Jesus was. It may behoove us to thank God for our circumstances, and ask Him for strength to endure until He sees us safely through them, after His work is complete. Instead of questioning God, let’s learn to stay closely connected to Him so that He may use even us in His mission to reach the lost, encourage the disheartened and lead the wicked to His righteousness.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Jesus was successful in overcoming the temptations of the evil one. He was led into the circumstance that Satan used to tempt Him. Oh that we would draw close enough to God to accept His leading, even if it seems overwhelming to us at the time. May God always work out His will in our lives everyday – for His glory!

PRAYER: ‘…. And lead us not into temptation….’ These are very familiar words from what many call ‘The Lord’s Prayer’. But Lord, if You led Your very own Son right into ultimate temptations by Satan, how can we possibly feel like we would be exempt from temptation. Perhaps we should be consistent in asking You to lead us into circumstances where we can show off Your power, Your love and Your forgiveness. Teach us Lord to wait on You, to listen and obey Your every command, so that Your perfect will might be accomplished for Your good and Your Kingdom’s sake. Please help us to think of opportunities that You send our way, instead of whining about our setbacks and worries about what it all looks like in our sight. Please excuse our pride and humble us into Your service. AMEN!

Remove The Evil One

On 2022-05-012022-05-01 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Church Leaders, Discipline, Forgiveness, Leadership, Leadership of the Holy Spirit, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Sunday, 2022-05-01
WRITTEN AT: Citra, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 1 Corinthians 5:9-13
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: ⁹When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. ¹⁰But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that.¹¹I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.
¹²It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.¹³God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”

APPLICATION: I was in conversation yesterday with a few apartment tenants in a large city, and I overheard them talking about the warnings of eviction that were threatened by their landlord, and I believe it seems like an appropriate illustration, just as in the case of our upbringing, as they both open the door to discuss how God’s holy people are set apart unto Him. It is evident that in the case of our parents, they wanted no bad thing to distract from what they were teaching us at home, for parents try to help their children learn to always aim for what is best in life for their own good. It also goes to say that parents want to teach us that if we see behavior that is opposite to what we aim to live, then we should force ourselves away from that person or persons who lead that lifestyle. Similarly, landlords aim at finding the best tenants who will pay their rent on time and treat their building and fellow tenants with due respect. When either of these things become questionable, the landlord seeks to evict that questionable tenant, with hopes of finding one that better suites the desires of the landlord. Now, when Jesus gets a hold of our heart and invites us to let Him in, He teaches us in His Word how it is that He wants us to live so that He might be best represented, so that other non-repentant sinners may be wooed into the Kingdom. So we start to spend a lot of time around church, and with fellow believers, so that we may grow from each other’s strength and encouragement. But what happens when a ‘bad apple’ finds their way into our fellowship? I believe that our Scripture perfectly supports the very old proverb that says ‘one bad apple spoils the whole bunch’! You see, Christians have become so accustomed to ‘loving like Jesus’, that we tend to forget that an important part of loving is to also discipline those who are about to ‘spoil the whole bunch’. In our parents home, if they don’t discipline bad behavior or otherwise breaking their rules, then our siblings quickly catch on to the fact that the rules set by our parents are not really intended to be followed seriously. All of a sudden we see children grow into maturity and expect to view the rules established by police and community leaders in much the same, lax way. Dear friends, I am convinced that there is nothing more serious than us trying to please our Heavenly Father. In Deuteronomy 17:7, the Israelites were told by God that when they discover ‘one bad apple’, they are to rid themselves of that evil. Paul quoted that Scripture to the church in Corinth as he taught them how to rid themselves of the evil that may come in their midst. I believe that for those who have been around for a while, we can look around and see where many standards have been lowered compared to what our ancestors understood from the Scriptures and tolerated in the church. I can only wonder what God might have to say to us on Judgment Day. Is He pleased with the way that we are interpreting His commands, and the little twists we are making to them in the name of politically correctness, or in the name of ‘love’? I believe that if we find reason to question our decision on some of these ‘evil’, controversial, or otherwise borderline things, then perhaps we need more time with God – on our knees and in His Word, until we are convinced that we are obedient to His will. When we question evil in someone else, the whole church may look back at us as also being imperfect. So let’s begin with getting ourselves better aligned with God’s perfect law, design, and will. If we are pleasing in God’s sight, then the same should carry over as we assume leadership in our churches and strive to rid them of evil.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: In obedience to God, we are often called to love one another. But at times, it also means disciplining, as needed. I believe that God will bless us when we do both of these things for His glory, and for no gain of our own.

PRAYER: Precious Lord, thank You for the love that You extend to all your children – even during the times that You love us enough to discipline us. Please teach us daily to: love like You first loved us; judge honestly and fairly like we expect from You; always seek out the best in everyone; and to always present ourselves and Your church as holy in Your eyes, just as You are holy. Lord, You know how badly we fail in life, but thanks for Your forgiveness and strength to go on. May the people see Jesus evident in every fiber of our being, and therefore no condemnation for our failures already covered by Your precious blood. AMEN!

What Happens To Unholy People

On 2022-04-282022-04-28 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Holiness, Holy Living, Leadership of the Holy Spirit, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Thursday, 2022-04-28
WRITTEN AT: Citra, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Joshua 7:6-7; 10-11; 13;
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: ⁶Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothing in dismay, threw dust on their heads, and bowed face down to the ground before the Ark of the Lord until evening. ⁷Then Joshua cried out, “Oh, Sovereign Lord, why did you bring us across the Jordan River if you are going to let the Amorites kill us?…
¹⁰But the Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this? ¹¹Israel has sinned and broken my covenant!…
¹³“Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the Lord. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you.

APPLICATION: Things had been going extremely well for the Israelites. God had protected and taken exceptional care of the estimated 3 million people for 40 years, both in getting them away from Pharaoh/Egypt; through the harsh desert in providing food, water and protection from every source of danger; and in clearing the way for them to assume residency in the land promised to them. So of course the leaders and their people got a little sideways in being punished in defeat against the men of Ai. They had become a bit spoiled with the various miracles performed for their benefit. But here’s the difference between God and man: Joshua and the elders went into a time of serious prayer and mourning before God, for they had no idea why their small army was defeated. However, God knew that there was disobedience involved in handling the capture of Jericho. From’s man’s standpoint: the walls fell as God told them they would; the Israelites successfully slaughtered all living things, just as God told them to do; all gold, silver and precious jewels were retrieved just as God ordered them to do; and as far as the leaders knew, everything was taken to the temple as ordered by God. But God knew that the covenant agreement He made with the Israelites had been broken. Unfortunately this happens all too often in our lives also. God agrees to save us from our sin, but don’t we return to sin whenever the circumstances warrant? In our marriage relationships, God provides us an awesome spouse and we make a covenant agreement with God and our mate that we would love, provide for them, and keep them til death do us part, but isn’t it unfortunate how many change their minds after they get what they want from the relationship? In the case of the Israelites, God withdrew His hand of protection and His mighty power to win the battles that His people sought after because they broke their covenant agreement with Him. What if God was that tough on us, and our churches today when we break our covenant relationship with Him and with each other? God was not willing to work with the unholy Israelites, He ordered that they purify themselves. Do you suppose He is waiting for us to do the same before He resumes His blessings on us? Talk to the Father my friend, see if there be any wicked way in you that is causing Him to distance Himself from you. Seek His purification over your life my friend.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: God was willing to resume His blessings on the Israelites if they cleaned up their act and made themselves right before God, again. We serve such a forgiving, loving God!

PRAYER: Precious Lord, please take our hand and lead us on to a glorious life where You are our focus, and You are so prevalent in our life, that others are attracted to a relationship with You also. We feel so inadequate at times that I’m not sure how we would make it through life without You guiding us, protecting us and loving us. Please teach us to maintain an honest, right relationship with You. We need You Lord Jesus, for we are afraid to walk without You holding our hand. Our battles are real every day, just as the battle the Israelites attempted on their own, but i feel like we need You even more that they did. Thank You for the reminder that You will withhold Your promises if we choose to do life without You. Lord, we need You every hour, please stay by our side and gently guide us through every aspect of life. The glory belongs to You for everything accomplished in and through our lives, may You have full reign to reach others, and if necessary, use us to accomplish Your work. AMEN!

How To Bring Glory To God

On 2021-05-042021-05-04 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Holy Spirit, Leadership of the Holy Spirit, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Tuesday, 2021-05-04
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (TPT)
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹⁹Have you forgotten that your body is now the sacred temple of the Spirit of Holiness, who lives in you? You don’t belong to yourself any longer, for the gift of God, the Holy Spirit, lives inside your sanctuary. ²⁰You were God’s expensive purchase, paid for with tears of blood, so by all means, then, use your body to bring glory to God!

APPLICATION: Most couples dating, or recently married, will often run into times of jealousy towards each other as they build trust in their marriage partner. When we love one another, we tend to become very possessive and defensive, in order to protect the oneness that you feel one towards the other. But what if we were able to go as far as placing a part of ourselves inside our spouse, so that we would be available every moment of every day to help give them guidance while they drive, or as they make decisions in the store, or to prompt them along when they struggle in understanding God’s Word, etc.? Wouldn’t that be neat? But how would it impact us when we are tempted to look at, or flirt with others of the opposite sex? Guys, do you think that you would still run off with the guys to secretly visit the girl’s club? Girls, do you think that you would still have your night out with the girls to visit the strip club? Friends, when we take the Holy Spirit, who lives inside of Christians, into places that we tend to question ourselves about, can you even imagine how He must feel and what His conversations must be like with God the Father, and Jesus the Son? I could only imagine that they must feel like their work and sacrifice must have been in vain. I could only imagine how they must shake their heads in disappointment at the thought that we are so unappreciative of what they did for us. But I don’t want today’s blog to be totally negative, for I know that the Holy Spirit will use the challenges already presented to prompt your heart into action, if it applies to you. But I also want to remind those of us that strive hard to live for Jesus each and every day, because we are His born-again child – made new in Him, and we must have confidence in following the will of the Master through what we have learned from His Word, and from what the Holy Spirit prompts us to do or say throughout our day. Let’s not only protect ourselves from the sin of this world, but let’s really be protective of the sweet Holy Spirit that has taken up residence inside of believers in Jesus Christ. Let’s ask His direction, His permission and His advice when we’re unsure about what to do or what to say. Remember, He said that He would be our Comforter and our Guide, what if we truly allowed Him to do His work in our lives? Wouldn’t that be ultimate peace of mind and unbelievable worship to our Father as we reflect on the great decisions we celebrate because of the work of the Holy Spirit in us? We serve such an awesome God! He thought of everything to make His children successful, meaningful and useful in life, so that He might ultimately receive the honor and glory! Oh that Jesus might be glorified in us, instead of ashamed by our stubbornness, selfishness and our own self-will.

PRAYER: Lord I thank You for accepting me as Your very own son. I thank You for all those who will read this devotional today. As Your Word has sobered my thoughts and drawn my attention to the ever present Holy Spirit that You have entrusted to me. I pray, asking that You will cause me to remember the accountability of Your presence within me at all times. I also ask this of my readers Lord, for in this evil and wicked world we need more and more believers who take their relationship with You seriously and who respects the Holy Spirit inside of them to guide, direct and empower them to share Your love and ministry with all those who still doubt Your existence or everlasting power. You are an awesome God, and we love, respect and need You every moment of every day dear Lord. Oh that You may be glorified because of the submission, love and admiration of Your children today! AMEN!

Life-Paths Led By God

On 2019-04-05 By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Lead me, Leadership of the Holy Spirit, Let go and let God, Rewards, TrustLeave a comment

Friday, 2019-04-05

Bible Reference: Psalm 25:4-7
Translation: The Passion Translation (TPT)

Bible Text:
⁴Lord, direct me throughout my journey
so I can experience your plans for my life.
Reveal the life-paths that are pleasing to you.
⁵Escort me along the way; take me by the hand and teach me.
For you are the God of my increasing salvation;
I have wrapped my heart into yours!^b
^6–7Forgive my failures as a young man,
and overlook the sins of my immaturity.
Give me grace, Lord! Always look at me
through your eyes of love—
your forgiving eyes of mercy and compassion.
When you think of me, see me as one you love and care for.
How good you are to me!

OBSERVATION: David shows us in this passage that he was fully dependent on God for direction, and on seeing him for who he truly was. Often we fail so badly in our decisions and life-choices that we may tend to think that there is no way that God would forgive us and accept us as His very own adopted son or daughter. David shares with us how this miracle works. Let’s stop and meditate on this for a little while.

APPLICATION: On many occasions we come to a fork in the road and deliberate on which way we should go. No matter how hard we try, and how hard we try to weigh out the pros and cons, our sight is limited and often our decision making is marred by selfishness. Consider the fact that when we make decisions based on the weather, we might look into the skies and observe the current weather, or we might listen to a meteorologist, for their profession is to study the weather patterns and predict future conditions. But how often have you found them to be correct? So our planning is often based on chance, backed up with a plan ‘B’! But I want us to use this Scripture today to reflect on the God of this universe. Remember, He’s the one who put this whole earth together; the One who formed you and I; the One who sets the stage each day for rain, or sunshine, for heat or cold, for miracles to stump the meteorologist who thought they had the weather patterns all figured out! Yes, He’s the one that will cause us to lift our eyes unto the hills and exclaim ‘Only our God is capable of such miracles’. Friends, I want to share a real life experience with you, so that we might be reminded of the power of our God in our life-paths: In the summer of 1987 I had the daunting task of sharing with my parents, located in Eleuthera, Bahamas, that after much prayer and a miraculous turnaround and approval by US Immigration, my wife and I had been accepted as permanent residents of the United States, and that we would move in a few months. In an expression of shock and disappointment, my dad said ‘now that we’re getting older, you are moving further away’. Those words burned into my memory, as I always strived to please my parents, and never cause them hurt or grief. However, fast forward to roughly a year after being told those words by my dad, as my siblings and I saw the need to have my dad flown to the US for medical help. This led to the discovery that he had experienced a heart attack, and needed immediate medical attention. Even without medical insurance, yet we were able to secure the attention and correction needed for my dad. About a month later while father and son were sitting in our Florida home, my dad looked at me and said ‘Now I understand what God was doing in getting you moved to Florida’! Friends, that was not one of the reasons I gave God for wanting to move to the US, but my awesome God knew exactly the life-path that I needed to be on, in order to save my dad’s life! In fact, just months after that, a similar story occurred with Him saving my sister-in-law’s life. May I be the first one to tell you today that there is no god like Our God! Our responsibility is to know Him, trust in Him, love Him and follow Him in obedience, for He cares for us and He will direct our paths – our life-path! Please read my ‘Footnote’ carefully and follow the link ‘To Know Jesus’ make your connection with this same awesome God that I shared about in this devotional. He loves you as well my friend!

PRAYER: Dear Father in heaven, thank You for reminding us yet again how awesome and powerful You are. You helped my ancestor, David; You also helped my dad and sister-in-law, and answered the prayers of my family about their health. I know You are still God, because I still experience You even today. I know that You also love my friends who will read this devotional today, and who need a special touch from You, or to know that You are in total control of their life-path. Please draw them unto Yourself dear God. Cement their relationship with You and encourage them daily along their life-path ordained by Your miraculous touch. Lord, may You reign supremely in all aspects of our lives. AMEN!

Your Body – Resident to The Holy Spirit

On 2018-05-042018-05-04 By Ed AlgreenIn Accountability, Holiness, Holy Spirit, Leadership of the Holy SpiritLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE FROM: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (TPT)

TEXT: ¹⁹Have you forgotten that your body is now the sacred temple of the Spirit of Holiness, who lives in you? You don’t belong to yourself any longer, for the gift of God, the Holy Spirit, lives inside your sanctuary. ²⁰You were God’s expensive purchase, paid for with tears of blood, so by all means, then, use your body to bring glory to God!

OBSERVATION: Paul dealt with similar issues that our pastors deal with today in exposing sin, with hopes that parishioners might come to their senses and try to stay in tune with the Son of God, who gave up everything so that we might have eternal life. It appears like the sermon here is that if Jesus gave up so much for us, shouldn’t we consider giving up worldly pleasures in order to give Him priority in our lives?

APPLICATION: Most couples dating, or recently married, will often run into times of jealousy towards each other as they build trust in their marriage partner. When we love one another, we tend to become very possessive and defensive, in order to protect the oneness that you feel one towards the other. But what if we were able to go as far as placing a part of ourselves inside our spouse, so that we would be available every moment of every day to help give them guidance while they drive, or as they make decisions in the store, or to prompt them along when they struggle in understanding God’s Word, etc. Wouldn’t that be neat? But how would it impact us when we are tempted to look at, or flirt with others of the opposite sex? Guys, do you think that you would still run off with the guys to secretly visit the girl’s club? Girls, do you think that you would still have your night out with the girls to visit the strip club? Friends, when we take the Holy Spirit, who lives inside of Christians, into places that we tend to question ourselves about, can you even imagine how He must feel and what His conversations must be like with God the Father, and Jesus the Son? I could only imagine that they must feel like their work and sacrifice must have been in vain. I could only imagine how they must shake their heads in disappointment at the thought that we are so unappreciative of what they did for us? But I don’t want today’s blog to be totally negative, for I know that the Holy Spirit will use the challenges already presented to prompt your heart into action, if it applies to you. But I also want to remind those of us that strive hard to live for Jesus each and every day, because we are His born-again child, and we must have confidence in following the will of the Master through what we have learned from His Word, and from what the Holy Spirit prompts us to do or say throughout our day. Let’s not only protect ourselves from the sin of this world, but let’s really be protective of the sweet Holy Spirit that has taken up residence inside of believers in Jesus Christ.

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Sebring, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Obedience Resulting From Love

On 2017-11-22 By Ed AlgreenIn Holy Spirit, Leadership of the Holy Spirit, Obedience, ObedientLeave a comment

Post Date:	Wednesday, 2017-11-22
SCRIPTURE
From:	John 14:15-17 (TLB)
Text:	^15-16“If you love me, obey me; and I will ask the Father and he will give you another Comforter, and he will never leave you. ¹⁷He is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, for it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you do, for he lives with you now and some day shall be in you.
OBSERVATION:
Jesus was introducing the 3rd part of the Trinity – the Holy Spirit. However He made it clear that through our love for Him and our subsequent evidence of that love, through obedience to His commands, He would then give us the Holy Spirit to lead us unto all truth. Later in this chapter, Jesus goes on to say how disobedience would lead to much worse. So we have an identifier, or a milestone in our lives that brings peace and comfort to us as we seriously seek to love Jesus more and more every day!
APPLICATION:
A lot of kids act up, or defy parents, in order to get attention from them. But have you ever noticed that the attention the rebellious kid receives is totally different to the child whose mind is all made up to obey mom and dad and strive to obey them in all that they ask? Jesus promoted love, peace and goodwill. He also provided lots of guidance and commands for us to follow, for our best interest, but also to show that we love Him enough to trust those commands and therefore obey them. The one who disobeys is the one who could care less where the commands came from, and what that disobedience means to the One who commands us. In fact, in this same chapter Jesus goes on to say that if they disobey Him, they don’t love Him. Friends, I feel like it is awesome that God chose to give us a prize for simply obeying Him! It is important to recognize that God loved us enough to give us proof of that love in many ways. We are simply asked to follow His commands to show our love for Him. If we do, then He will send us the Comforter (the Holy Spirit) to live within us as our personal guard, director and friend. So is there a need to worry about how we could live in this world like our Lord and Savior? Not when God Himself, through the Holy Spirit, lives within us! We have an amazing God who loves us beyond words and actions. I believe He longs for the day that we go up to heaven to live with He and the Father eternally! You can count yourself in, if you have surrendered you life over to Jesus Christ! If you haven’t, please read my Footnote for great tips on how you can get help to meet my Savior. My desire is to see every reader of this blog find security in knowing that they are saved and ready to meet Jesus one day – maybe today!
PRAYER:
Precious Lord, thank you for speaking words into my heart each day from your word. Thank you for assuring your children of the perfect gift of salvation, and today in this Scripture, the perfect gift of the Holy Spirit to help us live a life like You here on this earth. Please speak to the hearts of friends and family who have not received this gift yet, and draw them unto yourself even today. Oh what a Thanksgiving Day that will be in Heaven if just one surrenders their life to You! May Your perfect will be done. 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!

Great Advice for Great Leaders

On 2017-11-18 By Ed AlgreenIn Leader, Leadership, Leadership of the Holy Spirit, ObedienceLeave a comment

Post Date:	Saturday, 2017-11-18
SCRIPTURE
From:	1 Kings 2:2-4 (TLB)
Text:	²“I am going where every man on earth must some day go. I am counting on you to be a strong and worthy successor. ³Obey the laws of God and follow all his ways; keep each of his commands written in the law of Moses so that you will prosper in everything you do, wherever you turn. ⁴If you do this, then the Lord will fulfill the promise he gave me, that if my children and their descendants watch their step and are faithful to God, one of them shall always be the king of Israel—my dynasty will never end.
OBSERVATION:
David was at the conclusion of his reign as king, and also near death. One of his sons, Adonijah, had already ‘jumped the gun’ and made himself ‘king’, but David was reminded of a promise he had made to Bathsheba, that Solomon would become his successor. Regardless of what Adonijah had done for himself, David gave the official word to make Solomon his successor, as promised. Our Scripture today records the parting words/advice that David had for his son for a strong and substantive leadership. Advice that all great leaders could benefit from today!
APPLICATION:
Each one comes to the table with various strengths that God has blessed them with. Some might say right up front that all they ever want, is to be a follower, because they hate leadership. Others appear to be born as natural leaders. I believe that this last piece of advice that David gave to his son Solomon, is very Biblicaly based, and something that all good leaders who are striving to be the ‘best’ leader could benefit from. In fact, it is also true for every Christian, for as we follow this advice we become more Christ-like and more obedient to His will for our lives. Now friends, I really don’t believe that God will set aside the leadership skills that He has already given to you, but using the advice passed down by David, I believe God will say to us that we use those admirable skills in a setting where it is evident that we are God’s child while being a good leader. In other words, when using our leadership skills in a worldly fashion, we would be more apt to use the skills of the worldly leader, Satan, which will always result in chaos and undesired results for the people you lead. However, imagine the amazing success you can have when you use your God-given talent in a setting where you allow God to rule through your life and leadership? I believe that most business owners want us to rule with an iron fist and not consider the feelings of the employees we supervise. However, I believe that leading God’s way will earn the respect of your subordinates and allow us to become a more cohesive team to accomplish even greater things. I don’t believe our lesson for today revolves around doing what David said, but rather, to take the advise of David and grow our relationship with God to the degree that, as leaders, we would be sensitive to God’s commands and directions. This would help us to lead like God would desire of us, so that He might be glorified. Most often we expect obedience from those we lead, what if we led in obedience to our Master? Wouldn’t it be interesting to see the results from our subordinates? Try it friends, you might like it!!
PRAYER:
Father, I believe that You have taught us again today that our walk with You must be evident in all parts of our life, and not just when we are at church, or around Christian people, or when we are trying to impress our pastor. In leadership, normally we are bound to allegiance to the owner of our company, but Lord I pray that You will also give us the boldness to always pledge our allegiance to You first and foremost, and under the authority and boldness of the Holy Spirit, lead in ways that will not only please You, but also excite our owners. Lord, please grant us the wisdom and strength to always seek to find ways for others to not only see You in the midst of our leadership, but to also find reasons to praise You and give You the glory You deserve. Thank You for working through even Your humble servants here on earth! 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!

How To Become A Great Leader

On 2017-11-152017-11-15 By Ed AlgreenIn Church Leaders, Example of Christ, Genuine example of Jesus, Godly example, Government Leaders, Leader, Leadership, Leadership of the Holy SpiritLeave a comment

Post Date:	Wednesday, 2017-11-15
SCRIPTURE
From:	2 Samuel 23:3-4 (NIV)
Text:	³The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, ⁴he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth.’
OBSERVATION:
God used David to declare to him, and through him to all of us, that when we rule over others in righteousness, or in a manner obedient and pleasing to God, then the result will be as satisfying, as peaceful and as beautiful as a clear cloudless morning. Does this affect all of us? You bet….
APPLICATION:
Many of you might have almost skipped reading the application today, because you concluded that you are not a leader or a ruler. This is exactly what caught my attention to this Scripture, for most of us are leaders in some sense, so we can really try to apply this. As an example, what would our workplaces look like, if there was no leadership in the homes of those that work for us? What would our county leaders do, or any other leaders of our nation for that matter, if they had no sense of righteousness or fear of God? I believe that this drills down to the fact that what comes out of us in speech or leadership, can only be based on what’s inside of us. If we have filled ourselves with hatred and ill will towards our neighbors and everyone else along our path to ‘success’, then we will lead with that same sort of attitude. It will become evident in the decisions we make and the choices we make. It will also reflect in any voting that we are a part of. So pastors, church leaders and fellow Christians, it is truly incumbent upon us to reach our families for Christ. We have to encourage righteousness right at the very beginning of a child’s development. For it’s only then that our young ones will become good leaders in their homes, workplaces, churches and in government. David was called a ‘man after God’s own heart’. With a heart like that, is it any wonder why he was also a great king/leader? We have a great example to follow in what Jesus taught, but we also have evidence that we can follow His teachings and become great leaders!
PRAYER:
Lord God, thank You for including so much direction in Your Word for us. There are so many leadership conferences we could attend, yet You have all of the direction for leaders that we could ever need or use. Thank You for raising up saints to prove that Your plan works, otherwise we would be so very skeptical. Please continue to work on us, so that Your light might shine through us, even in our leadership. May You have the victory in everything that we do and say today. 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!

Nuggets From God's Word

Category: Leadership of the Holy Spirit