Live Worthy of God’s Calling

On 2023-03-142023-03-14 By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Adoration, Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Awesome God, Beyond Description, Blessing, Celebrate God, How to Live, Live in peace, Needs, Praise, Praise-worthy, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED: Tuesday, 2023-03-14
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT: With this in mind, we constantly pray that our God will empower you to live worthy of all that he has invited you to experience. And we pray that by his power all the pleasures of goodness and all works inspired by faith would fill you completely. By doing this the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you will be glorified in him, by the marvelous grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

OBSERVATION: When God calls you to be His child, diligently pursue what it means to be adopted by God. When God calls you to preach, or teach, or pray, or visit the sick, or evangelize your city, be diligent in seeking how you can give God your very best and accomplish all that He has asked you to do. In the preceding verses, Paul had just explained what it will look like for the saved, and the unsaved, when Jesus returns. Although not pretty for the unsaved, Paul wanted the church to know that he was constantly praying for them. What will you do in preparation for Christ’s return?

APPLICATION: Many believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for who He is and for what He can do for them. But there comes a time when each of us must decide who it is that we will follow and allow to be our master. The way this works is that when you become of age and able to understand the dangers of this world and its leader – Satan, and you do nothing about accepting a different, better, more loving, more moral, godlier leader, then you have accepted the fate of the evil one. God created us, and He wants the very best for His dear children, but He is quite the gentleman and therefore allows us to make our own life decisions. However, God made us smart enough to understand the consequences of our decisions. That’s why, in the preceding verses God permitted Paul to show no pity on those who know differently but decide to sin anyway. Today, mankind is no different to the ones Paul referred to in our Scripture today, other than we should not only learn from the words expressed in God’s Book, but also from the millions of saints and sinners who have gone on before us. Paul knew the temptations that saints would face while here on earth among wolves – Satan and his demons, so he vowed to always keep his church in his prayers. If one is saved and they struggle to see the difference in their lives, they may struggle with that, so Paul vowed to pray that God would empower each one to live worthy of all that God has called us to experience. As I meditated on that, I could only imagine that many of us take our decision to follow Christ way too lightly. We accept Jesus, because we felt His tug on the door of our heart; because we know that He loves us more than anyone has, or ever can love us; because we have heard, possibly seen, and actually experienced God’s healing in the life of others in need, and we want to experience the power of such an awesome God. But then what? Do we just continue life as before, knowing that we have an awesome power in reserve somewhere? I hope not, for there are millions out there who need that same Savior in their lives. When God saves us, He gives us a special gift. We don’t hide any other gifts in the sand so we could have it later in life, we put it to good use. The gift of salvation, and the gift of the Holy Spirit living inside of us, were meant to help us live like Jesus. You see, we may have heard of Jesus through going to church over years of church attendance and out of tradition. But many don’t go to church, so how will they hear about Jesus? Paul tells the church in our Scripture today, that he is praying that we would live our lives worthy of the calling to which God has called us. I believe that some have been called to serve in our churches in a fulltime profession. But I don’t believe they were called to do church for us. God wants us to let the world know who Jesus is to us – by the way we live. I believe that Paul discerned the need to pray for us in this respect, because if we feel it is ok to one day join with the guys at the local bar and drink ourselves into a drunken stupor, or cut up with the girls, all while our wife is at home caring for our children, then on the following day try to witness to a coworker about the love of Jesus, what type of witness did we display for them on who Jesus is? You see, others won’t just look at a given moment in life to discern from us who Jesus is, but they will look at our lives during the good times and in the challenging times; under stress and in total calm; on Sunday and on Monday. Will they see enough good evidence to truly know who Jesus is? If so, then I encourage you to join with Paul in praying for our church and its members, because I could guarantee you that not everyone can do as good as you! As a closing thought, please allow me to encourage you to stand firm in your faith and do the work you feel God has called you to do. If it’s cleaning the church, do it as unto the Lord. If it’s teaching Bible School, do it after complete study and making sure that you have applied the teaching to your life before trying to convince others of the need to apply it. Do let others see Jesus in you – your words, actions, lifestyle, consistency and in your obedience to God. Don’t waiver from the truth of God’s Word, just do life like Jesus did, and in obedience to all that He taught us to do, God being your helper.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: May the name of our Lord Jesus be glorified in you, and you be glorified in Him, by the marvelous grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ!

PRAYER: ‘Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on’. I love that old hymn because it reminds me of how dependent I am on You oh Lord. It’s only through Your power and Your strength that I could possibly be an example of You to others. But Lord, there are so many who need You in their lives. Give each reader, listener and Christian an extra portion of grace to be all that You have called them to be. Although many will refuse to pick up their Bibles, or to attend a Bible-teaching church, I pray that they will see enough of Jesus in us to desire a relationship with You. Use us Lord for Your kingdom, and for Your glory. 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!

Your Umpire In Life

On 2023-01-272023-01-27 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Live in peace, Needs, Peace, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Friday, 2023-01-27
WRITTEN AT: Live Oak, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Colossians 3:15-17
TRANSLATION: Amplified Bible (AMP)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹⁵Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always]. ¹⁶Let the [spoken] word of Christ have its home within you [dwelling in your heart and mind—permeating every aspect of your being] as you teach [spiritual things] and admonish and train one another with all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷Whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus [and in dependence on Him], giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

APPLICATION: Isn’t it interesting how young men and women will get on a ballfield, play a game together, and quickly overlook the rules of unity and teamwork when they don’t get their own way? However, when an umpire has control of the game, players know the rule – you either respect and obey the umpire or you will be kicked out of the game. Like the umpire, God demands our respect and obedience when His peace comes over us and fills our heart. Now, just to be sure that we don’t pick up that phrase and use it arbitrarily in our lives to make it sound to the world like we have a keen sense of hearing God’s approval on our decisions, I must remind you that God will never give you peace in your heart about something that is contrary to what He has commanded in His Word. I believe it is interesting that this lesson comes immediately before God teaches us how married men, married women, children and workers will succeed in life – the answers to peace in their lives and relationships. Friends, if you have accepted Jesus as Lord of your life, then you have basically asked Him to lord over you and call the shots in your life. Since He created you, He knows about the intricate design He placed within you and therefore how you will understand when there is peace in your heart about a decision you want to make, vs when uneasiness abounds. God gave us His Book of Instruction – the Bible, to be our rule book, reminders, and our voice from the Almighty. As we study God’s Word about a subject, and we feel that sweet assurance that we understand what God has taught us, then He will quickly bring back that teaching to us when we need it most. What we must be very careful about, is that there are two voices out there. While we are in the world, its leader (Satan) will be actively trying to steal our heart from his enemy, God. Satan will tell us exactly what we want to hear, and we may say that we have ‘peace of heart’ about something. But for the child of God, who is in close communion with our Savior, it will be very much like a married couple who, after so many years, can finish each other’s sentences. This is because they know each other’s heart, their likes and dislikes, and what they stand for. If you say you accepted Jesus as Lord, yet you have no relationship with Him, how do you commune with Him? How do you receive confirmation, or peace of heart, from Him on decisions you want to make? Who will keep you on the straight and narrow way while here on earth? Unfortunately, we receive only added stress, worry, hatred and disloyalty to one another when we depend only on what transpires in our lives each day without Jesus Christ. Decisions that are based on these emotions and egged on by Satan and his demons, will only lead to more stress, more worry, more hatred, continued disloyalty and unrest. But when we place our hand in the hand of the one who created us and the beauty of the world around us, we can soon feel comfort in the power of the One who holds us in the palm of His hand. Being assured of God’s love for us, will lead us to live out that love to our family, neighbors, coworkers and the world. This gives us peace within and gives us enough peace to share with others who need Jesus. This replenishes our heart where songs of praise come from, and where our hearts are revived to a deep desire to know God better so that we might live out His qualities in everything we extend to others.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: The formula for peace is made clear for us – let Jesus Christ be the controlling factor in our hearts! Peace with God results in the peace of God. Filled with that peace, we can pass that along to others that we come into contact with.

PRAYER: Lord, this life is filled with so much stress and evil that is greater than anything we can handle. Thank you for this promise of peace that comes from You, that gives us a calm assurance of whose we are and where we are going. Like all good news, we want to share this joy with those that we come into contact with, so Lord I implore You to strengthen my readers, listeners and I with Your peace that surpasses all human understanding. Open the eyes of the unsaved that we will meet today. May they desire Your peace because of the evidence of it in our lives. Please help them to know Christ and know peace! AMEN!

The Effects Of Your Sin

On 2021-09-05 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Live in peace, Love, Love others, Love your Neighbor, Needs, Peace, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Sunday, 2021-09-05
WRITTEN AT: Sebring, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Joshua 22:16-18
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹⁶All of the Lord’s people have gathered together and have sent us to find out why you are unfaithful to our God. You have turned your backs on the Lord by building that altar. Why are you rebelling against him? ¹⁷Wasn’t our people’s sin at Peor terrible enough for you? The Lord punished us by sending a horrible sickness that killed many of us, and we still suffer because of that sin. ¹⁸Now you are turning your backs on the Lord again. If you don’t stop rebelling against the Lord right now, he will be angry at the whole nation.

APPLICATION: When disaster strikes, the impact of that terrible time will often stick with us much longer than we care to even think about. In Peor, the Israelites saw many of their leaders killed, and also many of their own people – over 24,000 of them. Because of their unfaithfulness to God, that resulted in them creating idols and worshipping them, there was a time of desperation and mourning because of the loss of life and hurt throughout their camp, even though they were not necessarily a part of the evil they were doing. But just as we try to shy away from things that caused previous hurts, the hearts of the Israelites were immediately affected when they heard of some of their fellow tribes building another altar. They had already decided that they would go to war over this infraction, but before they did, they wanted to try and work out the problem in love first. So they sent a contingent of leaders to speak with the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh. There are a few lessons for us in this story: 1). The sin that we commit will often have a detrimental effect on others. Stay true to God and to each other by considering everyone before you go out and commit crimes that will affect them; 2). Nip the problem in the bud immediately. Don’t let it fester and allow you to build animosity against your neighbor. Remember, it is always good to consider the heart of an innocent Brother in a situation before forging forward with your own selfish desires. Loved ones can and will be impacted by your selfish and angry motives; 3). Always try to resolve matters diplomatically and in love before you start a war that you will soon regret.
Notice that the contingent not only satisfied their own minds about what they thought was a huge issue, but they were able to return to their own tribes and speak favorably about their neighboring tribes. It is always better to be the encourager and peacemaker, rather than the agitator who arouses the anger of those opposed to a situation to which they don’t have all the facts. I learned as a child that you will either through gas on a fire already inflamed, or you could through water to extinguish the fire. For as much as lies within you, be a peacemaker rather than one who creates a war that will impact many other innocent members of your group, family and/or friends.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: The Israelites were ready for war against their neighboring tribesmen, but they did all within their power to avoid war and death. Often our actions could create war, but by the grace of God, may we all strive for peace and goodwill in order to protect the innocent.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I believe that we were created to live in peace and with hearts filled with love, like our Maker. Please intervene when the evil one interferes and raises up anger in our hearts. Help us to always stand for what is right without ever building animosity for the one destined to do life by following their own inclination. May the lesson learned from the Israelites who tried to stop, what appeared to be evil in the making, be an ongoing example for Your children today. May the world see that Jesus is alive and well, because they see You at work in the lives of Your children. AMEN!

Commit to Peace and Unity!

On 2020-10-262020-10-25 By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, Dedicated, Dedication, Live in peace, Peace, Surrender, UnityLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Monday, 2020-10-26
WRITTEN AT: Lillian, AL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 2 Corinthians 13:11-12 (TPT)

TEXT: ¹¹….. beloved friends, be cheerful! Repair whatever is broken among you, as your hearts are being knit together in perfect unity. Live continually in peace, and God, the source of love and peace, will mingle with you. ¹²Greet and embrace one another with the sacred kiss.

OBSERVATION: Paul, who went through a miraculous conversion into Christendom, had spent quality time with his friends at Corinth. He had also written several letters to them in between trips, just to encourage the new converts and help them stay strong in their faith, with their new-found Savior. At the conclusion of his letter, Paul gave some excellent advice, that I believe not only helped those believers in Corinth, but because churches today are still facing very similar challenges, I believe that this advice is still very applicable to us today.

APPLICATION: So often we look for Christian advice in the Bible, but then question every other resource for ways to do better in our family, friends and work life. I believe that you will find this Scripture helpful to you in general, so listen closely to the word of God. In earlier days of the church, some Might recall days, and sometimes weeks of revival services and/or evangelistic services, where there was a strong emphasis on reviving the saints and evangelizing the lost of the community. Because of the strong emphasis on prayer leading up to and during the times of these special services, there was usually a very strong presence of the Holy Spirit and many lives were impacted. Often at the end of the services, there was a sense of sadness to see the services end, so at the parting service there would be very similar sentiments, and challenges offered like these that Paul shared with his followers. Why was revival services needed? I believe that the answer is summed up in a phrase that I heard an old pastor say: “because, as Christians, we tend to leak!” Friends, it is very challenging to keep a good healthy church surviving as such, for there are many personalities working together – or at times against one another. There are so many who feel like they have all the right answers and therefore they should be the boss in most areas of the church. There are so many with chips on their shoulder, and if you only look at them seriously they may become very upset and threaten to leave the church, because they figured out exactly what that look meant! Aren’t most of these things very, very silly? Think about the one true God, whose Son we endeavor to exemplify. Jesus came into an imperfect world, as the perfect Son of God, filled with godly wisdom, and with love for everyone, as only God Himself could do. And this perfect Savior, He taught among the elite of society, as well as carefully and lovingly attending to those in need along the street and in the crowds that followed Him. He healed those that we may have considered ‘worthy’ and some who we tend to disassociate with, because they may not be ‘just like us’. He ate with sinners, and He chose some to follow Him that many would have turned up their noses at. However, for those of us that have accepted Jesus as Lord, and are committed to His teachings and commands, we strive to be just like Him. Why then do we tend to be so much unlike Him in so many ways? Are we still that needy, or is it that we have not totally turned away from our earthly master yet? In verse 11 of today’s Scripture, Paul warns us that we should repair whatever is broken among us. I believe this starts with our relationship with our Lord, for if we have a healthy relationship with Him, He will direct our paths, if we let Him, and that includes relationships with one another. Friends, here’s how important I believe this is: If we expect to be instrumental in our family and friends’ lives, to encourage them into a relationship with our Lord, then we must be living like Jesus. We could ‘tell’ them all we want, but unless they see it evident in our lives, they won’t listen to, or follow us. How much is a soul worth to you? There is absolutely nothing more important to me than to see my family and friends make a decision to follow Christ. When they, and me, leave this world, I want us all to be ready to meet Jesus in the air! I hope that you feel the same way!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, we need You more today than ever before. I believe that Paul realized how much impact Satan was having on Your children in his day, and I’m sure Satan is still impacting the lives of our people today. Lord, I know that You are such a strong and awesome God and that there is nothing that You can’t handle, so I beg You to work miracles in the lives of Your children – embolden us to be more like you in our character, our words and our actions. Humble the hearts of the proud into total surrender to You. I know that we don’t have a perfect world, but I am convinced that we have a perfect God, so I beg with You to work on us imperfect beings, all for benefit of Your kingdom, AMEN!

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

Live Worthy of the People God Has Chosen

On 2020-07-17 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Humble, Live in peace, Needs, Peace, Praise, Recognize God, Worship, WorthyLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Friday, 2020-07-17
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: Ephesians 4:1-6
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own. ²Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other. ³Try your best to let God’s Spirit keep your hearts united. Do this by living at peace. ⁴All of you are part of the same body. There is only one Spirit of God, just as you were given one hope when you were chosen to be God’s people. ⁵We have only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. ⁶There is one God who is the Father of all people. Not only is God above all others, but he works by using all of us, and he lives in all of us.

OBSERVATION: If I was asked to live like an ‘Algreen’, I would probably evaluate often if I am living out the lessons and character traits taught To me by my parents, and I would hope that others might see enough of those characteristics in me that they may even recognize me as an Algreen! I wonder, is that the way it is in our Christian walk? That’s something for us to think about as we meditate on these verses, and on the advice that Paul gave to the Ephesian church.

APPLICATION: In raising kids, it seems like it would take daily repeating ourselves to embed the character traits and advice that we wanted implanted in our kids, so that they could not only grow up to be like us, but to be respected in the community, and among their friends. Of course, this could only be achieved or worthwhile if we ourselves are perfect. But ‘perfect’ in your eyes, might be different to ‘perfect’ in my opinion. That’s why we need a plum line – something/someone that is truly perfect, and I believe that might be the explanation on why Paul chose to tell the church how God would have them, and us, live, especially among other people. So let’s examine the characteristics that Paul gave to us:
~ Be Humble and Gentle – I believe that a humble person is one who respects and appreciates the strengths of another person, and could love them in spite of the overwhelming strengths recognized in them. To be gentle, is having the ability to deal with others without giving them the impression that you’re a ‘know-it-all’ and that you are superior to them. No one appreciates an overpowering, know-it-all type of person, and we try to stay our distance from them, to avoid getting upset or mad at them. Being Humble and Gentle means that you will be deliberate about seeing the strengths of another person, while laying aside your own;
~ Patiently put up with each other and love them – so often we see so much wrong with others, that we tend to overlook what our own weaknesses and wrongs are. Some Bible translations say that we are to be tolerant with others. Friends, I believe that Paul was really trying to say that when one imperfect individual tries to meet and evaluate another imperfect individual, we will find flaws. But think about this: if each person has one thing in common, the Lord Jesus – the only perfect One, then how dare us credit ourselves with anything else than ‘servant of the Most High God’? So as we meet others, yes even with their flaws, let’s remember that we too have more than our share of flaws. So you will have to be overlooked for your weaknesses, just as much as I would have to be for mine! Let’s remember that everyone is equal at the foot of the cross – sinners saved by God’s grace, alone;
~ Let God’s Spirit keep us united – Paul gives us the source of our strength to accomplish this characteristic – the Holy Spirit, and Paul tells us how to accomplish this – through peace. Know that although we may often go to meet with someone and be ready for battle, God wants us to be ready for, and determined to be ready for, peace?
Friends, our Scripture reminds us that God called us to be His own. This means that He wanted us to be His very own. We are also reminded that Jesus practiced unity, love, forgiveness, humility and peace in every aspect of His life while here on earth. So we should never question if it’s possible for us to do so, Jesus already proved to us that it is! Most importantly, I believe that God shared these words with us through His servant Paul, because He wanted the world to see that with the power of God inside of us, we can do even those things that seem impossible to mere man. For with God, all things are possible!

PRAYER: Dear God, Your Word is so precious, for it shows us the error of our ways, the weaknesses of our minds and the unfortunate power that we allow the evil one to have in our lives. Praise God, Your Word also shows us that with the power of the Holy Spirit inside of us, we could be more than conquerors, and therefore depend on You to help us live our lives like children who have been called by the God of this universe, to walk, talk, and love those that might be just like us, or even worse. We obviously need You today and everyday to help us live just like You and in every respect like You taught us in Your Word. May You rule in the lives of my readers and myself today and everyday, for Your glory, honor and praise. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org 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 or listening to this devotional, please go to 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. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. 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!

Benefits of Peace with God

On 2018-08-08 By Ed AlgreenIn Control, Dedication, Live in peace, Peace, RelationshipLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE FROM: Philippians 4:5-7 (VOICE)

TEXT: 5 Keep your gentle nature so that all people will know what it looks like to walk in His footsteps. The Lord is ever present with us. 6 Don’t be anxious about things; instead, pray. Pray about everything. He longs to hear your requests, so talk to God about your needs and be thankful for what has come. 7 And know that the peace of God (a peace that is beyond any and all of our human understanding) will stand watch over your hearts and minds in Jesus, the Anointed One.

OBSERVATION: Paul, a coworker and friend had worked alongside the Philippians, and had seen their struggles, weaknesses, and their needs and wants. Paul also heard from God that for his Philippian followers, or any of us today, to succeed in staying close to the Savior, of whom he preached and wrote about, we need to be reminded that it all begins, endures and ends with the relationship we develop with God. Let’s look into where and how this may help us today…

APPLICATION: Based on our distractions today, and our selfish desire for more personal time, things and belongings, I believe that we could identify with where the Philippians may have been in their life-standards. So placing ourselves squarely at Jesus’ feet, and listening intently to His precious Word that He provided for our growth and benefit, how might we grow from this scripture today? Friends, I believe that although we may frequent our respective churches and the many services and programs they have developed in order to enrich our lives here on earth, yet we tend to become engulfed in the wants and desires of this world. We tend to constantly want more, go more places and be the kind of person that our society looks on as ‘successful’. However, as a child of God, we surrendered our lives to the Savior so that His goodness, mercy and grace may be evident in our daily walk. So as we meditate on this scripture, I believe we must look deeply into all that Paul is teaching us, so that we may look more like Christ than anything this world has to offer. First of all, I believe that Paul is teaching about the importance of having a gentle spirit, so that people around us would know what a true son/daughter of God really looks like. Now as you meditate on that, you may ponder what do you need to change in your life. Friends, if you change something, it will most lightly be a change from one bad habit or character flaw, to another much like it. I believe that what Paul is teaching here, is that we surrender our will to that of our heavenly Father, and allow Him to change us from the inside out. It is only then that the world begins to see God in us. Notice some of the other things that we are to concentrate on: a). Don’t be anxious about anything – after all, if we allow God to take control, then we must depend on Him, and accept the good and the bad – all as part of His perfect will. And if that be the case, what’s the need in worrying? Let’s learn to let go, and let God! b). Pray about everything – When dealing with a child, we want them to run everything by us so we could be sure they make decisions and do things that align with our principles. If we truly want God to have full control of our lives, then we will follow the same principles that we expect of our children. Communicating with God is through prayer. Let’s make it commonplace in our lives. c). Thankfulness – It’s good to ask God for direction and help, but even better to celebrate in return, through expressing our thankfulness to Him and making it evident in our actions with others, that we are a thankful people. Friends, there is one huge thing that results from living a life dedicated to Jesus Christ – He fills us with a peace way beyond our wildest expectations. And Paul declares that our Savior watches over our hearts and minds – in other words: He controls the gateway, or the origination of our words and actions! I need this peace each and every day friends, how about you? It takes surrender to the Master, for we can’t do our own thing and expect Him to do His thing through us also.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, we are your masterpiece, for we were created in the image of God. I believe that you intended that to especially be in word and deed. We have lots that we could blame our failures on in these areas, but I believe it is more important that we cut to the chase and seek Your face so that we may be better aligned with Your will for our lives. Lord, please resume control of our lives, both for our peace and for Your glory. May this world be drawn to You because of what they see in us, and may they never be hindered in their walk with You, because of our weaknesses. AMEN!

How To Live Freely and Unconcerned

On 2018-03-062018-03-06 By Ed AlgreenIn How to Live, Live in peaceLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE FROM: Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)

TEXT: ^28-30“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

OBSERVATION: Our God is so caring about us, that He recognizes when we are getting at the end of our rope on life’s issues. Extraordinary issues normally require extraordinary attention and care, and normally by someone or something outside of your daily routine, since that’s what caused you to become despondent in the first place. Our God is an awesome God, and no one cares for us like He does, so let’s look to Him for answers on this dilemma.

APPLICATION: I’m sure that many of us can identify with being tired, for we all seem to be over-committed and overworked. And what do we tend to do about that, see a doctor or a therapist? But don’t they most often recommend that we exercise more, and try to distract our brains from the same old routine – which may stress some folk out even more? The other matter addressed in verse 28 speaks to being burned out on religion. For those heavily involved in church work, I bet you can identify with this one, for it seems like we are often involved in one ministry and often multiple ministries. Outside of that we often are committed to more than one committee with several projects or concerns at one time, correct? Well you see what today’s Scripture reads, but let me share an example for you to consider: A friend, who was a pastor at one time, started a new ministry as a result of something he felt led to try with his church leaders. He planned a weekend retreat, and here’s what he did: He and his group arrived at the retreat location with an empty sheet for the agenda. He shared with the group, that they will seek God’s face through His all-powerful Word (the Bible), and they would pray as they are led to do so by God, or they would sing praises to God as also led by Him. From an empty agenda, they were soon inundated with Scripture, prayer and singing out on a mountain top with no cell phones or other matters to worry about, but merely one-on-one time with God. Friends, when God says to us that we should learn to get alone with Him and share our burdens and concerns with Him – perhaps about why we feel so tired, or worn out, or so overwhelmed in ministry. Perhaps then we might see His wonderful face and be reminded through His love and care, why our mission is so important and understand more clearly that when we allow God to be a vital part of our lives and ministry, how rewarding it is. Oh that we might see people in our church, our community, our family and our friends reaching out to the Creator of this universe! I believe that not only will God be glorified, but this will bring peace, contentment, and rejoicing to us, instead of added stress with its associated burdens. It’s all about God friends. Let Him be God. Allow Him to use us in the process of winning people to the Lord and rejoicing in Him as we see Him glorified by all the people! Let’s strive for peaceful times with God, away from the hustle and bustle of this world, so that we might enjoy times of freedom and contentment in Him. Oh that we might be encouraged and prompted along in the ministry in which He has placed us to serve.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for being so available to us. Thank You for caring enough for Your children that You encouraged us to find peace in You for You alone are our Shepherd, our Lord, our Majesty, our King and our Deliverer. As we seek to draw close to You, we will live in freedom and without the burdens of this world. Thank You Lord for helping us to find that peace, especially in the stresses of life that bombard us each day. Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, AMEN!

Strive For Peace

On 2017-05-20 By Ed AlgreenIn Live in peace, PeaceLeave a comment

Post Date:	Saturday, 2017-05-20
SCRIPTURE
From:	Psalm 34:13-16 (GNT)
Text:	¹³Then keep from speaking evil and from telling lies. ¹⁴Turn away from evil and do good; strive for peace with all your heart. ¹⁵The Lord watches over the righteous and listens to their cries; ¹⁶but he opposes those who do evil, so that when they die, they are soon forgotten.
OBSERVATION:
No doubt the people of David’s day were no different to us, for he pleaded with them, as he does for us, to look for ways to live in peace. In fact, David tells us that our God is a God of love and He therefore blesses those who love one another, and who creates an atmosphere of love. David assures us that God is so opposed to those who don’t follow His plan to love and live peaceably together, that He does nothing to bless them here on earth, and that He ensures that they are soon forgotten when they die.
APPLICATION:
I’m sure that as you read these verses, there are some folk who come to your mind. In fact you may even be reminded of how it feels in your own home, or church, or workplace when there is unrest. Countries go to war over unrest and many are often killed as a result of the battles that ensue. Homes are destroyed, bringing ill fate to couples and this often results in troubled children. Families are separated, with years of unhappiness and many situations of losing touch with each other. Friends, unless we live in peace with one another, we tend to create unrest instead of peace and love. Please let’s learn to hold our tongue and look for ways to promote peace. When we do this under the guidance and help of our Lord, and live in a manner that imitates His life here on earth, we are bound to create peace instead of strife. Verse 14 is God’s words to us, telling us to strive for, and make every effort to, ignore what the world or the devil tells us to do, and promote peace, in as much as we are concerned. Please notice that nothing is said about conditions for us to act this way. In other words, the Bible teaches just the opposite, for we are taught to love and live peaceably in every way that we can, and that means that we do this when folk are loving and kind back to us, or even if they continue to act like Satan himself. That’s why we need the overflowing love, and power of Christ inside of us, for only through His awesome grace and power can we strive for peace with folk who are bound and determined to destroy us or break down our good intentions. So friends, it’s up to us. With God’s help we can do this!
PRAYER:
Lord, it is very evident that what the world needs most is to have more folk living exactly as described through Your servant David. Please humble and enable us to be more like You every day, and give us the strength and grace to do this in spite of the attitude or intent of the other party. Lord, please unite our families, our churches, our towns and our country, so that we may one day look more like, and act like You in every way. Most will know that You are King when they see us allowing You to rule and reign through our lives. Please grant us the will to live in peace and love with one another. 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!

A Nation Blessed By God

On 2016-07-08 By Ed AlgreenIn Humble, Humility, Live in peace, Peace, PrayerLeave a comment

Friday, 2016-07-08

Scripture

Bible Reference: Zechariah 8:15–17

Bible Text: 15 I am determined to bless Jerusalem and the people of Judah. So don’t be afraid. 16 But this is what you must do: Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace. 17 Don’t scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all these things, says the LORD.”

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

I believe that the blessing that God had for Jerusalem is a good indication of the blessing He has in store for your nation today friends, but I believe that the warnings and conditions are just as applicable. We serve a holy and righteous God, and I believe that His Word clearly shows us that He will not condone sin, unrighteousness and unfaithfulness. In fact, in these verses God declares to the people of Jerusalem what He is looking for, and I believe that these things are still applicable to us today. Here are a few things that God demands of a nation expecting to be blessed by Him:

Tell the truth to each other – another scripture says that we should let our yes be yes and our no be no. Never give a reason for doubt in anything you say, knowing that it is the truth and nothing but the truth. It is a rare thing today for folk to trust everything we say. This would be a clear indication to them that God must be influencing us;
In your courts, render fair decisions that lead to peace – I don’t believe that this indicates that our judges must let things slide, but I do believe it means that they should judge fairly, and without bias or prejudice, based on the laws of the land. When the law is fairly placed on everyone, in spite of their skin color or their financial means, then the people will live in peace knowing that they have been fairly judged;
Don’t ever plan evil things against others or tell lies under oath – When we scheme to hurt someone or treat them unfairly, we often bring in other sins that tend to help us apply the planned evil. God will have no part of that. When we love someone back into our good graces, our relationship will last much longer and blossom with goodness and joy!

Friends, think about it. For God to bless our respective countries even when the above sins are blatant, is like asking Him to turn the other cheek and let us have our own way, without regard for His holy instructions for us. I want to encourage Christians to stand tall in your faith; know what God demands of us and our nations; and pray daily for the growth and stability of God’s church, as this would be our encouragement to know that our prayers are being answered for our nation. 2 Chronicles 7:14 might be a good scripture to pin in a spot that will be a visible reminder to you every day, that if our people will humble themselves and pray, then God will……

Prayer

Dear God, please touch Your children once again today, please? For Your Word is very clear what we must do in order to see Your rich blessings poured out on us, yet we continue to live such sinful lives without proper regard for the King of all kings. Every time we listen to the news, we hear of such horrific happenings. Please help us to not shrug off these things to a God who must have forgotten us, but instead help us to look inward, and to look to Your Word for guidance as to what must be blocking our blessing. We are reminded that You will not bless or condone sin. Please help us to example righteous living before our unsaved family, friends and coworkers, for we may be the only ‘Jesus’ that they will have eyes for that day. Your Word is a lamp unto our feet – please help us to take that literally and seek to follow the way prescribed for us in Your Word. May You be glorified in us today, is my humble prayer that I ask in the name of the only holy and righteous One who set the example for us, 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!

Live Today With The End In Mind

On 2016-04-292016-04-29 By Ed AlgreenIn Exemplary Living, Live in peace, Without SinLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? You will be encouraged to live in the light of eternity each and every day. We can do this friends! Read on for your ‘Nugget’ from God!

Today’s Bible Reference: 2 Peter 3:10-14
Today’s Bible Text: ¹⁰The day of the Lord is surely coming, as unexpectedly as a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the heavenly bodies will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be burned up. ¹¹And so since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives we should be living! ¹²You should look forward to that day and hurry it along—the day when God will set the heavens on fire, and the heavenly bodies will melt and disappear in flames. ¹³But we are looking forward to God’s promise of new heavens and a new earth afterwards, where there will be only goodness.¹⁴Dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen and for him to come, try hard to live without sinning; and be at peace with everyone so that he will be pleased with you when he returns.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: Without sounding too morbid today, I just want to say how interesting it is how loved ones react to the passing of their relatives. I have seen cases where close relatives want to be near to their loved ones during this time, while others rather remember them as they were. Some relatives cry and react boisterously while others mourn silently and barely shed a tear. I believe a lot that affects the reaction of loved ones is based on the relationship that the mourner and the deceased had while both were alive. There will come a time when all life here on earth will end, and Peter wants us to catch a glimpse of what to expect at that time. For those with a purpose – a plan to be with the Master of this universe throughout eternity, we are advised to live without sinning and be at peace with everyone, while we wait for God to put His plan into motion, so that He will be pleased with us when He returns to take us home to heaven with Him. Friends, I sincerely believe that if we know Jesus as Lord, we will have a very strong desire to do just this. I believe that our daily lives will be examples of what we learn about Jesus in His Word. I believe that we will live in anticipation of the day that He returns to gather His church together for the most exciting last trip of our lives! I believe our Master will return soon, because He has given us certain landmarks, or indicators that will signal His return. May I encourage you today to live without sinning (opposing God’s commands) and be at peace with everyone today? This will be a strong indication of your faith in the Word of God, for our study verses today indicate that this will be an indicator of whose you are and the goal you are striving to achieve. Be faithful and true to the Master, friend!

Prayer: Dear God, thank You for a place called Heaven, that You have prepared just for us! Thank You also for providing a way for us get to our eternal home with You. In our study today You have reminded us that we have certain responsibilities to fulfill while we wait to be with You. Please bless us with Your presence today Lord, so that we might live in the light of our eternal destination in the presence and care of our Lord and Savior. Father, please speak again to my family and friends who do not know You as Savior. May they make the most important decision in life, this day, please? We depend on You daily to teach us Your ways so that we may live according to Your will and in full reflection of all that You did while here on earth. I ask these things in the name of Jesus, and fro His glory, 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

Category: Live in peace