Category: Living with purpose

The Reason I Live

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christian Living, Exemplary Living, Heaven, Holy Living, Living with purpose, Righteous LivingLeave a comment

Thursday, 2020-01-23

Bible Reference: Philippians 1:20-24
Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

Bible Text: 20 For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that will cause me to be ashamed of myself but that I will always be ready to speak out boldly for Christ while I am going through all these trials here, just as I have in the past; and that I will always be an honor to Christ, whether I live or whether I must die. 21 For to me, living means opportunities for Christ, and dying—well, that’s better yet! 22 But if living will give me more opportunities to win people to Christ, then I really don’t know which is better, to live or die! 23 Sometimes I want to live, and at other times I don’t, for I long to go and be with Christ. How much happier for me than being here! 24 But the fact is that I can be of more help to you by staying!

OBSERVATION: We are often so sad over the death of a loved one, and rightfully so, for we worry about how we will survive everyday life without them. But in our Scripture today, Paul directs us to consider our value while alive and also after we move from this life to the next. Paul found it very challenging to determine if his life was more valuable here on earth, or with His heavenly Father. As we meditate, let’s not be concerned about what we could get out of either side of heaven, but rather, what we might give – for the sake of the Master.

APPLICATION: Of special note regarding this scripture: Paul is in prison at the time of this writing! So if Paul has the fortitude and determination to live so that He could do more of the Master’s work, even from within four prison walls, how much more those of us who are ‘free’ should be striving to do the Master’s work? Friends, we whine and we complain about so much, but do we should really have the heart of Jesus, or of Paul, in wanting to see as many won to the Lord as possible? In the above scripture, I bolded a few sentences that, I believe, is worthy of note:
* Living means opportunities for Christ – it is only while we have breath in our bodies that we can be witnesses for the Lord, or care about sinners. Let’s not wait any longer friends, we’re on the winning side and it is our privilege, our honor, and our responsibility to share the Good News of our Savior and Lord;
* Living will give more opportunities to win people to Christ – Often we will find that it’s the threat of impending death that gives us incentive to share the love of Christ that lives inside of us. Please allow me to awaken  you to the fact that we have no assurances about the next minute. The moment of opportunity is the present. Please share the love of Christ who lives inside of you with all that you care about and/or come into contact with today!
* I can be of more help to you by staying – Only Jesus Christ has power beyond the grave. He is allowing us to remain here on earth so that we can glorify Him and spread the Good News about the Savior who loved us enough to die for us. In a nutshell friend, this is our mission!
Friends, we remain on this earth to be shining examples of our Lord Jesus Christ.  It’s not about politics, gossip, sports, the lotto or any other purpose, so use every opportunity with everyone you know, that the reason you live is to represent Jesus, and try to evangelize the lost, before it is eternally too late.

PRAYER: The reason that I live is …….. Lord, as we complete that sentence today in humility and prayer before You, I ask that You will take those completed sentences and correct any misgivings about our mission, compared to the one You have assigned to us. I am pretty convinced that our mission is similar in nature to what Paul shared with the Philippians, because throughout Your Word we are told the importance of surrendering our lives to You, so that we, in turn, may be a blessing to others and convince them of their need for our Savior. Please work on us today and guide us to do Your perfect will, for this is my sincere and humble plea. It’s in Your beautiful and bountiful name that I ask all this, dear Jesus, AMEN!

Let The Holy Spirit Flow Thru You

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Living with purpose, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2019-10-23

Bible Reference: John 7:37-39
Translation: New Century Version (NCV)

Bible Text: 37 On the last and most important day of the feast Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 If anyone believes in me, rivers of living water will flow out from that person’s heart, as the Scripture says.” 39 Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been raised to glory. But later, those who believed in Jesus would receive the Spirit.

OBSERVATION: There are certain individuals that we can see so much of their parent bursting forth through them, that it seems almost impossible to believe. While we may have our own ideas of why that happens, I believe Jesus is telling us in our Scripture today that if we have His Spirit living inside of us, it will be evident to others who come into contact with us, because that Spirit will burst forth from us! Meditate with me on this word from the Lord so that we might discern what He needs us to concentrate on today.

APPLICATION: Often in the Bible we will find where water is synonymous with the Holy Spirit. But just as Jesus used the word ‘Water’ in His example, we could also do the same in our discussion of this topic. Notice how Jesus invited those who were thirsty, and did not just give a blanket invitation to the whole crowd. Why do you suppose this might be important? I believe that for those walking in the marketplace, they probably had a desire for anything but God, so it would have been useless to invite them to come and partake of a godly gift. So Jesus went to the heart of the matter – He invited those who were thirsty, or hungry for Him. Would you say that everyone at your church service is thirsty for the Living God? Or are they there in fulfillment of their habitual church attendance? Also notice that Jesus said that in accepting His gift, that others will not just recognize a resemblance of the Holy Spirit, but that it will flow from them like a river! I thought it extremely interesting to see that He chose the words ‘flowing from them like living water’. Ever walked by an active river and see the water still, or going in the opposite direction? That tells me that Jesus is teaching that the Holy Spirit will actively flow from us not only while we are on the church grounds, but everywhere that we go! It will never stop! Friends, when something flows from our heart, it is a vital, and a natural part of our being. It’s not just a passing fancy, or something that occurs when we feel like it. I believe that God directed me to this Scripture today so that I might share with you how important it is that we build a relationship with our awesome God. I also believe that God is reminding us that when we invite Him into our heart, we are asking Him to place His Holy Spirit right plum into the middle of our very being so that we may not only live according to His teachings, but that His Spirit might flow through us to touch the lives of those that we come into touch with, so that they might experience the King of all kings. It’s no longer you, my friend, but God – who lives inside of you and who will be exposed through you in everything you do or say.

PRAYER: Precious Lord, it’s no longer I, but the wonderful and powerful love of Jesus that expresses Himself through the Holy Spirit living inside of me. I’m just a nobody here to tell everybody about somebody who saved my soul. But Lord, what words shall I use? Please teach me Lord, to step aside and allow your Holy Spirit to have His perfect way in me, and to flow through me like rivers of living water, so that others might experience the Living God! Thank You Father, Son and Holy Spirit! AMEN!

Rejection By God? Really?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Acceptance, Living with purpose, Love, Love God, Love others, Reflective of Jesus Christ, RejectionLeave a comment

Saturday, 2019-09-28

Bible Reference: Jeremiah 14:10
Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Bible Text:  My people, you love to wander away; you don’t even try to stay close to me. So now I will reject you and punish you for your sins. I, the Lord, have spoken.

OBSERVATION: I believe that we hear so much about how much God loves us, that it might be challenging for us to imagine that He will tire of our attitude and our rejection of Him. Perhaps this verse is an eye-opener for those who may feel like they could do anything they want, because God will still love them. As we meditate on this one verse today, I pray that our eyes might be opened to God’s true identity and character!

APPLICATION:  Unless we know the full extent of our God, we may otherwise assume that He is much like a puppet that our kids play with – He is placed in the corner until we call for Him. It’s interesting that God pointed me to this verse today, because in another Scripture reading today, in 1 Samuel 4-6, the Philistines found out that God was quite capable of showing His power all on His own, and without their commands or intervention! It is so easy to see how God became angry with the Philistines for their disrespect of the Ark of the Covenant, and with the Israelites for their disobedience, and the sons of Eli assuming roles that represented God, but yet they operated in total darkness. However, I believe that God wanted to remind us today that He is still God and that He has, or will tire of our sin and total disregard of Him – the One who sacrificed it all, His only Son, on the cross at Calvary, so that we may live in full hope of eternity with Him. He did not want us to use the excuses of those gone on before us and live in fear of the many laws of Moses, or for that to be a roadblock for us to enter heaven’s gates. The awful thing that I believe that God sees today though, is probably worse than what He saw in His people back in the days of Jeremiah, or Moses, or Eli. For in spite of the extra effort, and tremendous outpouring of His love, yet what God sees today must truly break His heart …….. perhaps even to the point of lifting His hand off us and rejecting our plea before Him. So often we should be praising God in thanksgiving for His divine intervention in our decision making, yet so often we permit the selfish ways of man to influence us, and we step out on that merit instead of faith in God, the creator of this universe. Why has God not given up on us a long time ago? Friends, I don’t believe that I need to spell out the evil that is prevalent in our world today, for we have it happening in our own backyards, and we hear about it every time we watch the evening news. We have many churches that are closing down because of poor attendance. I believe that we have more folk who’s only Christian activity, might be attending a church service over the weekend, if they could fit it into their busy schedules. Imagine if you only ate physical food once per week? Imagine if the only communication you had with your spouse or parents was once per week? There wouldn’t be much of an influence in your life from either of these sources, nor would you have reason to brag on either of these, because they would play such a minimal role in the remaining days and hours of the week. Yet I’m afraid that we have ‘Christians’ who do exactly this, and expecting their lives to be changed by God. Friends, be realistic – one hour per week with God and 167 hours in the heat of evil and the works of Satan. Which do you think will influence our lives more? Who then are we pleasing? Who then are we more apt to reflect in our attitudes and actions? It is extremely frightening to think about rejection by God or the possible fatal judgment of God, because He saw how we totally rejected and ignored Him – His love, His direction, and His awesome gift given for us. On the other hand, we have lots of verses that tell us things like: Draw near to God and He will draw near to us; If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, I will hear from heaven and….. Friends, know that God loves you very much today. Please don’t reject Him. Please don’t take your relationship with Him lightly. We want to see His eternal blessing on us, and not His rejection and punishment.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You loved me so much that You gave Your very own Son so that I may have eternal life in Your presence. Please forgive me for the times that I take Your love for granted. Please speak to the hearts of my readers so that they too might examine their lives to ensure that they are in close communion with You, and not letting the vile of this old world take prominence in their lives. Please help us all that we may spend the necessary time with You for a happy and healthy relationship with You. Lord, we want to live more like You every day, and we realize that this only comes from spending more time with You than we do with this old world and its master, Satan. I pray that today it may be evident to those that we come into contact with that we have been with the Lord, and their lives might be impacted in such a way that they would either draw closer to You in relationship, or come to accept You as Lord of their life. Have Your way in our lives today Lord, and lead us towards You, for this is my humble prayer that I ask in the name of Jesus Christ, 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. 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!

Everything You Need for Living a Truly Good Life

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christian Living, Exemplary Living, God's Goodness, Good, Good works, Holy Living, Living with purpose, Righteous LivingLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE  FROM:   2 Peter 1:2-4 (TLB)

TEXT:  2 Do you want more and more of God’s kindness and peace? Then learn to know him better and better. 3 For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life: he even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us! 4 And by that same mighty power he has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings he promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us his own character.

OBSERVATION:   When we seriously desire to know God personally, and when we commit ourselves to Him personally, we will desire to know Him better and better. The Word of God tells us that when this happens, He will give us everything we need to live a truly good life, including the power to fight against the evil and rottenness all around us while here on earth. Isn’t this the answer to most of our excuses why we feel like we cannot be successful in the Christian life? God is faithful to His Word and we can depend on that, so let’s meditate on this for a short while today.

APPLICATION:   Children growing up will tell mom or dad that they just can’t handle this adult life, because the demands are too great, or the temptations are too great for them to overcome. Adults who are approached by a messenger of God about the condition of their soul, will often be tempted to say that they are not good enough, or they have been so heavily involved in things of the world, that God would never accept them. We also have many Christians who say they could be nothing more than a pew warmer, because they just don’t have the abilities. After reading the Scripture today, do you still feel like that’s all you can do friend? Do you still feel like you have a legitimate excuse?Have you done much about knowing Him better and better each day? To do this, will require that you dig into the Word daily, for there you will learn about the commands of God, the life and nature of Jesus, and all of the promises that are in store for us when we leave this world and join hearts and hands with the Master in heaven! There will be days when you might feel like a failure, or you might feel so weakened by this evil world. Friends, God has provided a means by which we can communicate with Him on a regular basis. In prayer you can ask forgiveness, and you can communicate one-on-one with the Savior. He will not only identify with your hurts, sins, and shortcomings, but He will give you strength to overcome and wisdom to redirect your life in a meaningful way to better serve Him and bring Him glory. May I encourage you to give God a try? He created your very being, and He knows all about our daily ups and downs. The last words in our verses remind us that He wants to give us His character. What more can we ask for, precious friend?

PRAYER:   Lord, we come humbly before You, knowing that You are our everything, and that You hold us, and this world, in the palm of Your hand. You’re in control of it all. You know how badly Your children need you every day, and in every aspect of life. We therefore admit that we are needy, and badly in need of our Master. So we commit ourselves to you all over again, and we ask that You give us confidence to depend on You for every need in order to live a truly good life – one that represents You in a manner pleasing to You. We would be eternally grateful oh Lord. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’.  If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the 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!

A Personal God who Cares about YOU

On By Ed AlgreenIn Boldness, Christian Living, Exemplary Living, Forgiven, Holy Living, Living with purpose, Righteous LivingLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE  FROM:   Isaiah 43:1-3 (TLB)

TEXT:  1 …… I have called you by name; you are mine. 2 When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up—the flames will not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, your Savior, the Holy One of Israel….

OBSERVATION:   Notice the personal involvement of God in the phrases throughout these 3 short verses! Notice the person to whom these blessings pertain – you, not ya’ll; not the church in general; not the city of ???, but ‘YOU’. Now theologians might want to correct me and say that this was specifically spoken to the family of Jacob and of Israel, but when I read Ephesians 2:15, I am reminded that we are all children of the King, not just Jacob and the country of Israel. God is bold enough and personal enough to pinpoint His intention to us personally, and has no need to generalize. He’s my God, and I’m His child! You can say the same if it pertains to your commitment with Jesus Christ. How awesome is that?!!

APPLICATION:   I wonder how personal we become with God? I wonder how often we stop to think that He created us and placed us in a world that He created. He saw the challenges we had in living life to the fullest and in line with the glorious provisions that He provided, so He created, miraculously, a Son that would mirror the Father, but yet He would live among us to show how personal and caring He truly is. I wonder how often we stop to ponder that when God created us, it was in His image that He chose to create us. So the choice He gave us then is: what will we decide to do personally? God strategically placed here on earth for such a time as this? To be ‘Christ-like’ and then act like Christ’s oppressor, His enemy; His mocker, His persecutor, wouldn’t that make us extremely miserable inside? Friends, these verses from Isaiah reminds us of the awesome God who created us. What He told us through the prophet has already been proven, so to sit back and question, or analyze whether God can do these things through us, is nothing short of you looking for an excuse to be disobedient and follow your own imperfect will, or to give Satan full reign in your life. Where are you at today, friends? Are you convinced that you are God’s and that He is yours? Are you convinced that what He says is actually true, possible and in fact happening in and through you as you place your faith and trust in Him and allow Him to love you, guide you and give you strength for each day? I would like to encourage you friend, not browbeat you into a feeling of guilt and worthlessness. I am just like many of you, where I struggle with the temptations of life every day, and find it extremely challenging to live in total opposition to the world around me. But praise the almighty power of God, I am a child of the King, saved from my sin by the grace offered through Jesus. Although I live on earth and face the challenges of this world, greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world. My whole purpose in sharing these journals with you friends, is that you might be encouraged by my experiences and in my joys with the Lord. Today will be a perfect day for you to place yourself before the Master and ask Him to examine you and see if there be, any fault or sin that might separate you from His most gracious Son, Jesus. Please read my ‘Footnote’ for Scripture references surrounding a close(er) walk with the Lord. Please contact me so that I may pray with You as you strive to draw closer to the Lord.

PRAYER:   Lord You are good, and Your mercies endures forever! Thank You for being patient with me and for prompting me through Your gracious Holy Spirit each and every day. Lord, may You be glorified in everything that I do and through everyone that I encounter, for I want so bad to be a living sacrifice for You, and a mirror of all that You want sinners to learn and witness from You. Lord, may You be praised, lifted up and honored this day, especially while sinners surrender their lives to You. This is my prayer, my deepest requests and my plea as I walk with You daily, 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!

 

Learn To Know God’s Will

On By Ed AlgreenIn Listen to the Word of God, Living with purpose, Testimony, WitnessLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2016-11-02

Scripture

Bible Reference: Romans 12:1–2

Bible Text:  1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

I believe there are certain places that Christians find themselves and later question “how did I get myself into this?” then we pray “Please God don’t come just now, for I will be ashamed to face You”. Ever been there and done that? Let’s imagine for a moment how far that moment is from what Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,  is teaching here. Let’s think about some things that the Word of God is telling us might help us learn the will of God, which should be our goal in this life:

  • In verse (1) we are told that ‘we are to give our bodies to God because of all He has done for us‘. Back in 6:13-19, we were taught that we become slave to whomever we obey. I believe that ‘giving our bodies to God’ means surrendering our will to the will of God. I believe it’s the same as saying ‘I’m Yours Lord, everything I am, everything I’ve got, try me now and see if I’m completely Yours‘. The bottom line is that God has done, and continues to do, so much for us on a daily basis. How can we claim Him as Lord, but refuse to give Him control of our lives? That would be the same as being married, but continuing to live as a single person;
  • Let our bodies/lives be living proof of the One that we love, serve, and obey – the kind that are acceptable to God. We must walk the talk friends. Let’s not tell the pastor, or try to convince our praying mom or our hurting spouse, that we love Jesus, if nothing has changed in our lives. A verse I shared with a group just last night from Psalm 139 reminded me that God knows more than what others can see in our walk, for He knows our very thoughts;
  • Often our behavior will mimic those who we hang around with for a while. Because children of God are to seek the will of God for their lives, this means that we are to hang around with God more than anyone else. Yes, I believe that this means we need more time with God than just an hour at a weekend service. In verse two, we are told that we need to be so devoted to God and desire the will of God with such intensity that He has the liberty to transform us into usable instruments for His service. If we expect God to be there for us 24/7/365, then we need to show our commitment in return to Him in precisely the same way. If there’s any part of our day that we resume personal leadership, then let’s not be surprised by the outcome, for we have just shown evidence that we don’t need God for that part of our day.

In each of the above bullets I underscored in bold font, a few things that I believe our key verses are telling us today. Paul said that when these things become a reality in our lives, then we will learn to know the will of God for our lives. Are you there yet, friends?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for showing us through Your Word how ridiculous it is for us to say we are Your followers, yet we control our course of life. If I am truly Yours, then I must surrender my will, and allow Your will to be prevalent in all aspects  of my life. Lord, I’m afraid that many who call You Lord, are living their lives the way they feel best, and only call on You when necessary or desperate. Lord, may the meditation of our hearts; the very depths of our thoughts; and the expressions from our lips be pleasing in Your sight, so they may be used for Your glory. If there be any wicked way in us, or if there’s anything that makes You sad with us, please touch our hearts and renew a right spirit within us. May we be usable vessels for Your work oh Lord, my Rock and my Salvation, 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!

The Reason I Live

On By Ed AlgreenIn Evangelize, Living with purpose, PurposeLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

The Bible Reference: Philippians 1:20-24
The Bible Text: 20 For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that will cause me to be ashamed of myself but that I will always be ready to speak out boldly for Christ while I am going through all these trials here, just as I have in the past; and that I will always be an honor to Christ, whether I live or whether I must die. 21 For to me, living means opportunities for Christ, and dying—well, that’s better yet! 22 But if living will give me more opportunities to win people to Christ, then I really don’t know which is better, to live or die! 23 Sometimes I want to live, and at other times I don’t, for I long to go and be with Christ. How much happier for me than being here! 24 But the fact is that I can be of more help to you by staying!
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: Of special note regarding this scripture: Paul is in prison at the time of this writing! So if Paul has the fortitude and determination to live so that He could do more of the Master’s work, even from within four prison walls, how much more those of us who are ‘free’ should be striving to do the Master’s work? Friends, we whine and we complain about so much, but do we should really have the heart of Jesus, or of Paul, in wanting to see as many won to the Lord as possible? In the above scripture, I bolded a few sentences that, I believe, is worthy of note:

  • Living means opportunities for Christ – it is only while we have breath in our bodies that we can be witnesses for the Lord, or care about sinners. Let’s not wait any longer friends, we’re on the winning side and it is our responsibility to share the Good News of our Savior and Lord;
  • Living will give more opportunities to win people to Christ – Often we will find that it’s the threat of impending death that gives us incentive to share the love of Christ that lives inside of us. Please allow me to awaken  you to the fact that we have no assurances about the next minute. The moment of opportunity is the present. Please share the love of Christ who lives inside of you with all that you care about and/or come into contact with today!
  • I can be of more help to you by staying – Only Jesus Christ has power beyond the grave. He is allowing us to remain here on earth so that we can glorify Him and spread the Good News about the Savior who loved us enough to die for us. In a nutshell friend, this is our mission!

Friends, we remain on this earth to be shining examples of our Lord Jesus Christ.  It’s not about politics, gossip, sports, the lotto or any other purpose, so make it known to everyone you know that the reason you live is to represent Jesus, and to evangelize the lost, before it is eternally too late.

Prayer: The reason that I live is …….. Lord, as we complete that sentence today in humility and prayer before You, I ask that You will take those completed sentences and correct any misgivings about our mission, compared to the one You have assigned to us. I am pretty convinced that our mission is similar in nature to what Paul shared with the Philippians, because throughout Your Word we are told the importance of surrendering our lives to You, so that we, in turn, may be a blessing to others and convince them of their need for our Savior. Please work on us today and guide us to do Your perfect will, is my sincere and humble plea. For it’s in Your beautiful and bountiful name that I ask all this, dear Jesus, AMEN!

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

2016