Category: Love

The Commandment That Sums It All Up

On By Ed AlgreenIn Love, Love othersLeave a comment

Monday, 2016-10-24

Scripture

Bible Reference: Romans 13:8-10

Bible Text:  8 Don’t owe anyone anything, with the exception of love to one another—that is a debt which never ends—because the person who loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commands given to you in the Scriptures—do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not take what is not yours, do not covet — and any other command you have heard are summarized in God’s instruction: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Does love hurt anyone? Absolutely not. In fact, love achieves everything the law requires.

Bible Translation: The Voice Translation (Voice)

My Take

Often we hear people complaining about there being so much negative in the ten commandments, and the mere number of commands that God makes on, or expects from, His children. Of course, we hear this from folk who are looking for an excuse to do ‘their own thing’, and perhaps hoping to still receive God’s blessing! However, in our scripture today God highlights one commandment that basically totals the sum of all of the other commandments!  Powerful, but yet challenging even for the child of God, because ‘Loving our neighbor as we love ourselves means that:

  • We won’t put obstacles in the path of that one who never shows loves to us;
  • Others will never know that there are folk that we really don’t care a whole lot for, because with God’s help, we will love everyone equally;
  • We are able to overlook what earthly things folk believe, and still love them because, with God’s help, we will see them as God’s creation and one who is loved by Him;
  • We will pray for those who despitefully use usu;
  • We will pray for those in authority over us, even if it seems like they show favor to certain other folk instead of us;
  • We will love even those who are different from who we are physically. Perhaps of a different nationality or race, or even different in other ways.

Friends, I could probably go on with other reasons that normally stand in the way of us loving others the way that Jesus loves us, but I believe you are probably getting the point by now. The bottom line is that Jesus loved you enough while you were still steeped in sin, that He publicly showed that love on the cross at Calvary as a sacrifice for your good. If we have truly surrendered ourselves to Him, and depending on Him to help us love just like Jesus, then none of the above will be impossible. If you struggle with one or more of the above, then I would recommend that you go back to the cross and revisit the Christ who is known as ‘LOVE’, for the Word of God say ‘God is LOVE’. Ask Him to examine you and see if you are complete His. If you are, and His Holy Spirit lives within you, then you have the power to overcome your weaknesses of self-control and the artificial superiority you may feel over others. We are all equal at the foot of the cross friends, for we all have approached, or will approach, the God of ‘LOVE’, who is the only One capable of forgiving us of our sin.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, You first loved us, and You showed Your awesome love sacrificially on the cross at Calvary. In this scripture today, You are simply asking us to love all those that we come into contact with – our neighbors, so that we can prove the love of Christ that lives inside of us. Please forgive us Lord for the many excuses we use, and for the pious look down our noses at others, as being less than us, or folk that we could never learn to love. You are ‘LOVE’, and if we truly have accepted You as Lord, then You live inside of us and gives us the capability of loving exactly as You did. Please examine our hearts oh Lord, and help us prove whose we are by allowing You to love everyone through us. In this way others will come to know the very Christ that we represent! God is LOVE, and as His children, we also can LOVE! 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!

Tough Love

On By Ed AlgreenIn Love, Loyalty, Prayer, Salvation, Saved, SaviorLeave a comment

Thursday, 2016-10-20

Scripture

Bible Reference: Jeremiah 48:35–36

Bible Text:  35 “I will put an end to Moab,” says the LORD, “for the people offer sacrifices at the pagan shrines and burn incense to their false gods. 36 My heart moans like a flute for Moab and Kir-hareseth, for all their wealth has disappeared.

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

As parents we are often pressed to express tough love with our children, as they are so clever in trying to manipulate us into spoiling them and providing everything possible for them. Because we have invested so much of our lives into our kids, and because of the deep love that we have for them, it is extremely challenging for us to say ‘no’ or handle them with ‘tough love’. Imagine then how challenging it is for the God of this universe to destroy parts of His creation that He made with such pride. Imagine the love expressed when He provided the ultimate sacrifice (His Son, Jesus) for us to overcome/throw off the filth of sin, and become eligible for His kingdom. In our scripture today we see an example of God’s tough love with the people of Moab. God loved them with such heart-felt love, that His very heart moaned in agony for their well-being. However the people were so immersed in sin that they chose to worship the gods that they could see – the ones that other leaders placed before them to worship and supposedly provide for them. As we read this account, we may be challenged to see the issue here, because we may quickly conclude that the Moabites deserved destruction because of their stubbornness, disobedience, worldly affection and for having taken their eyes off God. However, let me be quick to warn you friend, that in our world today, we are probably as bad, or worse than the Moabites. Please, no throwing of rotten eggs! Let me explain: a well-known verse of scripture that many have heard, and many may even be able to recite, tells us: (John 3:16) – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Please carefully note what that verse says, and hopefully you can rejoice in the promise that lies ahead for you, because you have surrendered your will and your life, to believe in the one true God, through His Son, Jesus. In comparison to the scripture on the Moabites, I want you to read John 3:16 again, and particularly notice what it does not say. Notice that the Word says that if you believe, or for those who believe, they will have eternal life. BUT, what do you suppose that verse is saying about those who don’t believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? Friends, recent statistics revealed that only 9% of Americans believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you suppose that the Moabite statistics were worse than that? May I remind you friend, that there are only two options for us, just as it was for the Moabites. We know from John 3:16 that the eternal destination for those who Believe on Jesus, is heaven (Praise the wonderful name of Jesus!!). However, scripture also tells us that all others are living for Satan and will join him in Hell for an eternity of damnation and destruction. I believe that God is very sad to know that so many of His kids have decided to live like the devil and settle for such damnation. Unfortunately, that’s 91% of Americans, and probably a similar percentage for other countries. For Christians who have sincerely yearned for the ‘heart of Christ’, I believe that our hearts are likewise saddened by this reality today. So much so, that I am hoping that you will join me in prayer for the unsaved today. 91 out of every 100 people that we come into contact with today could potentially be in danger of eternal destruction. Friends, let us pray……..

Prayer

Lord Jesus, Redeemer, Savior of this world, God’s very Son: thank You for the sacrifice You made so that we might have eternal life. I can only imagine how Your heart is saddened by the number of Your children who have chosen to reject that sacrificial gift of love that You have made available to them. Like the Moabites, many have chosen to ignore, refuse and reject the gift You have offered, and to worship the gods of entertainment, sports, pornography, self-fulfillment and lust that saturates their minds through constant advertising and frequent pop-ups on computer screens. It is so unfortunate that often it takes a disaster of some sort to really get the attention of many folk, but Lord in a proactive approach today, may I ask that You please burden the hearts of Christians to frequently bow their knees before You in prayer for their unsaved family and friends. Because the necessary decisions can only happen through changed hearts, we acknowledge that our part can only be in loving these ones, and lifting them up to You on a regular basis, so that You may impact the heart. We are concerned dear Lord. Please ease our concern as we pray. For I ask these things in the name of the only One who can change hearts, Jesus, the Christ, AMEN

Footnote

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

 

Love Like This…

On By Ed AlgreenIn Love, Love of God, Love others, Love your Neighbor, The Father's Love, Unconditional loveLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2016-09-21

Scripture

Bible Reference: Ephesians 5:1-2

Bible Text:  Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take

No doubt some of my readers have said it before, and if you didn’t say it then you probably thought it, ‘I will resume friendship with that individual, but I will be fully guarded at all times (cautious)’, but isn’t it interesting how God chose to show us in these verses exactly how we are to handle such situations? Friends, when God sent His Son as a child in Bethlehem, it was for the benefit of the whole world – as the that little Sunday School song reads – “red and yellow, black and white, all are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world” – all children! When Jesus was led to the cross of Calvary, it was for all who believe on Him – no conditions other than that noted. In these verses today, Paul is reminding his readers that God was not cautious about His love for us, but instead showed every sign of extravagance in loving even the unlovable. He went to the cross knowing that it was for those who refused to accept Him, or were unlovable to His kids. Paul encouraged us to not look at our neighbor who also struggles to show genuine love, but to imitate God for the unconditional, extravagant, wholehearted love that He displayed, and continues to display for us every day. So when we find ourselves struggling to love someone, let’s ask God to help us love like He did – that perfect, unadulterated, uncompromising, unselfish, love for all mankind. He did it, and as His children – fully dependent on Him and aiming to follow His example, we can do it also. Commit yourselves to Him in wanting to love like He did, and ask for His help and guidance to do so, won’t you?

Prayer

Father it is humbling to be reminded that You created us to love and worship You, yet we fail so miserably at that. You created us to love one another, yet we fail so miserably at that, and try to place ourselves above our neighbor, our friends, and those we come into contact with. Please forgive us Lord, and help us to stay so intimately in Your Word that it will have a lasting impact on our actions and our sometimes misguided thoughts and deeds. We really want to be like You Jesus – our example and our guide. For You not only instructed us, but You showed us through Your actions how we are to love one another. Please keep us accountable for all that You have taught us to do and say. May the words of our mouth, and the meditation of our heart be acceptable to You oh Lord, and for Your glory alone, AMEN!

Footnote

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

Most Important Commandments

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commandments, Love, Love God, Love others, Unconditional loveLeave a comment

Monday, 2016-09-05

Scripture

Bible Reference: Mark 12:28–31

Bible Text:  28 …..“Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

Many are caught aback by all of the commands in the Bible, and especially in the ten commandments, folks looking for a reason to whine and complain, tend to complain about the negativity in the commands. While we don’t see any of that in these verses, there was strong curiosity as to which one(s) were most important from Jesus’ perspective. Hearing the response from Jesus, makes this something that I believe His followers today really need to pay particular attention to, as I believe these contain very important demands for us still today. So here they are:

  1. 4 “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.[a] 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:4-5
  2. 18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:18

There is an old pop song that included the words “All I need is love” throughout the song. I believe that the one characteristic that each of these important commands are built on is “LOVE”! In the first instance, we are told that we are to love our Maker, Creator, Savior and Way Maker with all of our being. Friends, it might strike some of you to ask, “well who wouldn’t”. Unfortunately there are many that don’t recognize our Master and Creator, so of course they have no reason to love someone who, in their opinion does not exist. May I remind you that many are looking at us to see whether we, who are called by His name, truly love God from the very depths of our being. What do you think? Would your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, be convinced enough through the love they see from you for your God? As we look at the second commandment, I want you to reflect on the last time you really got mad, or upset at yourself. Now, what did you do to yourself? Did you seek to hurt yourself or deprive yourself from some special treat or event? Did you tell others how evil you were and unlikeable you were? Did you build up strong fences or defenses to keep others away? Then friends, why do we do these things to our neighbors? Remember, neighbors are ones who we come into contact with. Sometimes they are sweet as ‘pie’ to us, and sometimes we get really upset at the things they do. You know, similar to what we probably do unconsciously to others! Jesus wants us to love these neighbors in spite of their faults – as much as we love our very own selves. How are you doing with that child of God?

Prayer

Lord God, thank You for first loving us. You set the plumb line as an example for us. So often we fall so short on demonstrating the sincerity of love that You showed for us, for You loved us, even though You had no sign of love in return. Please use Your Word today to encourage, challenge and provoke us into loving You unconditionally with all our being. As we do this, I believe it will be a lot more natural for us to love one another, but please help us with that also dear Lord, for I believe that we will quickly brush others aside when they show no signs of love for us. Help us to love like You love us Heavenly Father, for I ask this all for Your ultimate 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!

How To Treat Others

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Christian love, Imitate Jesus, Love, Love others, Love your NeighborLeave a comment

Thursday, 2016-07-07

Scripture

Bible Reference: Zechariah 7:8–10

Bible Text:  8-9 So once again, I, the LORD All-Powerful, tell you, “See that justice is done and be kind and merciful to one another! 10 Don’t mistreat widows or orphans or foreigners or anyone who is poor, and stop making plans to hurt each other.”

Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take

As I reflected on these verses I thought what would God possibly add to this list for the world He reflects on today. We often tend to compare back to a day when we were younger, and then stand in awe about where the world is today. I believe that if we were privy to just the questions posed on Google each day, it might give us a glimpse into the mindset of our people. In another part of my study today, God challenged His people to even look at the reasons they fast and pray, for often this is centered around their selfishness, and not necessarily His will for His church, His disciples and His people. Friends, let us challenge ourselves to pray for the will of God. We are not qualified to tell God what He should do, or how He should fix the many things that we feel are totally broken. I believe that these verses also helps us to acknowledge that we are slow to accept God’s commands and obey Him, because we must always remember that the Bible is very much alive, and speaks to our current day issues as much as it tells a story about how God ministered to saints of old.  Please read the verses over again. Now please evaluate the portion of the verses that may not apply to us today. How many times do we whine about judicial or governmental decisions that are made and how we wish justice would be administered? Isn’t it because the decisions were not in our favor, or handled in a manner that we prescribed – often without all of the facts? Furthermore, who put those in authority in their place? Now before you pull out the books on me, to show who voted for who, let me first ask you to read Romans 13 and then answer my question. While some parts of the world may have made strides in taking better care of widows, orphans, the poor and foreigners, may I remind you that many of these depend heavily on the church and government programs in order to survive, because they have been abandoned by their own families? I believe that the very last point probably got my attention more than the rest. “Stop scheming against each other”, or “stop making plans to hurt one another”. This is not speaking to the friend or neighbor behind you, but rather to each of us. I believe the opposite of  this, may be better aligned with God’s Word: “make plans to bless someone today” or “think about how you might encourage someone today” or “show more love towards each other today” or “look for ways to help someone succeed today or feel better about themselves”. In a nutshell, I believe that we are being taught how we are to treat each other in ways that might better reflect the heart of God for His children. We can do this friends, because these are the ways that we would want to be treated. Let’s seek God’s power to help us be more like Him in every way – everyday!

Prayer

Father God, thank You for loving me, and for showing love through so many different folk, to encourage me in my walk for You. Your Word is always a lamp unto our feet, and today is no exception, as You have shown us how we might enhance our love for one another, and how we should be especially careful to scheme only towards love and good works towards one another. May we not only be Your hands and feet today, but may we love one another in much the same way that You showed Your love for us. This might be the greatest sermon we can preach today! Please have Your will and way in and through us today dear Lord. AMEN!

Footnote

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

Intimacy with God!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Daily communion with God, Guidance, Intimacy with God, Love, Obedience, Prayer2 Comments

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

Today’s Bible Reference: Psalm 143:8–10
Today’s Bible Text: Each morning let me learn more about your love because I trust you. I come to you in prayer, asking for your guidance. Please rescue me from my enemies, LORD! I come to you for safety.  You are my God. Show me what you want me to do, and let your gentle Spirit lead me in the right path.
The Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take Away: The Psalms is filled with David’s intimacy with God. Sometimes David was upset at God because things happened that David felt like he could have done them a whole lot better than God, or at least different than He did. David was at times very close to God because it was evident in his writings, but then there were times that David felt like he had distanced himself from God. There are some Psalms that begin with David being very upset at God, and by the end he realizes that his God really is on top of things and has everything under His control. Throughout the book David found many ways to express his love to, and his respect of God, yet in these verses today he is still calling out for God to help him love and trust Him more. David is still asking God for guidance, protection and wisdom on how to best deal with his enemies. David is still surrendering himself to the safety and security of our awesome, strong, caring and loving God, for he reflects on, and feels assured of God’s love and security. Although he has a very intimate, lasting and proven relationship with God, yet David still pleads for direction, leadership and guidance so that he might travel down the right path where he may remain victorious, but true and committed to his God. So what about you friend, are you like me where, too often we tend to do our own thing and only seek God’s help when we run into trouble? Is there a time of daily intimacy with God? Do you carve out time to spend meditating on the Word of God so that you might be reminded of the heart of God and learn about His instructions and direction for you that day? Friends, intimacy with, and trust in God, is not something you can purchase at the local Christian Bookstore, or acquire at church over the weekend if you pay your tithes. This comes ONLY from an intimate two-way relationship with God. Pouring your wants, needs and desires out to God is one thing, but unless you are willing to stop, listen to Him, and obey His commands, then at best you have succeeded in pouring your heart out to Him without caring enough about what He has to say back to you. Intimacy is a two-way thing. May I encourage you today to seek two-way intimacy with God, each and every day? He created us, longs to be allowed to lead us while here on earth, and I believe that He can’t wait to have us in Heaven when we graduate from this earth! Let’s live with the end in mind, knowing that we can enjoy His presence here on earth also!

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for loving us enough to care about our every move, thought or word. For those who have accepted You as Lord, we are living life down here as just a taste of all that You have in store for us as we come to join You in glory! May we live in daily communion with You and may we always be obedient to Your call on our life, and the direction You point us in here on earth. May we love You more, listen to You more and then be totally obedient to all that You direct us in, so that Your glory might be fulfilled in and through us. I ask these things in the precious name of Jesus, AMEN!

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

2016

Saved… Now What?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Love, Love othersLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right?  May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for your blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: 1 Peter 1:22–23
Today’s Bible Text: You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation

My Take Away: In a Prayer Conference a few months ago we were encourage to sometimes say why we are praying for certain things. The way to pull that into our prayer is to use the words “so that…”. So I might pray for a missionary going to the Bahamas, so that the most hardened hearts might be touched with the gospel and that crime would decrease and the work of the Lord increase. Peter is reminding us that we should not only be thankful that we were touched by the Holy Spirit and redirected towards the Savior, but now that we are saved from our lives of sin and eternal damnation, we have an obligation to duplicate that love that reached down and loved us even in the self-destructive life that we were living, to now show that same love towards those that we come into contact with. In our attempts to duplicate God’s love for us, we should always be reminded that God loved us just the way we were – He didn’t change us first then love us. We too will be challenged to love those who may appear to be unlovable, or very challenging to deal with. Friends, God has commanded us to love one another – period! It’s a given that this will include those who are easy to love, and those who will challenge our real faith and trust in the Lord. Let’s remember that we are to trust in the Lord with all of our heart, soul and mind. As we do that, we will quickly realize that it is the power and love of God within us, that will reach out in love to those who may seem unlovable to mortal man. So I believe that we must love with all that is within us – especially the Holy Spirit. Because He first loved us, we have proof that He can also love the hardest person we know, through us. Through obedience to God and our dependence on His awesome Holy Spirit, we can love even the most challenging people, friends! Trust Him today and let Him be God through you in all that you do in His name, and for His glory!

Prayer: Dear God, thank You for loving each of us with such deep affection, that You were willing to give up Your Son in death on a very cruel cross, just so that we could have a chance at one day being with You in heaven. What amazing love, and what a sacrifice! Thank You Lord Jesus. There will be ones that will cross our paths today that we will stop and wonder how we could ever love them, or show them Your grace. With the same love that You showed for us, I pray that we will sincerely look to You for power and grace to love others. Thank You heavenly Father for using even us to touch the hearts and lives of others. May we be totally obedient and submissive today, all for Your ultimate 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

It’s Difficult To Counterfeit LOVE

On By Ed AlgreenIn Love, Love of God, Love your NeighborLeave 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!………

Today’s Bible Reference: 2 John 1:5–6
Today’s Bible Text: Dear friend, I am not writing to tell you and your children to do something you have not done before. I am writing to tell you to love each other, which is the first thing you were told to do. Love means that we do what God tells us.
The Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take Away: There is a lot of emphasis in the Bible about how much God loves us, and about how we are to love one another. Ever wondered why, especially in the New Testament, there are references on the impact this has on the believer? As I studied this today one of my commentaries suggested that there is a lot of emphasis placed on showing our love for others, because it is probably the most challenging thing to counterfeit. Wow, never thought of it that way – but there is a lot of truth in that. There are numerous occasions where Jesus openly showed His love, the greatest of which was to die a cruel death on the cross. With His arms totally outstretched, He showed us that His love was limitless – no end or perimeter to His love. He also demonstrated that His sacrifice was for ALL who would believe on Him, and ALL has no restrictions if one would only believe on Him. So I must challenge you with a very key question/thought today: do you sometimes feel like you are faking it around some Christians? I’ve heard some say that they only love a person for Jesus’ sake. Friends, love comes from your heart, so if you can’t find it in your heart to love that one, then I believe that it is seriously time to talk with God about righting your heart. After all, none of us are perfect, and we expect Christian friends to love us just the way we are. So if they could ‘bight the bullet’ and love us in spite of our failures or peculiarities, ought we not do the same? I believe one of the easiest ways to overcome this issue friends, is to start praying for that individual you are challenged to love. Pray for their success in life, their health, their family and their welfare. You will quickly realize that it is easy to love someone who you are praying for, and in whose life God is actively working. 1 Corinthians 13 is a whole chapter dedicated to the Biblical meaning of ‘Love’. Re-read it as you ask God to re-orient yourself to loving like He expects.

Prayer: Father, we acknowledge that way too often we allow the works of Satan to interfere with the true design for our lives that You would have us follow. Very often we fail in displaying Your perfect love, one for another, and we come before You today in shame because of counterfeit and pretense that we have shown to our Christian Brothers and Sisters. What’s inside of us, is what comes out, so we sincerely ask that You fill us again with Your holy presence, reinvigorate us with the love that You demonstrated for us, so that the love of Christ will flow from us to all that we come into contact with. Lord, because of our love towards others today, may they see Jesus – please? I ask these things in the wonderful, loving and precious name of Jesus, AMEN!

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

2016

How To Measure the Extent of Your Love For Others

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christian love, Love, ObedienceLeave 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!………

Today’s Bible Reference: 1 John 5:1-4
Today’s Bible Text: If you believe that Jesus is the Christ—that he is God’s Son and your Savior—then you are a child of God. And all who love the Father love his children too. So you can find out how much you love God’s children—your brothers and sisters in the Lord—by how much you love and obey God. Loving God means doing what he tells us to do, and really, that isn’t hard at all; for every child of God can obey him, defeating sin and evil pleasure by trusting Christ to help him.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: Do you love God? How about God’s children, do you love them also? I bet I should have put those questions right at the end of my Take Away, because by now you have probably answered ‘yes’ to both and about to close out of this devotional! Not So Fast Brother! Wait a moment Sister! Through John, God has actually given us the formula for measuring how well we’re doing on this! We are told in these verses today that the degree to which we love fellow believers is proportionate to how much we love and obey God. Ok, so I’m sure that you will assume you must truly love one another, because you know that you really love God. But do you really?  The Word declares that the love referenced here is not just a verbal thing, or a feeling, but instead if we truly love God, we will do what He tells us to do. For some that will be easy, because we pray and we seek God’s face through His precious Word. When we truly do this and not only listen to His commands, His teachings, His instructions for us, and His example that He set for us to follow, then we should know what to do. Friends, this will not just come from the pulpit on the weekend, or from a Bible teacher, but I’m talking one-on-one communion with your maker. Don’t know where to start? You may want to follow a good devotional, such as the one you’re now reading, or you may want to look for a Bible Reading Plan of your own. Whatever you decide, just remember to seek God’s face first – as it takes the Spirit of God to truly open your eyes to the spiritual truths of our awesome God. Not much of a reader? It doesn’t matter, when you seek God’s face first and ask Him to open your mind to His, you will find that what may appear to be simple words on a page, actually reveals the perfect will of God for your life right where you’re at during that very moment. Highlight as He speaks to you, and make notes to remind yourself how He spoke to you. Now, todays scripture says that through loving God and obeying all that He instructs you, then you will defeat sin and evil pleasures. Your love for God will become so pure and so real, that you will also love everything that God loves and everyone that He loves. So are you struggling with any part of this today friend? Try following this direction for at least seven days, and I believe God will give you a burning desire to continue doing the same for the rest of the time you remain on this earth! Love and obedience to God leads to love for the brethren friend!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You not only tell us to love one another, but You have even gone the extra step of showing us just how to accomplish that. How unfortunate, that a God who sacrificed His only Son for us on Calvary, must now tell us how important it is for us to love You. How deep the Father’s love for us, in spite of our unworthiness. Yet how easy it is for us to say that we struggle in loving our Christian Brothers and Sisters, when we don’t fully appreciate the love of our Father, or see fit to obey His simple commands. Please forgive us dear Lord and continue to draw us to Yourself with an even deeper determination to love and obey You. I sincerely thank You for Your love, and for all these things I have asked throughout this devotional, for it is in the precious and loving name of Jesus that I ask, 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

Real Love

On By Ed AlgreenIn Love, Reflect JesusLeave 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!………

Today’s Bible Reference: 1 John 4:10–12
Today’s Bible Text: This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: What if a person who is prone to depression, stopped and convinced themselves that no matter what may come, or no matter how bad they may feel about life’s circumstance, yet because they have Christian friends, they KNOW that someone loves them without requiring anything in return? Do you feel like that will make a difference in that person’s life and in their decisions? But wait a minute you might say, these folk know nothing at all about the Christian living next door, so how will this help them? Brothers and Sisters, I would ask that you read the verses again, and look for the explanation of ‘Real Love’. A ‘Christian’ means that we have accepted Jesus as Lord of our life, and that we are daily moving towards living our lives like Jesus lived – in word and in deed. In these verses today we are told that God loves us regardless of whether we love Him or not. We are told that God demonstrated His awesome love, by sacrificing His one and only Son to take away our sins. And He did this even though we didn’t love Him. Friends that is ‘Real Love’! So how can we demonstrate that kind of love? Let’s assume our responsibility of being a Christ-follower by loving not just those that demonstrate love towards us, but let us also love those who are unlovable. This may mean us going outside of our comfort zone to love those who are rejected by society, or those who pretend to be above society or even those who feel like a nobody. In John 3:16, we are told that God loves the world, and has offered His Son Jesus as a sacrifice for any and all that believes on Him. So as we live to be like Jesus, our obligation to love like Him extends to all that we come into contact with! If we surveyed a cross-section of the folk that you came into contact with yesterday on whether they saw Jesus during any part of their day, will they automatically reflect on your interaction with them? The kind of love I am referring to comes from God alone. Let us therefore fill ourselves with Him so that He may flow through our words and our actions everyday that He allows us to remain here on earth! Some may come to know Jesus because of what they see in us. Oh that they may see and witness Jesus!

Prayer: Father God, many are hurting today and many are even hospitalized or even die because of depression, and this often happens because they have not felt loved by anyone, yet they have rubbed shoulders with Your children. How can this be? I believe that we fail miserably in following Your example to love like You did. Please wipe away every obstruction that prevents me from loving another person. Please open my eyes to the hurting and the unloved, then show me the way to express Your kind of love to them. May others see You today, because of their contact with me. Please touch the hearts and lives of those who will read this devotional today. Use us to spread the joy of the gospel and the love of our Master. For I ask these things in the loving, precious and awesome name of Jesus, my Savior and Lord, AMEN!

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

2016