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Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-05-08 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Mark 8:1-5 (MSG) |
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Text: |
1-3 At about this same time he again found himself with a hungry crowd on his hands. He called his disciples together and said, “This crowd is breaking my heart. They have stuck with me for three days, and now they have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they’ll faint along the way—some of them have come a long distance.”4 His disciples responded, “What do you expect us to do about it? Buy food out here in the desert?”
5 He asked, “How much bread do you have?” “Seven loaves,” they said. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Many crowds followed Jesus because of all the miracles they had heard of Him performing, and at times these crowd would stick around for days on end. Those closest to Him – His disciples, were with Him on two occasions when the crowds stayed overnight without food. The disciples had personally witnessed and participated in the first miracle, yet when the second opportunity presented itself, they acted as though it had never happened. Let’s look into whether we do any better today. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Right up front I want us to be reminded that Jesus is not like Santa Claus who will give us a treat once a year, if we’ve been good. Neither is He a puppet that will respond the same way in every scenario at our every whim. He is God and He knows exactly what we need and when we need it. What is very much the same for us today is that the credentials of our Lord, are nothing less that miraculous and totally outstanding! What this means for us is that we should have learned by now that God is in control, and not we ourselves. Based on His record of miracles in the Bible, and what we have heard from fellow believers, we should come before Him asking in the name of Jesus, in accordance with His perfect will, knowing that He has the power to do whatsoever we might ask. To simplify this thought, imagine us praying that God would make a blind person to see, if He has an awesome ministry for that person to achieve – especially because of their blindness. Imagine us praying for our daughter to marry a prince, when God already has everything aligned for her to marry a future president of a very large country, or marry a young man whom God will use powerfully in ministry with an awesome young lady by his side, like our daughter! I believe the impact of this story is that in spite of the mountains, or impossibilities that may blind us from seeing all that God can do, we should never forget that He’s in control, and that there is absolutely nothing that is impossible with God. His timing is perfect, so please don’t ask Him to do something next week that He may see better results from in handling the situation today. Let’s learn to quote past occurrences of miracles such as the one we are asking for, and let’s not limit our God to the restricted use of our humanly vision. He is God, and if He fed over 5,000 before with just a few fish and loaves of bread, we have confidence that He could do it again, if this is His will. Let’s be the cheerleaders to a God that can, not sinful doubters that something might be beyond His reach. If He walked on water before, we have no reason to doubt that He could do it again! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Although we limit our requests of You to what seems possible in our eyes, oh Lord, I pray that as Your dedicated, loyal followers, we might learn to stay attuned to all You have already accomplished, and the wide opened possibilities that are Yours because of who You are. Please help us to remove doubt and our limitations from the equation, knowing that ALL things are possible with our God. Please grant us faith to place our trust whole heartedly in You Lord, so that all doubt will be removed and instead Your children be filled with power from above to simple trust and obey. AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
Category: Miracles
The Only One Who Can
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Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-04-24 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Mark 4:38-41 (TLB) |
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Text: |
38 Jesus was asleep at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. Frantically they wakened him, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you even care that we are all about to drown?”39 Then he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Quiet down!” And the wind fell, and there was a great calm!
40 And he asked them, “Why were you so fearful? Don’t you even yet have confidence in me?” 41 And they were filled with awe and said among themselves, “Who is this man, that even the winds and seas obey him?” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Taking advantage of a few minutes of rest while his boat crossed the lake, Jesus rested near the stern of the boat. Because he was not awake to witness the panic that was building with his disciples as the waters became more and more violent, the disciples automatically assumed that Jesus didn’t care about their safety. However, hearing the urgency of their need, Jesus awoke and immediately took care of their need. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| The disciples had witnessed many miracles performed already, so they knew that Jesus was very capable of handling their current desperate situation. I believe the disciples had faith that Jesus could correct their current situation, because after the waves got so bad that they were about to give up on hopes of their survival, they finally decided to go and try Jesus. I was reminded of our personal situations. We may not get so worried over what appears to be minor illnesses, but as the situation worsens, we become more and more desperate and then we begin to pray in earnest and we call in the troops (our pastors, elders and Christian friends) to pray with us over our dire situation. Friends, we pray because we know that all power lies with the God of our salvation, for we know that He is our friend, our healer and our conqueror. Let’s never forget that this is the same Master and Lord who brought Lazarus back to life; who turned water into the best wine of the evening; who healed the blind; who walked on water and healed a woman who merely touched the hem of His garment, that’s the King who Christians turn to in our time of need! That’s our King! Now, I have also learned over the years that we tend to call on Jesus as a last resort. Oh how I wish that we would learn to call on our Master each and every day, when things are going great and when we first notice the slightest need arising. Remember, He went to Calvary as a sacrifice for our sin, knowing that we would get into stuff that would possibly lead to sin/situations from which we could not escape on our own. Jesus did this for us in advance, so let us be just as proactive in taking our needs before Him, for He cares for us, more than anything we could ever imagine. Furthermore, just like the disciples knew that Jesus was the only one who could speak to the elements, we are just as convinced that He is the only one that could meet our very personal needs, so let’s not delay, let’s share our heart with Him today. This might be very desperate needs, or just the concerns of our heart. Let’s open that door of communication with the only One who can do anything about our needs, for He cares for His own! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Thank You Lord Jesus for the reminder in this passage that You should always be the one that we communicate with daily, and not just when things are at their worst. Lord, we need You ever hour, as the words of an old hymn reminds us. We especially need Your protection, Your guidance and Your strength to help us maintain a close relationship with You. One that we could learn from and share with our friends each and every day. There seems to be a constant need of someone much greater than us, more powerful than we are and always willing to help us overcome. That’s You Lord, and we are standing in the need of prayer today, so that we might always share our need of our Master and King in all walks of life. Thank You Heavenly Father for being available for Your children. 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! | |
Share The Amazement of Jesus
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Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-04-12 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Mark 1:25-28 (TLB) |
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Text: |
25 Jesus curtly commanded the demon to say no more and to come out of the man. 26 At that the evil spirit screamed and convulsed the man violently and left him. 27 Amazement gripped the audience and they began discussing what had happened.
“What sort of new religion is this?” they asked excitedly. “Why, even evil spirits obey his orders!” 28 The news of what he had done spread quickly through that entire area of Galilee. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| The New Testament is filled with accounts of awe as many people witnessed the power, the love and amazement of our Lord Jesus. There are many accounts of eyewitnesses going and spreading the good news of all that this Son of God was capable of doing, as they had witnessed it with their own eyes, or experienced it personally. Our story today is one such story, as it shares the power of Jesus to even demand evil spirits to leave a troubled man. |
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| APPLICATION: | |
| Walk in to any sanctuary in your area and I’m sure you will find people in attendance for various reasons. For some, it’s just the place to be on Saturday or Sunday mornings – tradition; for others, it’s the music that blesses your soul and you look forward to the next service to participate in and be blessed by the music; others might find comfort in being around nice people; while others are blessed beyond measure to hear their pastor speak. Can you think of any other reason why people show up for church services? Notice one thing missing from all of the reason I shared? How many actually show up for church to meet Jesus there, or are excited to be there because they want to be the first to celebrate what Jesus will do again today in our midst? Wouldn’t it be neat if people would walk in the doors of our churches and be looking all around to see where Jesus is at work, in response to their prayers? Friends, our churches are probably more needful than patients in hospital, for there are some burdened by sin; some hurting very badly from a bad marriage or sibling rivalry; there are some who are hurting terribly because of the pain in their bodies; some overwhelmed by finances or by kids who are headed in the wrong direction; and praise God, there are some who are ready to shout for joy and share an experience of Jesus being active in their life during that week. Let me ask you to ponder, what might our community hear about if each of the above groups returned home with their ‘cups filled and running over’ from God meeting their needs at church that day? What would be the difference to the neighbors in what they saw in the past, to what they might witness when we go to church expecting to meet God there, expecting a miracle? Friends, God did precisely this many times before in stories related in the Bible, and there is great satisfaction and excitement in Christians not only knowing that God is alive, but that He is actively at work in each of our lives still today! Is this possible? Of course it is, our God is alive and ready to work in our lives if we will pray to Him, search Him out, expect to find Him, and make ourselves truly available to Him. The world will believe and accept this when they see it for themselves through God’s messengers here on earth. That’s you and I, Christian Brother and Sister! |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, thank You for loving us enough to not only make a way for us to enter heaven’s glory and spend eternity with You, but also to be actively involved in our lives each and every day. Please helps us to constantly be in a state of recognizing Your involvement in our lives, and even more, help us to never be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the miracles of our awesome God! Praise God that You are alive today precious Jesus, and praise Him that You are alive and active in my life. Please be especially visible to my friends who will read this devotional and to all my family and friends that I will touch in some way today. Glorify Your name oh Lord! AMEN! |
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| 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! | |
Only God
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Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-03-13 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Exodus 14:31 (AMP) |
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Text: |
31 When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord [with reverence and awe-filled respect], and they believed in the Lord, and in His servant Moses. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| The Israelites had a hard time trusting Moses and his God, as they suffered through the heat, drought and weariness of wandering through the wilderness, even though God came through for them on many occasions. Here on yet another occasion it became evident to the Israelites that only God could hold the waters back so they could walk through the Red Sea on dry land, and only God could give the command to fill the sea back, after the Israelites were safely on the other side and the Egyptians were dead center in the middle of it when it collapsed on top of them. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| We could see where the episode detailed in our Scripture verses today is yet another in a series of miracles that God performed to help gain the confidence and trust of the Israelites that He allowed Moses to lead away from Egypt. At the conclusion of this particular episode, the Israelites were able to look back in wonderment of what God had just done to bring them safely through a body of water, then how He used that same body of water to destroy their slave-masters – the Egyptian army. Is this what’s missing from our culture today? I believe that miracles still occur, but are they getting passed off as happen-chance, or good luck, or great doctors? How about when a young drug addict is drawn to the Lord, is it ever said that it was because of the prayers of a praying mom and dad, that God got to the heart of that son or daughter and drew them to Himself? Friends, we are quickly approaching the Easter season where we are reminded of the resurrected Lord. He is still on the throne and still very active in the lives of His children. Yes we can tell the stories of miracles from the Bible so that we could be reminded of the power of our God, but we must never forget that He is still on the throne; He still answers the prayers of His children; and that He still performs miracles even today. Drug addicts and those trapped by Satan will quickly tell you of the dark underground where they live. Now if only Christians will be as quick to brag about the power of God in their lives each day! When you see answered prayer, believe me, that was a miracle of God, not because of any power of yours or your pastor’s. Be ready and willing to praise and thank God for the miracles, and always be ready to brag on your miracles so that others may see, or hear, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Israelites saw and believed – your friends can do the same, if you remain faithful and give God the glory! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Father, it took miracle after miracle to get through to the stubborn hearts of the Israelites that You carefully led out of slavery in Egypt. There are many of our friends, neighbors and family who are enslaved to the greater sins of this world today, and You have placed us plum in the middle of all this so that we could expose them to the miracle of the gospel. Please touch your children once again today dear Lord and give us boldness to declare the goodness of the Lord. We are thankful for the miracles we see each and every day through answered prayer, please help us to use those experiences to brag on You before an unbelieving world. May they see Jesus through our eyes, so they may understand the Miracle Worker that we love and adore. May they seek Your saving grace even today dear 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 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! | |
What Can Jesus Do For You?
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Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-03-06 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Matthew 20:31-34 (NLT) |
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Text: |
31 “Be quiet!” the crowd yelled at them. But they only shouted louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
32 When Jesus heard them, he stopped and called, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 “Lord,” they said, “we want to see!” 34 Jesus felt sorry for them and touched their eyes. Instantly they could see! Then they followed him. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| In this story we see a few things: First is the determination of the blind men to get Jesus’ attention. Although told by the disciples to be quiet, they shouted all the louder; Secondly, I am always shocked how Jesus would ask two blind men what he could do for them! He didn’t assume that they were there to have their sight restored, for they may have had much deeper needs that only the Master could resolve for them. And thirdly, their miracle led to them becoming followers of Christ! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Throughout the gospels we can read story after story about the extremes that some folk went to in order to see, touch, or plead with Jesus about their situation. I am saddened by our current day believers who either wait until their very last option to seek Jesus and ask Him for help in their respective scenario, or because they have listened to Satan and the world, and have chosen to not follow Christ, they therefore might opt to not ‘bother’ Him in their time of need. Notice that the blind men did not let pride get in their way of getting close to Jesus and asking Him for a miracle. They weren’t concerned about friends trying to turn them away because they never wanted anything to do with Jesus. I want you to also notice that although these men were not follower of Christ, He stopped, listened to their plea, and delivered them from their blindness. Friends, this is another reminder of how deep the love of God is for His children. Notice also that Jesus teaches us to never assume what the needs of another person might be. Wouldn’t you have thought that two blind men waiting to see Jesus, were probably there to ask for restoration of their sight? However, Jesus still asked what they wanted of Him. Friends, let’s learn from this that we are to be specific in our asking of God. So I believe the important question that Jesus might have for you today is: What is your greatest need that you would have me attend to for you? This should be the item that you are daily pleading to God for, and is first and foremost on your mind. Be determined as the two blind guys, knowing that the same Jesus that they called out to for mercy and healing, is still available, able and ready to also hear our cry for help. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Dear Lord, we serve the awesome Creator of this world, and You have proven yourself over and over again, yet You are often the very last person that we call on in our times of trouble and despair. As we were reminded by this Scripture today, please teach us to be persistent in asking, knowing that You are ruler over all things and that Your awesome power is just as prevalent today as it was when You gave the command to restore eyesight to the two blind men. Lord, please touch the hearts and lives of all who might read this devotional today, and please especially touch the lives of my family at this time so that we all might be reminded of the King of all kings and Lord of all lords, and Your awesome love and power. For I ask these things in Your wonderful and matchless name, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
Ask for anything in My name
Saturday, 2016-11-19
Scripture
Bible Reference: John 14:12-14
Bible Text: 12 I tell you the truth: whoever believes in Me will be able to do what I have done, but they will do even greater things, because I will return to be with the Father. 13 Whatever you ask for in My name, I will do it so that the Father will get glory from the Son. 14 Let Me say it again: if you ask for anything in My name, I will do it.
Bible Translation: The Voice Translation (Voice)
My Take
Ever noticed that your son may go and ask a friend of equal age to do something that both he and you feel is the best thing to do, but it may have little relevance to the friend, until he brings down the power by saying that my dad asked that we do this right away? Bringing the dad’s name into the equation always adds power to the instructions being given. Ever noticed also that as a son, you may tell your buddies to do something that sounds different to what they know your dad has always preached, and they will give you a funny look and wonder where are you coming from with those instructions? Jesus had just introduced the Comforter to His disciples as He (Jesus) prepared Himself to go and be with the Father. Jesus assured His disciples, as He still assures us today, that He will be sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding for us, and that He will receive glory from the Father as His children carries on His work here on earth with the help of the Comforter, or the Holy Spirit. Notice that great emphasis is directed to the fact that even though we stand to do things even greater than He (Jesus) did while here on earth, we must never lose sight of who we are representing, and whose power resides with us to enable the work. Remember that in Acts 19:13-16 there were some who went around trying to cast out demons in Jesus’ name, but even the demons recognized that they were not of Jesus and not speaking on His behalf. Friends, it is safe to say, based on the Word of God, that if any miraculous work is to be done, it will be the power, and the work of Jesus Christ portrayed through us to do the work, with the results being totally for His glory. I believe that there are two important things to remember about being blessed with the power of Jesus working through us: (1) That doing the work of the Lord, demonstrates our love for Him, and not what we might be able to brag on, or benefit from personally; and (2) Miracles are performed in order to bring people to a full knowledge of Jesus Christ. Not for any gain of ourselves, and not for the purpose of relieving our friends from some earthly burden, but that they might know Jesus as their Lord and personal Savior. Please note that there is nothing mentioned about the obedient servant who God uses to stand in His stead and allow His miracle to be transmitted through. But I can assure you that for those who will do this, we will be blessed beyond anything words can describe. To God be the glory for all the great things He can do through even us who believe in Him, and are willing to be used by Him!
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I believe that we, Your children, in our meager faith tend go from one extreme to another way too often. For I believe we recognize our powerlessness and know that we can do nothing miraculous by ourselves. However, I also believe that there are times that our ego steps in at times and we want so badly to see our friends overcome obstacles that we tend to jump in there and pray peace and/or healing over them so they could return to a sense of normalcy. I was recently reminded by a pastor when He said that we could very easily step in the way of You actually disciplining someone, by trying to humanly help them correct or overcome their situation. This scripture has once again opened my eyes to the fact that we must be so driven by the Spirit of God that the things we say and the things we do, are very much aligned with His will and His purpose. I also believe that if the Holy Spirit leads us to a miraculous scenario with our friends that will demonstrate the love of God for them and bring them to a full knowledge of Jesus Christ, then we must, in obedience, seek your leadership and carry out Your work, particularly among the unsaved. Lord, I am concerned that there are so many in each of our circle of friends that don’t know You as their Lord and personal Savior. If it takes a miracle to convince them of Your love and power today, I pray that Your will may be done. Please speak clearly to Your children today so that we may in obedience do Your perfect will. 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!
So You May Believe!
THE HOLY BIBLE – 30 Jesus did many other powerful works in front of His followers. They are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. When you put your trust in Him, you will have life that lasts forever through His name. John 20:30-31 – New Life Version (NLF)
THOUGHTS: I believe that in most cases in this life we quickly learn whose words we can trust, because often friends will either add on for emphasis, or simply tell their story so dramatically in order to gain our attention to what they are saying, that many parts of the story is simply placed in there and may not be in line with the truth of the story. I could only imagine that like me, you quickly discern who you have to listen very selectively to, and who you can trust with the whole truth. I remember my dad telling me that if a person has to swear by someone or something when telling you a story, be very careful as that story is probably riveted with lies! Similarly, many people will exaggerate so much in quoting quantities, until I sometime feel like I need to sift through a conversation to determine the real truth! In the gospel of John, we read so many facts about he and his fellow disciples interacting with Jesus, that one could very easily walk away feeling like they may have been present during the events described. I would strongly encourage my readers to take time to read the 20th chapter of John, and to closely examine the actions and words of those that visited the tomb of Jesus. Bear in mind that these were Jesus’ closest friends and followers. Can’t you imagine the content of their prayers leading up to this time, after seeing their Master taken from them, beaten beyond recognition, crucified on an old wooden cross in a public setting and buried in a borrowed tomb? Remember that these prayers were going up to the same One that they attributed multiple healings, bodily resurrection, and many other miracles to. Yet when they saw the miracle of resurrection, again they were flabbergasted. This story, combined with multiple others, which were only a small portion of all the events they witnessed throughout their time with Jesus, yet these things were written down by John for the specific reason written in our key verses above. John wanted to show us what it was like for he and his Brothers to be around Jesus, and how He made a believer out of them. He wanted us to have faith in the same Jesus, who was key in the stories shared with us, so that we might also become focused on Jesus, that we would also become a believer in Jesus, and surrender our lives to Him. John knew that as we are transformed, that we would go on to share our story of this same Savior that rescued us from damnation and the destination of Hell, and that Jesus would use our story to also impact lives for Himself. How are you doing with that friend? John’s story became a part of the best-selling Book in history. How do you suppose Jesus will view your story, and your effort to broadcast it to those within your realm of influence?
PRAYER: Father, You were faithful, You were miraculous in all Your works while in the presence of John and Your disciples. Your plan included the death and resurrection of Jesus to resolve the issue of redemption of our sin, as we seek Your face. You had a very strong influence in the lives of Your disciples. However, with all honor and praise to our risen Lord, we know that You are still in the miracle working business, the greatest of which was transforming the life of a sinner such as I into the likeness of Your very Son, Jesus Christ! So undeserving, yet You love me as a son of the Most High. Father, please provoke a desire into the lives of my readers, my family, my friends and myself to tell our story of Your wondrous works to which we have been a party to or at least a witness. Lord You are so good! We have every reason to share Your goodness with everyone we come into contact with who may not have accepted Your grace and Your offer of salvation yet. May this be a day that others will be transformed because of Your gracious transformation in our lives. Lord, I believe. Please help me to share that with all who may not have reached that state yet – all being for Your full glory and honor. For I ask this in faith, and through the gracious 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 so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely 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, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!
Nuggets From God's Word 