Category: Obedience

Are You Listening?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Heart Knowledge, Know God's Heart, Listen, Listen to the Word of God, ObedienceLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2016-08-23

Scripture

Bible Reference: Mark 4:23–25

Bible Text: 23  “Are you listening to this? Really listening? 24–25  “Listen carefully to what I am saying—and be wary of the shrewd advice that tells you how to get ahead in the world on your own. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes.”

Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take

In verse 23 Jesus re-emphasizes what He said in verse 9 – “Are you listening?”. I believe that Jesus would have the same concern today, for we can fill our churches if we throw in a meal, or if we were giving away something to everyone that attended. Some fill their churches by preaching only the positive aspects of the gospel, and not challenging their congregations with the plain truth about hell and the grave. Friends, the Word of God is widely known as the ‘Good News’, however there are consequences for sin. Satan is constantly trying to steer folk in his direction and away from God. So whenever you feel like you have failed in your invitation to have your neighbor attend church with you, please be reminded that you are probably fighting against the evil one who is trying to keep his grip on one of his followers. It is unfortunate, but churches often fill up when there is a disaster. So I am convinced that many believe there is a God, however He is only called on as needed, much like we do with the gas station. Friends, Jesus told these parables so that His listeners would be reminded of the importance of knowing the Savior of this world intimately, that you would give Him full control of your life, and that you would live in total obedience to the Word of God. Evidence of you having received the gift of salvation will reflect in your willingness to give more than your natural desire to receive. May I encourage you to evaluate your life, or better still try asking God to evaluate your life and show you if you are more of a receiver than a giver? There has been no mention of money, so please don’t ever use that as a crutch on why you can’t give. Just give, as God has given to you – perhaps a helping hand; a prayer; a phone call; a hug or a word of encouragement. These will be worth more than money to a lonely person or one who is hurting. These characteristics will reflect Jesus more than anything you can buy at the store.

Prayer

Father, You gave Your very own Son for our good, yet we seem so selfish with what little we own here on this earth. Please help us to give sacrificially as You did, and may others see Your character in every aspect of our life. Lord, please draw the lost unto You this day, and if You can use us in the process, may we be willing servants, 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 Did You Respond?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Disciple, Follow Christ, Follow Jesus, Follower of Christ, ObedienceLeave a comment

Friday, 2016-08-19

Scripture

Bible Reference: Mark 1:16–20

Bible Text: 16 As Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were fishermen and were casting their nets into the lake. 17 Jesus said to them, “Come with me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish.” 18 Right then the two brothers dropped their nets and went with him. 19 Jesus walked on and soon saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat, mending their nets. 20 At once Jesus asked them to come with him. They left their father in the boat with the hired workers and went with him.

Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take

There are three calls by Jesus that I want to share with you, and the response I believe God expects from each. In the above scripture there are two examples highlighted in purple where Jesus called out to fishermen to follow Him. Their responses are almost identical. They are highlighted in green and to summarize, they both say that the fishermen saw no greater priority than to drop what they were doing – things they were familiar with, and coworkers that they knew and respected. And they did this to follow this Jesus who was passing along on the shoreline. Perhaps they had heard of Jesus before, and perhaps they had not, but they responded obediently to His call. Now the third call is probably the most important one for you to ponder today, for I am convinced that Jesus still calls His children today – that’s you and I friend. How you might ask? We are told in scripture that our experience with Jesus is ‘Good News’, in fact I might add that it’s the BEST news that one could hear in any given day. So may I help answer the ‘How’ question, by asking you:

  • When last have you been so determined to keep ‘Good News’ bottled up inside?
  • How can you say that Jesus hasn’t called you to follow Him into service, when you have already turned down so many opportunities to serve Him through your local church?
  • What do you mean that you are incapable, when we see that Jesus used uneducated fishermen to start off the whole Christian movement?
  • Why would you refer a family member or friend to your pastor, when Jesus placed the person and their situation right into your lap, expecting you to merely share your story with them, and the Good News of the One who rescued you from a life of sin?

Friends, I believe that Jesus is just as anxious about using you and I to spread the gospel as he was with the first disciples He called. They immediately responded by following His commands. Perhaps you should consider doing the same!

Prayer

Lord Jesus, we have been blessed with the greatest gift ever, and our blessings continue as we worship, adore, praise and serve You. Please help us to be as liberal in sharing this good news with others as we do with even the smallest successes in life. Lord, You know how blessed we are with the friends and family You have placed in our life. Please help us to show our deepest appreciation by sharing the Good News of our Savior, who actually sacrificed His life to provide our means of getting into Heaven. This is the greatest news ever, so let us be bold in sharing it with everyone we come into contact with. 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!

God’s Way of Getting Our Attention

On By Ed AlgreenIn Follow Christ, Follow Jesus, Listen to the Word of God, ObedienceLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2016-07-27

Scripture

Bible Reference: Job 36:15–16

Bible Text:  15 Hard times and trouble are God’s way of getting our attention! 16 And at this very moment, God deeply desires to lead you from trouble and to spread your table with your favorite food.

Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take

My dad had a 30-year old nephew electrocuted while working high up on a power poll one Sunday afternoon. This ultimately influenced my dad into asking Jesus into his heart. An extremely sad time for this young man’s mother, yet God used it to open the eyes of my dad. Praise the Lord! Job was an honorable man who loved the Lord and obeyed His commands, yet God allowed Satan to run him through some extremely trying, tough times. As his friends tried to console him and help him through this rough time in his life, the words of these verses were shared with Job. Friends, what do you suppose it would really take to get our attention sometimes? I believe that because God loves us so much, He is very patient in trying to lead us in the right direction and towards right decisions. However, because we are so stubborn, He often has to resort to some very serious actions at times, just to get us thinking outside of our ‘box’ that we consider ‘right living’. Let me remind you friends that you could never be good enough to get into heaven, or to be like Jesus. That’s just doesn’t work. It is interesting though that once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and we are obedient to His Word, how we seek to become ‘better’ citizens of earth! In fact, following the teachings of Christ will create in us a clean new heart, where we tend to do things just like Jesus did – loving, kind, respectful, obedient, caring and sacrificial. These things are very opposite to the teachings of the world, that is directed by Satan. When bad things happen, may I encourage you to seek the face of God and ask if He is trying to get your attention on some aspect of your life? Also, please note that the response might be totally opposite to what the world will do, so be careful to follow the right path on this!

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for being persistent to get my attention to my lost condition. You created us to be holy, just like You, yet we have allowed the ruler of this world to tempt us with his many vices and evil deeds, that have caused us to look more like the world. Lord, I have many family and friends that I love dearly, and would love to see the very best for them while allowed to remain here on earth. Please gently get their attention again today so that they may be encouraged to surrender their lives wholeheartedly to You. Please also touch each reader of this blog today, so that Your Holy Spirit may be actively working in their lives to draw them closer to the cross. May we all be better prepared to handle the events of this day, week and year as a result of Your activity in our lives, and may we praise You like never before for all that You accomplish in our circle of influence, 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!

Simple Instructions For ‘Right’ Living

On By Ed AlgreenIn Example, Example of Christ, Genuine example of Jesus, Godly example, ObedienceLeave a comment

Monday, 2016-06-27

Scripture

Bible Reference: Micah 6:8

Bible Text:  8 No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

In this scripture today, we can see where God is yet again addressing the question of many who are wanting to please God, but yet live like the world. I know, that’s not you, but before your give up on this devotional today, let me encourage you to be patient with me as I draw some parallels. There are three commands given to the Jews, and I believe these are still very applicable to us today:

  1. Do what is right – sounds like a very simple command, but let’s examine where this comes from. In verses 6 and 7 we see where the people were asking what is it that God would like for them to bring, or sacrifice, in order to please Him. Please recognize that they could have sacrificed half of their livestock holdings and still be very ungodly in their attitudes and their actions towards others.  In today’s society, we hear a lot at funerals and at social events about individuals are are great financial providers, or perhaps heads of state. One would walk away thinking that they must be God’s top person on earth as they are ‘good’ in every way – according to the speaker! Additionally, we are continually trying to convince ourselves of how pleasing we must be to God after attending at least one church service this month, or because we gave a satisfactory amount in the offering. In each case, we may have missed the point if we haven’t daily lived doing what is right in God’s sight. Are we truly following His ways and doing what He commands?
  2. Love mercy – In each of the above self-righteous actions, have we truly shown mercy to everyone that God has placed in our presence? Jesus showed mercy to everyone – especially those that society rejected and shoved aside. Do we practice enough mercy, or are we a part of the crowd who will push the poor and unfortunate aside? When last have you been identified as an agent of Jesus – even to the dejected?
  3. Walk humbly with God – I see this as being one who is fully committed and obedient to God. I believe this is the individual who moves from a life of doing our own thing to please self, and moves to an obedient life responding to every command of Jesus. Friends, as we study God’s Word and strive to follow in His footsteps, we will look and sound more like Jesus. We may even be mistaken for Jesus to a world that is in sore need of Him. Walking humbly with God means that you are willing to walk behind Him and let Him guide you and therefore take all the credit for anything you might accomplish. After all, you would be showing the world that everything is given to you by Him and for His glory – only.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, You demonstrated an obedient spirit, filled with mercy, as You walked this earth. You reminded us many times that You only spoke the words that were given to You by Your Father, and that You did only those things that pleased Your Father. As Your children, trying to follow Your will and Your desire for our lives, we realize that we must learn to live just like You. Please touch us today with Your power and Your guidance so that we might desire to walk like You and talk like You, especially before our friends who are looking for Godly examples here on earth. If You are in us, then Your character, Your love and Your example will pour forth from us. So please fill us to overflowing today Lord, so that others may see and believe. May You receive glory from all that is accomplished through Your children today, 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!

Always Be Open To Share

On By Ed AlgreenIn Obedience, Obedient, Share, Share God’s Word, WitnessLeave 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: Acts 8:27–31
Today’s Bible Text: 27 …… The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah. 29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.” 30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: Isn’t it interesting how we can usually place enough reasons in our mind to not do something we feel prompted to do? We may need to call someone, but we fill our heads with excuses on why we should delay, or perhaps not call at all. The same for visitation – we can quickly fill our heads with excuses of why this may not be an opportune time to visit, or why the person may not appreciate you coming by at all. Phillip had every reason to doubt the Holy Spirit’s instructions to him. The eunuch was from the Queen’s palace – and surely he will want nothing to do with just a local Christian fellow wanting to teach the gospel or be a witness, right? Think also about the fact that the eunuch was just returning from Jerusalem where he went to worship. Now surely the Holy Spirit would not want you to go and be a witness to a church goer! After all he’s probably a Christian already, seeing that he went out of his way to go such a distance just to worship! Then, of course, there is probably the usual excuses of being afraid that you may be asked a question you can’t answer, or you will probably stammer over your words in nervousness. But isn’t it interesting that Philip did exactly what he was instructed, without finding all of the usual excuses, and of course, the story reveals that it was a very timely visit, that ultimately led to the conversion of the eunuch. I wonder how many opportunities we miss because of our many excuses that we tend to place in the way of God’s urging, and nudging for us to be a witness. God had this whole encounter with Philip and the Eunuch ordained for His purpose. I believe there are similar encounters He has in store for us as well. May I encourage you to be obedient to what He may ask you to do?

Prayer: Lord God, You know all things and You have everything under Your perfect control. Please help us to just be obedient and follow Your direction to us and Your assignments for us. Like Philip, we could easily be part of a great big plan that You have in store to actually change the heart and eternal direction of someone we know. Use us dear Lord to be involved in anything that we could do to facilitate Your destiny for our friends and family. May Your perfect will be accomplished, even through imperfect messengers like us. For I ask all this in the precious and all powerful name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior, 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

Evidence of Our Righteousness

On By Ed AlgreenIn Glorify, Obedience, Righteous Living, Righteousness, Worship2 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: Isaiah 26:7–8
Today’s Bible Text: 7 But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them. 8 LORD, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our heart’s desire is to glorify your name.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: I believe that first impressions of my subject may cause you to think that you can easily impress people (family, friends, loved ones, coworkers), so this act of being righteous has to be an easy challenge today. Well, if your heart is right and you are sincerely doing everything possible to exemplify Christ in every aspect of your life, then you may be right. I was challenged by the two simple ways Isaiah shared that we could show proof of our desire to be righteous:

  1. Obeying God’s laws – friends I believe that our challenge with this, is in trying to get to the root of God’s intentions in His laws. Society, and yes many churches, have put their own spin on what the Word of God is actually saying to His people. Many ‘teachings’ tend to ‘water down’ the real intent of the scripture to something that man feels is possible or sounds most logical for followers. We must be sure that we are truly understanding the heart of God and His full intentions, for His ways are pure, true and righteous in every way. Let’s be careful to not sprinkle a little of our own philosophy into the Word to make it sound good or palatable. God gave His words to His messengers in precisely the way that He meant for us to understand and obey it. Our obedience to His laws, or His teachings, or His Word is evidence of our righteousness. Do I dare say that anything less is clear evidence of how messed up we truly are?
  2. Our heart’s desire is to glorify God – We have no idea what kind of worshipping, or praising, or glorifying God takes place in the privacy of homes, or at our jobs, or other areas of our life, but may I dare suggest that from the evidence we see at church services, it’s probably very minimal? Some seem very excited about being at church on Sunday mornings and this reflects in their worship. Most seem to attend out of tradition; satisfying a spouse’s invitation/demands; and some just to say that they want the rest of their week to go well, so they give Jesus some time on Sundays. On Sunday evenings or Wednesday night prayer and Bible Study meetings churches might only see 20% of the Sunday morning crowd. I wonder whether our ‘desire’ is to glorify God. I wonder if we could join Isaiah in appearing before God on Judgment Day and asking Him to please consider our times of glorifying Him as evidence of our righteousness while on earth?

These are only two factors in evidencing our righteousness, but I believe they are huge ones. God knows our heart, regardless of what we might evidence before mankind. Draw me close to You dear Lord, never let me go. My heart’s desire is to know You and draw closer to You. Please touch the lives of those that will read this devotional today. May they draw ever so close to You and may their lives be filled with righteousness and servitude towards You dear Father.

Prayer: Lord, we commit ourselves to You and pray that Your Holy Spirit will constantly impress upon us the need for obedience to Your laws, and an undying desire to glorify You in all aspects of our life. 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

What Should We Do?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Know God's Heart, Obedience, Seek God First, Seek God's Face, Seeking GodLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Find out first-hand what God would have you do today! This will be important as you seek to do His will. May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for your blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Luke 3:10–14
Today’s Bible Text: 10 The crowds asked, “What should we do?”
11 John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.”
12 Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, “Teacher, what should we do?”
13 He replied, “Collect no more taxes than the government requires.”
14 “What should we do?” asked some soldiers.
John replied, “Don’t extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay.”
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: In so many areas of our lives we ask the same question as was asked of John the Baptist. As a child when we are tired of whippings and ready to do things mom way, we might ask her to just remind, or show us again what we could do to please her. As adults, we might ask our spouse to remind us of what we could do to please them or stay in their good graces. In our jobs we want to know what we could do to move up the corporate ladder, or earn more money. I believe that each time we attend church, we are looking for opportunities to worship and praise God for His goodness, but also to seek His face for our next assignment, or just instructions for righteous living that would please Him. Daily as we open the Word of God (and I pray that it is daily for you friend), we are looking for more encouragement and blessings from God, and looking for our next set of instructions from the Holy Spirit on what we must do to be more reflective of our Savior to those that we will come into contact with that day. We are simply asking like the different groups of people asked John, “What Shall We Do?”. A few verses down in this same chapter, John went on to explain how the Lord will soon return and how He will separate the chaff from the wheat – in other words, there will come a day of accountability, where the Master will recognize those who have obediently followed His instructions found in the Word of God from those who claimed the name but, continued to do the same old same old, and those who wanted nothing to do with their Creator or His precious Son, Jesus Christ. In knowing the Son of God, we have an obligation to obey Him, otherwise we never prove to Him or the world that we are a true son or daughter of the King. What then shall we do? Won’t you go before the Master and ask that question today, friend? John gave some basic answers that I’ve shared with you, but if you know Jesus personally, you have every right to approach Him and ask for your personalized instructions on what He would have you do. Let me encourage you to form that type of intimate relationship with your Heavenly Father, friend.

Prayer: Father, I want to thank You for showing me day after day that Your Word is active and very much alive, for You speak directly to me personally when I read its pages. Please help me to obediently follow Your instructions as a light unto my path of life. I have no doubt that my readers face the same dilemma each day as they seek Your face. Please revive Your army with Your almighty instructions – fresh new life that will not only revive us, but incent us to encourage others towards a more meaningful life and may we bless others as we meet them today. ‘As We seek Your face, may we know Your Heart’ is our hearts’ song today Lord Jesus. Please bless Your children accordingly, and we will be eternally grateful. 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

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

How To Improve Your Faith

On By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Obedience, SubmissionLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? In today’s world we are constantly looking to ways to improve ourselves. Our study today encourages us to improve our faith, then goes on to tell us how. Look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: 2 Peter 1:4-8
Today’s Bible Text: … 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.   But to obtain these gifts, you need more than faith; you must also work hard to be good, and even that is not enough. For then you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do. Next, learn to put aside your own desires so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have his way with you. This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply. The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow strong spiritually and become fruitful and useful to our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: We are reminded that God has showered His rich and wonderful blessings on us and He is doing everything possible to form us more and more into His character. However, there is work for us to do, so that He might have freedom to work in our lives, and mold us into His likeness. I believe these additional qualities help us to be devoted to our calling and gives God opportunity to respond in marvelous ways to help us attain. Can you imagine us accomplishing anything by just sitting back and allowing someone to do it for us? Don’t you know that the more we are involved in something, the more that we ‘buy-in’ on the idea and the more committed we are to the end result? So let’s look closely at some of the things we are told to work on:

  • We need more faith – Remember, Jesus told Peter about his lack of faith when he took his eyes off the Master.  Remember that James said that our good deeds and our actions will prove our faith. Friends, if we say we have it, then our lives should reflect it!
  • We must work hard to be good – moral excellence
  • We must be studious in knowing more about God – get in the Word for yourself. Get to know as much as possible about the Savior who gave up His very life so that you might live eternally with the Father!
  • We must ‘dig deep’ and discover what God wants us to do – The only way to be obedient to the will of God is to go before Him in daily prayer and study His Word for all that He will guide you to do.
  • We must put aside our own desires and be more subjective to God’s will for our lives – Often you will find that the worldly things that you want to do is opposed to what you might discern that the Word of God wants you to do. Be willing to put aside your personal agenda so that you might be totally obedient to God.
  • Enjoy other people and grow to love them deeply – When the love of God is deeply entrenched in you, then you will begin to love His people. When you grow to desire all that God desires, your love for others will grow as deep as God’s love for them. Remember how much He loves them? He sacrificed everything for their eternal welfare! Glory to God for loving me that much!!

Our reward: We will grow strong spiritually AND become fruitful and useful for our Lord!

Is it worth it all? I desire to commit fully to all that God teaches and directs me to do, including all of the above. I hope that you will do the same!!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for showing me the way to the Father, and thank You for sacrificing Your very life so that I might have the only avenue opened for me to one day see You in heaven. I pray that my readers, my family and my friends might find this same peace today! Please continue to direct our path so that we might grow in our faith; in the knowledge of Your Word; and the unhindered obedience of Your will for our lives. Thank You Lord 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

Respecting Authority

On By Ed AlgreenIn Authority, Government Leaders, Obedience, Our Character, RespectLeave 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 Peter 2:13–17
Today’s Bible Text: 13 For the Lord’s sake, obey every law of your government: those of the king as head of the state, 14 and those of the king’s officers, for he has sent them to punish all who do wrong, and to honor those who do right. 15 It is God’s will that your good lives should silence those who foolishly condemn the Gospel without knowing what it can do for them, having never experienced its power. 16 You are free from the law, but that doesn’t mean you are free to do wrong. Live as those who are free to do only God’s will at all times. 17 Show respect for everyone. Love Christians everywhere. Fear God and honor the government.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: This is a very challenging topic for us today, for we have been taught to be independent thinkers; stand up for what you feel is right; speak out against things that appear to you to be wrong; no one is greater than you, so stand tall for your beliefs. Friends, do you see either of these things in the above verses today? I would dare say that God’s Word teaches pretty much just the opposite to what the world will teach you is the right thing to do. Many of us are caught up in a lot more political talk right now than we would ever care to acknowledge. We hear so much about how awful our government leaders are, and how we need to replace them with more honest politicians. Please don’t misunderstand me, I firmly believe that the Word of God teaches that we should vote, and that we should vote out dishonest politicians, but friends, we must be careful that we always live out these verses taken straight from the pages of God’s Word. Our lives should be such that even if the world felt hateful towards us, or Christianity as a whole, that they would look at our consistent behavior – that aligns with every thing we preach, and they would be silenced realizing that we are living – acting and talking, exactly what we have preached in the best of times. It is clear in God’s Word that He ordains our government leaders, and puts them in place as His representatives, for such a time as this. How dare us disrespect them, disobey them, speak badly about them and not pray for their success. If we ever lean towards such action as the latter, are we not then worse than the world in acknowledging our disillusion about the authority and will of God? We are told in these verses about how important governments are to our earthly structure, and we are told what our role is. I would encourage you to keep this foremost in your minds, and the instructions given to us in Romans 13, especially during this year for elections for many of us. We have an awesome God to serve and obey, let’s be especially careful to not afford the ways of the world to distract our obedience to our God.

Prayer: Father, we are often distracted, tempted and taunted in our Christian walk, especially through our earthly process of electing new government officials. Such an important part of our earthly walk, yet Satan uses it at every opportunity to bring out the worse in Your children. Based on the verses in today’s scripture reading, I believe You have made it clear that this is an area where Your children can be a shining example of whose we are. For how can the ungodly possibly keep a consistent, honest respect for the very authority that is often corrupt from a worldly perspective? Lord Jesus, these are times where we can shine as Your ambassadors here on earth. Please give us the boldness to do just that. May we represent You well, and may our actions and our words align as a witness to what we have claimed before You and before our church family. I ask these things knowing that my readers and I need a special touch from You to always stay committed to You and Your Word, regardless of what we may hear expressed by worldly politicians. It’s all about You Jesus – even in our views about those who lead us. May this remain evident through our very character, 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