Category: Obedience

Our Judge

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Holy Spirit, Obedience, Pleasing to GodLeave a comment

The Bible – New Living Translation

1 Corinthians 4:3-4

3 As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. 4 My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.

Thoughts:

Whenever a court case occurs, one of the first things that an attorney wants to know is “Who is the judge on the case”. Based on the attorney’s knowledge of the judge and his/her previous judgments, they have a better idea on how to present their current case. Friends, I want to remind us that we have the rules of the game of life all set out for us in God’s Word. We know the heart of the Judge, God, as it is evident throughout the Bible. Why is it that so many of us go through this life trying to impress the pastor, church leaders, or members? In the Word we are reminded that it is God that knows everything about us and everything we do or say, and it is He that will judge us on what really matters. So what is important? What is it that really matters? That at one point in our lives we listened to God who pointed out our sinful condition; That we asked forgiveness and surrendered the Lordship of our lives over to God; and That we live the rest of our lives following His commands and the desires of His heart, as taught in the Bible. Our reward for doing all of this is that we are allowed into God’s kingdom where we will live eternally with Him. That will be glory dear friends!!! Now before you get the impression that I am discarding the importance of our church leaders, please know that they play an important role in our lives, for they are ordered to teach us the ways of God; to explain the Word to us who find it difficult to understand certain teachings; and to hold us accountable to be the Christian warriors that we should be. The most important thing for us to gain from this lesson today is: if we stood before our Judge today, would we be found guilty of being the Christian that He expects of us? Would we have a lot of regrets over things that we wish we would’ve done differently? If you answered positively to the last question, then please examine yourself and continue to ask for God’s wisdom and leadership to help correct your ways and live in accordance with His perfect will for your life. Please live to please your Judge and in the light of His accountability through knowing all things about us – both word and deed.

Prayer:

Father God, we are weaklings in that we live our lives based on the environment in which we find ourselves, and not necessarily in line with Your Word and Your commands. Please forgive me for not being consistently Yours in every walk of life. Lord Jesus, I ask for the strength of Your precious Holy Spirit to help me walk in the Light of Jesus, in every phase of life and in all circumstances. I pray dear Lord that You might awaken our church goers and remind them of this truth also. I pray that You would begin with me, then all those that might read this devotional, then our regular church goers, then all those who have accepted You as Lord, but still live like the world. I also pray that as You touch the unsaved person that may be led to this devotional today, You might emphasize to them the importance of an honest relationship with You and not just another superficial pretense. Lord, I acknowledge You as God, and while I thank You for awakening me today, I also pray that You might become a moving revival in the hearts of those that regularly attend church but live in pretense. May Your church be the church, is my humble request that I ask in the only name worthy of honor and praise, Jesus my Lord, AMEN!

NOTE: 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.

Reasons Why The ‘World’ Don’t See Jesus

On By Ed AlgreenIn All have sinned, Bible Believing, Born Again, Christian, Follow Jesus, Fruit of the Spirit, Imitator of Christ, Obedience, Pleasing to GodLeave a comment

The Bible – New Living Translation

1 Corinthians 3:3

3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?

Thoughts:

Sometimes I look around at failing churches and I wonder, Why? Sometimes I see our pastors stressed out and I wonder, Why? And then sometimes I look at regular church attendees who suddenly stop coming to church, and I wonder, Why? God used this passage of scripture this morning to open my eyes to the reasons why, and it’s written in plain English right within the content of these verses for us to see. When we act in any of the above ways, it proves that:
          *   We are still controlled by our sinful nature;
          *   We are often jealous of one another and quarrel with each other; and
          *   We are still living like people of the world.
Now before our pride kicks in, and we get our noses too high in the air and begin thanking God for helping us to not be like that described above, I want to suggest that we invite God to dig deep into our inner selves and allow Him to open our hearts and our minds so that there will be no misgivings about our spiritual well being. You see, we are all a long ways away from the ideals established for us by Jesus himself. No matter how godly we may think we are, we must still seek God’s mercy and His constant eye on us, constantly guiding us and giving us wisdom to always respond to things outside of the ‘norm’ established in this world, in fact, we need to constantly respond the way that Jesus did, or the way that we discern from His Word that He would want us to respond. Friends, this will require us being in constant communication with God. I’m afraid that most of us are so full of this world that our only response will naturally look like a ‘worldly’ response. Conversely, if we would fill ourselves with Jesus Christ and His teachings, we would be more apt to respond like He would. Where do you stand Brother? Do You truly fill yourself with the knowledge and teachings of Jesus Christ, sister, so that your normal, quick, right-out-of-the-box response would be one that Jesus is pleased with? If I might suggest, let us humble ourselves before Christ and allow Him to use and lead us to speak and act like Him in our every day dealings with others. Let’s learn to be so filled with the Spirit of God that His character might spill over into all that we are and all that we say.

Prayer:

Father, may the church be the church. I pray that when Christians are encountered by the ‘world’ that they will immediately see the difference in us and not a hypercritical view of Christendom. The ‘world’ truly needs You Lord Jesus, please help us to not be a stumbling block to their needs being met by You. I humbly ask this in Your precious and holy name dear Lord, AMEN!

NOTE: 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.

 

Teach Me Lord!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, God Cares For Us, Humility, Imitator of Christ, Obedience, Pleasing to God, Reflecting Christ, The Book of LifeLeave a comment

The Bible – Good News Translation

Psalm 86:11

Teach me, Lord, what you want me to do,
and I will obey you faithfully; teach me to serve you with complete devotion.

Thoughts:

Friends this is pretty basic stuff today. In fact, so basic that I reflect back on what my wife and I tried to accomplish when our child was an child. We didn’t just leave her to do whatever she wanted to do or say, we guided her and taught her to be someone we could be proud of, but also someone who could get a job and be liked and honored on her job. Although there were many challenging times, yet she looked forward to the benefits of obeying her parents. In other words, like the Psalmist said in this verse, she did everything with complete devotion to us. Friends, as we look around us in astonishment at the crimes and unbelievable behavior of our general population, we no longer need to ask the reason why, because in this passage we are reminded that folk will act according to what they have been taught to do. In other words, those that have no regard for life or other humans, or the good of the land, were never taught by God the expected behavior of His children. So for those who know Christ, how might one be taught what to do? Friends, please begin by finding yourself a good Bible teaching church, and this is not for the purpose of getting your name on the church membership role, this is for the purpose of understanding your book of life instructions better (the Bible). You see, some pastors will go to great lengths, and is supported by church leaders who will go to great lengths, to pray for church members and visitors, and ensure that they understand what the Bible says about all aspects of life. In other words, they go to great lengths to help you understand what The Lord would have you do with your life, and how to live in harmony and obedience with the Word of God. Although you might learn a lot from a casual visit on an occasional Sunday morning, it is much like you found with your child, discipline and teaching was a daily thing. So yes, attend church so that you might learn more about what God wants you to do, based on His Word, but also take time each day to open the Word and read a few verses, with a mind to learn more about what God would have you understand from His Word, and how you might apply it in your life that day. I like to journal my thoughts. This is not required, but it helps me to better share my thoughts and prayers and hopefully better apply what I just read. As you learn various Godly principles and apply them to your life, you will be helping the cause of Christ by being faithful to what you feel He wants from you. We can change this world for the better one day at a time, and through one learned and applied principle at a time. We are the hands and feet of Jesus on the ground, let’s show the world that He exists and that He is evident in and through us.

Prayer:

Lord, I’m sorry that I have allowed so much of the world to impact my life. I am reminded that to serve You more faithfully, I must learn from Your Word daily and commit to serving You with all my heart. Please speak to Your servant and give me the wisdom and fortitude to do Your will and be obedient to Your commands. This old sinful world needs You. May they find enough of You in Your servants today that their lives may be impacted and lead to change in very positive and meaningful ways, is my humble prayer, in the precious name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, AMEN!

NOTE: 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.

Restore Your Church Oh God

On By Ed AlgreenIn All have sinned, Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Chosen by God, Christian, Encourage, Eternal Life, Evangelism, Faith, Follow Jesus, Forgiveness, God our Helper, Grace, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Humility, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Love God, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Power of Prayer, Praise, Repentance, Righteousness, Servants of God, Surrender, Trust, WorshipLeave a comment

The Bible – New Living Translation

Psalm 85:4–7

    4 Now restore us again, O God of our salvation. Put aside your anger against us once more.

    5 Will you be angry with us always? Will you prolong your wrath to all generations?

    6 Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you?

    7 Show us your unfailing love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.

Thoughts:

In my first read through this passage of scripture I was touched by the prayer of David to save his people, and my heart was deeply touched by his prayer because I can clearly see how many around us, in our neighborhoods and in our cities, need the Lord. However, on closer study of this I realized that you can only restore something that at one time was resident there before. So my heart immediately went out to what David was really praying, because I believe that we are seeing churches dying today at a greater record than ever before in the history of our land. In part, I believe that this is because we need an equally as large evangelism effort to the once ‘saved’ who have fallen by the wayside, as we do to the ones who have totally disregarded the message of the cross. Like you, I am very concerned about all that is going on in our land, and in this world, where we are killing each other without any regard for precious life itself. However, this should come as no surprise to Christians, because even back in 2 Chronicles 7:14 it was declared that God is looking for His people, His children, to humble themselves and pray, before He would give consideration to healing our land. When Christians treat their relationship, their commitment, so flippantly, and when there is no humility in looking to God for His powerful, healing and restoring hand upon His people and our land, what is it that we should really expect differently? Friends, we are bringing damnation on ourselves, on our churches and on our land. Remember, God is still in control and His Word will endure to the end, so we must follow His plan if we ever expect to see God restore us again! What is your role? Are you following His plan, so that you might expect to see Him restore us again? Please, let us humble ourselves and pray…..

Prayer:

Jesus, my Lord, in all humility I pray that You might touch the hearts of Your people once again. Begin with me, I pray. May Your church be revived once again, I pray. May each person meditating on this devotional today realize that this is not the ‘place’ we call church, but the body of Christ that at one time or another made a sober decision to accept You as Lord and Savior of their life. May the places that we call ‘church’ burst wide open from the crowds that will be renewed/revived and reminded of their obligation to their Master and Lord. May Your ‘church’ truly come alive again, so that we may follow Your commands and humble ourselves before You and pray. Lord, may the uncommitted one that may be lead to read this devotional today realize the importance of surrendering themselves to Your Lordship today. We are in desperate need of a touch from You oh King, please hear my prayer and heal us. Please cause us to recommit ourselves to do Your perfect will. For I ask all this in the name of the only One with the power to do anything about our pitiful condition, Jesus, my Lord, AMEN!

NOTE: 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.

You Have All That You Need

On By Ed AlgreenIn All have sinned, Bible Believing, Christian, Eternal Life, Faith, Follow Jesus, Fruit of the Spirit, God our Helper, God our Provider, Helper, Holy Spirit, Humility, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Love, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Pleasing to God, Praise, Purity, Reflecting Christ, Righteousness, Trust, Truthful, Victorious LifeLeave a comment

The Bible – New Living Translation

1 Corinthians 1:7–9

7 Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 9 God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Thoughts:

I was reminded of my working career where, from time to time, I go off to conferences or training seminars to sharpen my skills and make me a better employee. These verses made me think about this, because when we surrendered our lives to the lordship of our Lord Jesus, we were given everything that we need to succeed as a Christian. So why do we go to church? Much like I said in my career, we go to church to receive that ‘tune up’, that personal accountability where we allow God’s Word to challenge our lives and show us what we need to do differently in order to be best aligned with His will. Furthermore, Paul reminded the Corinthians of the importance to be blameless when Christ returns. This is vitally important for two reasons: 1). We don’t know the day or the hour when Jesus Christ will return, so we need to be ready and watching at all times, and this must be in a blameless fashion if we are to join Him when He returns; and 2). We need to be holy as Christ is holy, so that we can be the proper representation of Him to our lost family and friends, while we are still on this earth. If we are not blameless before them, we will be considered hypercritical and undesirable to anyone else. The reassurance in these verses can be found in verse 8, for Paul reminds us that God will keep us strong to the end! Praise God that He watches out for us and directs us as needed so that we may remain strong in Him. Now all we need to do is to free ourselves of any rebellion and allow Him to do His mighty work in us. May it be so, God being our helper!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, it is so very interesting to see how your people are the same today as they were in Paul’s day. We still tend to rebel at times and pretend like we have everything under control. Unfortunately, we know full well that we can do nothing without Your strength and Your guidance. Thank You for our pastors and church leaders who teach us Your Word and gently guide us into the path of righteousness so that we may stay aligned with Your Word, accountable to You, and a bold, honest example to our lost family and friends. Lord, may Your perfect will be made whole in my life today, and may Your presence be so bold in the lives of those that may read this devotional, and in the lives of those that we come into contact with. As Paul reminds us in this scripture this morning, You are faithful to what You have said in Your Word, so I rest in the comfort of Your loving arms and depend on Your guidance and perfect will to be accomplished in all things that I may be involved in today. I serve an awesome God in whom I rejoice today! Praising Him and asking for ongoing guidance in the precious and loving name of Jesus, my Savior, AMEN!

 

NOTE: 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.

For The Sake of the Gospel

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Born Again, Celebrate God, Christian, Getting Along, Heaven, Imitator of Christ, Love your Neighbor, ObedienceLeave a comment

The Bible – The Message

Romans 15:15-16

So, my dear friends, don’t take my rather bold and blunt language as criticism. It’s not criticism. I’m simply underlining how very much I need your help in carrying out this highly focused assignment God gave me, this priestly and gospel work of serving the spiritual needs of the non-Jewish outsiders so they can be presented as an acceptable offering to God, made whole and holy by God’s Holy Spirit.

Thoughts:

Sometimes I believe that we read these passages in the Bible and we feel so sorry for the circumstances in which God’s messengers had to work, because we read where they were really challenged in many areas, especially the conflict between the Jews and the Gentiles (non-Jews). So let’s take a moment and rejoice over the many advancements that we have attained in our society and ministry today! Excuse me, but did I just give the impression that we have no issues like Paul faced? If I did, then I am totally wrong, because we are faced with issues that either hinder us from ministering to every man and woman, or we are faced with churches (people) that are opposed to having others of unmatched faith; or color or socioeconomic status, worship with them. Friends these types of prejudices hinder the spreading of the gospel as much as those Paul faced back in Romans 15. Just look around your workplaces, your circle of friends, your neighborhood, etc. We hear of folk that would go to vast extremes to hinder the possibility of folk like I referred to above from moving into their neighborhood, so should we expect to see any difference in our churches? Friends, there is only one God and there will be only one heaven, wouldn’t you reason that we should make every effort to try and work though some of these prejudices we’ve allowed Satan to entrench in our minds, while we are here on this earth so that we would be very comfortable in heaven among ALL of God’s people? Have you ever stopped to think that your reactions resulting from these various prejudices are actually hindering the gospel message? I would challenge you to think about how God might react to you obstructing the message of salvation when you come face to face with Him on Judgment Day. Based on scripture, I believe I have good authority in advising you that you might be surprised who might actually make it into heaven, for I believe there will be grave consequences for those who hinder one of God’s children from surrendering their heart to The Lord. Why not join me in asking God to look deep into our inner selves and expose any prejudice that might be found so that we may not obstruct those that we come into contact with that need to know The Lord, and also that we may be extremely welcoming to those that enter our church doors regardless of any differences that may be evident. People need The Lord friends, that’s the bottom line.

Prayer:

Thank You Lord Jesus for dying on Calvary’s rugged cross for sinners, yes even me. Although undeserving, yet You died for all, so that we may one day be with You in heaven for ever and ever. You placed no restriction on who might surrender their hearts to You, and my simple prayer this morning is that You might open our hearts, cleanse us of all unrighteousness – especially prejudices, so that we may be like You and accept all that may come into our lives, into our churches and into our realms of influence. Please continually remind us that Your judging will be based on our heart, and not any of the exterior things that we tend to look at and allow to interfere with our Godly influence. For I ask this in Your precious name, Lord Jesus, my deliverer, peacekeeper, and lover of all mankind AMEN!

 

NOTE: 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.

Strength is for service, not status

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Encourage, Follow Jesus, Helper, Holy Spirit, Humility, Imitator of Christ, Love, Love your Neighbor, Obedience, Pleasing to God, Service, Status, StregthLeave a comment

The Bible – The Message

Romans 15:1-6

1-2             Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?”

3–6           That’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t make it easy for himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out. “I took on the troubles of the troubled,” is the way Scripture puts it.

Thoughts:

Our reaction to someone’s problems is that we normally feel very sorry for them, followed by: “we will pray for you”. Personally I am very guilty of forgetting that promise as soon as I am out of the person’s presence. Not intentionally, but often because I feel like this is my Christian responsibility to tell them that I will pray for them. But it is very unfortunate that I have taken this serious responsibility so very lightly, especially when my mentor, Jesus, cared for people so much that He didn’t worry about food for himself, but for the 5,000 that had followed Him. It gets even worse, because people will share their worry with us about them not having food to eat or money for the electric or clothing for their school kids, and so often we say how sorry we are to hear that, or perhaps that we will tell our pastor about their problem. Sometimes, that’s the most that some of us can do at the time, but often it is because we do our best to shrug the problem off and leave it for the leaders of our church to handle, since that’s what they are getting paid for! Friends, I believe that God places us in a situation that requires our help, not to simply pass the buck, but to follow through and do our part. It might be a growing experience for us! Let’s remember that we are a Christian not just for the status in our family, workplace and community, but we are to follow the example of our Lord and Savior and serve others as given the opportunity. Can you do more in this respect? I know I can, God being my helper!

Prayer:

Father, often we look at other ‘Christians’ and look down our proud noses and say how sorry we are for them and their circumstances. I am sorry for the times that I have fit into that mold dear Jesus, but I must say that I am not proud of that, and I want to dedicate my life to being a true example of You in every way. I know that this will sometime lead to certain things not pleasing to self, but it’s You I live for Jesus and You that I want to please and follow. Please help me to be Your hands and feet on the ground, so help me to characterize You in every way throughout my life. I believe that many of my Christian friends fit into the same mold as I do dear Lord, so I ask that you shower Your wisdom and Your power on their lives today as well, so that together, we may be Your church – your bride. Lord Jesus, I ask all this in Your name and for Your glory, Amen!

 

NOTE: 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.

May We Rule In Righteousness

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Bold Confidence, Follow Jesus, God our Helper, God our Provider, Helper, Motivate, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Pleasing to God, RighteousnessLeave a comment

The Bible – The Good News Translation

Psalm 72:1-5

1               Teach the king to judge with your righteousness, O God; share with him your own justice, 2   so that he will rule over your people with justice and govern the oppressed with righteousness.

3               May the land enjoy prosperity; may it experience righteousness.

4               May the king judge the poor fairly; may he help the needy and defeat their oppressors.

5               May your people worship you as long as the sun shines, as long as the moon gives light, for ages to come.

Thoughts:

As I read the Word this morning I was touched by David’s request. Not only that he, as the greatest king of his time, would humble himself to ask such a thing of God, but as in vs 5, that he would do it to enhance the worship of his people. I feel like that’s the same thing as me asking such a favor of God not so that I might be lifted up in the eyes of my management team, but in order for my staff to receive a bigger raise this year, or to give my staff reason to recognize God’s hand at work and that they would be prompted to attend church services if only to give God praise for His mighty work, even in the heart of their boss. Friends, if we had more Godly managers and business owners, we wouldn’t need half the laws introduced by our government leaders, because businesses would not be out to gouge their customers or steal from the government. Furthermore, our churches would be filled with worshipers anxious to praise God the Father for having such great places to work, and desiring to have a heart like their employers. Wouldn’t that totally be a turn in events that would set us on fire for the Lord? I can only imagine that we would awake each morning super anxious to go to work and to give our employers an honest day’s work, with great expectations of them being very successful in the marketplace! Business owners, managers, supervisors, seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you, just stand by and watch the hand of God work mightily in the success of your businesses and in happy employees anxious to offer up praises to God for their place of employment!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, although I am not ruler over a kingdom like David was, I am responsible for employees, my family and other domestic employees that may work for me from time to time. Please work in the life of this son of yours and continue to give me guidance that I might manage and/or rule in a manner that is pleasing to You and that might bring glory to You by others under my supervision/management. It’s all about You Lord! To God be all glory, for I ask this in Your precious and holy name, AMEN!

 

NOTE: 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.

Our Lives are an Open Book

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Follow Jesus, God our Helper, God our Provider, ObedienceLeave a comment

The Bible – Good News Translation

Psalm 69:5-6

5   My sins, O God, are not hidden from you; you know how foolish I have been.

6   Don’t let me bring shame on those who trust in you, Sovereign Lord Almighty!

Don’t let me bring disgrace to those who worship you, O God of Israel!

Thoughts:

I believe that all of us can identify with David. If we are truthful, and not trying to hide behind a disguise, we know two things:

  1. That at some point in our lives we have sinned, especially in a place where we know that no one knew us. Perhaps we were out of town or even out of the country. Often we would say to ourselves, it is good to just be ourselves and enjoy. Dangerous words, right? What we are actually acknowledging is that we put on such a face for our friends when around them, that we can’t be ourselves. In other words, they don’t know the ‘real’ you. However….
  2. Our conscience is pricked to the point that we acknowledge that no matter how much we might pull the wool over the eyes of our friends, God is very much alive and knows exactly what we are thinking and/or doing, so we may as well be honest in our actions and/or words.

Are you one to blend right in with the crowd, or do you actually live by definite life principles? It is my desire that I might always live be God’s principles, but I sincerely need this to be action based and not just words that roll off my tongue. How about you, friend? I once heard a sermon where the preacher suggested that the congregation had best not tell him about a certain church member, because he knew what they stood for and the Christian principles for which they are guided by. I don’t know that I would dare say exactly that, but I sure wish that I could live my life so consistently in such a manner that others, especially God, would see exactly what that preacher saw. How about you friend, are you living life where ‘anything goes’, and no matter what company you are in you can fit right in? Remember, God is our guide and He loves us beyond our wildest imagination, but He is also our judge, and He doesn’t need a jury nor a lie detector when we answer the question “Why should I let you into my heaven?” or “Were you consistent in your everyday living and followed my commands to the letter?” Friends, there is no way of you fooling God or hiding the truth from Him.

 

Prayer:

 

Father God, thank You for Your awesome power and Your enormous love. Thank You again for what You did on Calvary so that I might have life eternal with You in Heaven. Thank You for providing the ways and means for us to follow so that our lives would be pleasing to You, and also reflective of You when in the presence of family and friends here on this earth. May we be reminded that our lives are an open book to You, and may we live in such a manner that others may thank You for what You have created and is currently working in and through us. All this I ask for your ultimate glory and for Your sake, and I ask in the name of Your Son, Jesus my Lord, AMEN!

,

 

NOTE: 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.

Living a Life Pleasing To God

On By Ed AlgreenIn All have sinned, Bible Believing, Faith, Holy Spirit, Humility, Obedience, Pleasing to GodLeave a comment

The Bible – New Century Version

Romans 13:13-14

 13 Let us live in a right way, like people who belong to the day. We should not have wild parties or get drunk. There should be no sexual sins of any kind, no fighting or jealousy. 14 But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and forget about satisfying your sinful self.

Thoughts:

In these verses Paul was warning the church about the reasons why so many were falling into sin. Now friends, Paul was talking to Christians – members of the church. He reminded them that they were expected to live their lives as if there was full daylight around them. In other words, live knowing that Jesus Christ was observing all of their deeds. Funny how we believe that if we are out of town we can act one way, or do certain things that we know we can’t do in town for fear of getting caught! Like Paul, I would remind us that God is everywhere at all times, so He always knows what’s on our mind and what we do at all times. Paul advised that it is time that we put off clothes worn in the night, and the sinful works of darkness (the night – those things that we think people who know us would not see). Now he didn’t leave us hanging, for he went on to tell us what we must put on, or how we should dress our souls: Put on the armor of light (Jesus Christ). The graces of the Spirit are this armor, to secure the soul from Satan’s temptations. If we are to put on Christ, then we are to: Put on the righteousness of Christ – for justification; Put on the Spirit and grace of Christ – for sanctification. In fact, we need to walk honestly as in the day; avoiding the evils of darkness. In these type scenarios, Satan is generally very busy and often very bad things result from these. Friends, great care must be given to provide for our souls, else we fall into temptation and or commit unwanted sin. Remember God sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within us when we were saved. Why would we subject the Holy Spirit to the events of the darkness? Are you struggling with the power to overcome the old life – the life before Christ? Please allow me to pray with you about that need. God desires His very best for us, and He does not want us to surrender to the things of Satan any more. Let’s confess these weaknesses to God and ask for His powerful touch on our lives to help us live noble lives that are pleasing to Him.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I pray that You would impact our lives in such a way that our minds would be fresh and reminded at all times that through Your Holy Spirit, You are with us wherever we go. As such, we must respect this fact and be cautious about where we might not only take our sinful selves, but also how we disrespect Your Holy Spirit by taking Him into some dark sinful places, where our worldly bodies might find temporary, but sinful pleasure. Please forgive me dear God for times where I may have trampled over Your blood and not respected Your holiness by taking You into places that You have shown us to be dark or sinful hangouts. Please sharpen our consciences and daily work in our lives to make us more like You in every way. I know that this can be accomplished not only through Your great power, but also through my submissive spirit and untainted desires. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I might walk uprightly, boldly and in total respect of Your holiness. May others always see Your very nature very prominent in my life, and may they want to know You personally. Please tender the hearts of my friends meditating on this devotional today, so that they also may desire a closer walk with You. For those that may stumble across this devotional today and may catch a glimpse of Your awesome power and love, please provoke them unto salvation – draw them close to You, is my humble prayer that I ask in Your holy name, Jesus my Lord, AMEN!

 

NOTE: 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.