Proud To Be A Christian?

On 2017-09-022017-09-02 By Ed AlgreenIn Bold Confidence, Boldness, Obedience, Obedient, True witnesses, Witness, WitnessingLeave a comment

Post Date:	Saturday, 2017-09-02
SCRIPTURE
From:	Judges 6:27 (Voice)
Text:	27 So Gideon took 10 of his servants and did as the Eternal had told him; but since he was worried about what his family and the people of the town might think, he did it at night while they all slept.
OBSERVATION:
Gideon was an interesting character. He asked for God to clearly prove Himself when He first spoke to Gideon. Now when asked to prove his allegiance to God by completing an order to destroy the idols of his dad and his town, he agreed, but he completed the task in his own time, to be the least possible conspicuous. Do we try to hide behind something when we serve God, so that we are not faced with challenging questions about our belief? We will discuss this further….
APPLICATION:
Do your family and friends know that you’re a Christian? Do you know if they are? They are perfect as a practice target! If you can’t speak with them about their faith, how will you manage with a complete stranger? You might remember that Peter, one of the close disciples of Christ, was challenged about his relationship with Jesus, and he did exactly what he had earlier told Jesus that he would not do, he denied being associated with Jesus or even knowing Him. Gideon never said anything, but what do you suppose that his actions said? Perhaps: I value my life way too much than to be killed by my own people for tearing down their gods; or what will these people, that I’ve known all my life, think of me when I rebel against them by replacing their gods with my own altar of the living God? What does your words and actions say to others about your faith? One of the most challenging things in living a life pleasing to God, is that the ways of the world is often totally opposite. Are you bold enough to ‘go against the grain’ and show that you are different because of Jesus? Another challenge is that you show that you are different, in complete humility. Not to show the other person up. You never put down an unbeliever so that you might look better in your beliefs. Simply live the life that God expects from you and allow Him to do His work in the lives that you are impacting. Words of encouragement and trying to be available for an unbeliever might be a start. Following the example of Christ is the best witness. Friends, Gideon did what he was asked to do, but he also wanted to stay on the good side of his family and townspeople. In being willing to obey God, we may have to obey God’s commands in spite of any sort of compromise. Are you willing to try that today?
PRAYER:
Lord, we are challenged every day with all that we should do, but way too often we allow our pride to override, or our desire to keep all parties happy. Please help us to be so committed to You Lord, that we will be willing whatsoever You ask of us. We need Your power, strength and boldness every day. Please help us to be images of our God who loves us beyond everything else. 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!

Benefits/Consequences For Decisions

On 2017-07-27 By Ed AlgreenIn Obedience, Obedient, PromiseLeave a comment

Post Date:	Thursday, 2017-07-27
SCRIPTURE
From:	Deuteronomy 28:1-2; 15 (MSG)
Text:	^1-2If you listen obediently to the Voice of God, your God, and heartily obey all his commandments that I command you today, God, your God, will place you on high, high above all the nations of the world. All these blessings will come down on you and spread out beyond you because you have responded to the Voice of God, your God: ¹⁵Here’s what will happen if you don’t obediently listen to the Voice of God, your God, and diligently keep all the commandments and guidelines that I’m commanding you today. All these curses will come down hard on you:
OBSERVATION:
Moses was not permitted to enter the Promised Land, but he was given last minute instructions for the Israelites that would help them understand how God would react to their decisions and actions once they receive their freedom to live in their new and exciting country. Benefits and/or consequences is generally something we look at in hindsight, but with God instructing Moses, he could tell them in advance what to expect. We’ve been given that same advantage through the Bible, let’s look at that!
APPLICATION:
As parents, we will generally give our children choices, and we may even add what the benefits and/or consequences are if they obey, or if they disobey what we told them. As I read this chapter, I believe that God pointed out to me the parallel between the instructions that He gave to the Israelites through His servant Moses, and the equivalent of what He gave to us through His Word regarding our destiny, based on our level of obedience today. This is all declared in the New Testament with the birth, death and resurrection of His precious Son, Jesus. You see, when God introduced His new covenant offered through the shed blood of Jesus, He assured us that the benefit for those of us who accept that free gift of salvation, would be that we could look forward to eternity in heaven with our Savior; our Father – God; and the Holy Spirit. In chapter 28 today, there were 14 verses of benefit descriptions for the Israelites that obeyed the commands of God. For the person who accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior, I would dare say that the benefits are endless, and they are greater than our wildest imagination. Imagine being face to face with Jesus, who performed miracle after miracle; who also showed His love for us with outstretched arms on a cruel cross; but praise be to God, He arose from the dead three days later and reigns with His Father forevermore! However, for the unconcerned or disobedient, the Bible also gives us the equivalent for what people today can expect, just as God did in the case of the Israelites, beginning in verse 15 above. For those who decline the offer of salvation, and continue to live contrary to the instructions given by God in His Word, they could expect to spend eternity in the pit of Hell with Satan and his demons, being tormented for all eternity. So friends, just like the Israelites who knew the game rules as they entered the Promised Land, we have the game Book available to us. If we obey, I reminded you of the benefits. If we disobey, I reminded you of the consequences. May I encourage you to know Jesus and know peace and hope regarding your eternity? No Jesus will result in no peace my friend. The choice is yours alone, please insure your peace and security in my Savior, Jesus Christ, today! See my Footnote below for help with this.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, Your Word is very clear for us today, just as Your word through Moses was clear for the Israelites. We claim to be a very smart generation, so please touch our hardened hearts so that we may make wise decisions and follow in obedience to all that You have taught us through Your Word. Thank You for the promise of eternity in heaven with You one day! Please help us to encourage as many as possible while here on earth until that day You call us home to glory, 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!

Overwhelmed By God’s Presence

On 2017-07-012017-07-01 By Ed AlgreenIn Obedience, ObedientLeave a comment

Post Date:	Saturday, 2017-07-01
SCRIPTURE
From:	Luke 5:4-9 (TLB)
Text:	⁴When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets and you will catch a lot of fish!” ⁵“Sir,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, we’ll try again.” ⁶And this time their nets were so full that they began to tear! ⁷A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. ⁸When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, sir, please leave us—I’m too much of a sinner for you to have around.” ⁹For he was awestruck by the size of their catch, as were the others with him,
OBSERVATION:
I feel pretty sure that Simon had heard about Jesus and he had heard about the miracles that he performed. He had just heard the wisdom in His teaching right from his very own boat to a crowd on the shore. But then Simon was faced with a test of his faith. In spite of having fished all night and caught nothing, Jesus told him to go and do the exact thing that brought no results after hours and hours of self efforts. However after seeing the difference in obeying Jesus, Simon became very embarrassed of his initial hesitation. Let’s put ourselves in the position of Simon and consider if we would have done any differently.
APPLICATION:
Don’t you love it when you are trying to help a child and you give them instructions, based on your proven experience, only to see them look up at you with a large question mark on their faces, as if to say “are you sure about this”? I would imagine that similar thoughts must have haunted Simon, for he had heard of Jesus’ teachings, His healings, and the love He showed to all mankind, but where would He have gathered such knowledge to tell a seasoned fisherman where to go and what to do? Like most of us, Simon hesitated, and actually tried to clarify why he was hesitating by telling Jesus of the endless efforts the night before. We do the same thing friends, because how many of you jump to it and move into action when asked to do something around your church, or are invited to go on a missions trip? Our usual excuse is that we need to go home and pray about it, and I believe that’s an excellent move. But I wonder how often it’s merely giving us time to build a case as to why we can’t do the job or make the mission’s trip! Friends, I believe that it should always be our goal to seek God’s face and ask for His guidance in helping us do what He desires, when He desires it. He is the One that has a divine will and direction for our lives. He knows where we need to be and where we need to go, so that His glory might shine through us. Oh what joy will be ours when we are obedient and see God being glorified because of our obedience. Can’t you imagine how Simon must have felt after hesitating on an order from Jesus, then to only witness that He indeed is God, and that everything happened just as He said it would? Can you imagine the disappointment on God’s face when He has a plan for us; gives us direction towards achieving that plan, and then for us to decline, because we think we know better than He knows? Can you truly turn around and celebrate in praise to the God that you just disappointed? I can only imagine that as we are obedient and see the wondrous works of Christ materialize through us, that we would act very similar to Simon: Oh Lord, please forgive this doubting man and multiply my faith so that I might be more obedient and draw ever closer to You. You alone are God and in total respect and honor to You, I want to be Your obedient servant because of the strong faith I believe You will develop in me.
PRAYER:
Lord, we are thankful that You consider us Yours, for those who have placed their faith and trust in You. Thank you for your direction in our lives and leading us each day. Just as our Scripture reading shows a turning point in Simon’s life, I pray that You will also touch the lives of each reader today so that we might willingly and obediently follow Your will and design for us. Lord, may we be humble and usable vessels through which You can work, and let Your glory shine. 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!

Blessed Because You Believe

On 2017-06-15 By Ed AlgreenIn Believe, Blessing, Blessings, Obedience, ObedientLeave a comment

Post Date:	Thursday, 2017-06-15
SCRIPTURE
From:	Luke 1:45 (NCV)
Text:	⁴⁵You are blessed because you believed that what the Lord said to you would really happen.
OBSERVATION:
On Mary’s visit to her relative, Elizabeth, there were several events that confirmed that the child inside of Elizabeth and Mary were very special, miraculous gifts from God. In fact, from the very first announcement to these ladies, they accepted that God was using each of them in ways that would impact the whole world and bless them beyond anything they deserved or could imagine. Let’s look at how this might impact us….
APPLICATION:
In addition to being blessed immensely by the results of the two pregnancies of Mary and Elizabeth, I fell like there are tremendous lessons for us to learn from these two women of God, but I want to concentrate on a few of the very special reasons we can identify why Elizabeth was so true in what she said to Mary, and how this could be applied to us today: From a human perspective Mary wanted to understand how the pregnancy could occur since she had never been with a man. However, she never looked for excuses why she couldn’t or wouldn’t comply with the instructions from God. Aren’t we pros at finding excuses on why we won’t serve the Lord? Too busy; unqualified; family; don’t know enough scripture; etc. We should be able to see that with these excuses we are depending on the abilities of self to accomplish the work of the Lord. Friends, for God’s work, we need Him active in every aspect of the work He has commanded, or led us to do. It is evident that Mary had an intimate relationship with her Savior, otherwise she would have quickly dismissed the idea of an angel speaking with her, and she would never have accepted the thought of God using her in such an awesome way. We may sometimes grow jealous of ways that God uses others, while leaving us on the sidelines. Mary was blessed because she believed in the Master that she already knew intimately. How’s your relationship with Jesus? Do you know Him? Do you worship Him daily? Do you ask Him to use you in His work? One Bible study that I did, recommended that we look for where God is at work, and jump right in the middle of it with a heart to serve Him and be His hands and feet on planet earth! Friends, you too can be blessed through your relationship with Jesus Christ; your belief in His mighty power and kingship; in your obedience to His commands taught in the Bible; and in your obedience to His leading each and every day. Remember friend, it’s all about Jesus, not you.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for Your servant Mary and her relative Elizabeth, who accepted from You what seemed impossible to mankind. Lord, I believe that You are still seeking believers to have that kind of faith today, and to seek to follow Your guidance and will for their lives. The example was clear with these two ladies, and I truly believe that the same God who created those miracles for them, is the same God that I serve even today. Lord, may we commit again to give You full reign in our lives today. 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!

Consequences From Disobedience

On 2017-06-072017-06-07 By Ed AlgreenIn Obedience, ObedientLeave a comment

Post Date:	Wednesday, 2017-06-07
SCRIPTURE
From:	Numbers 20:12 (ERV)
Text:	¹²But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “You did not trust me enough to honor me and show the people that I am holy. You did not show the Israelites that the power to make the water came from me. So you will not lead the people into the land that I have given them.”
OBSERVATION:
The Israelites complained about there not being any water to drink, and that soon they and their animals would die of thirst. Moses and Aaron petitioned before God for relief to this problem, and they were given specific directions on how God would miraculously produce water from a huge rock. However, pride set in and Moses decided to add some theatrics to the miracle by smiting the stone with his rod. God still allowed water to spring from the stone, but He dealt severely with Moses and Aaron.
APPLICATION:
I wonder how guilty we are of praying for someone, seeing God answer our prayer, then allowing the individual to praise us beyond anything we deserve. As we read God’s Word, and encounter Him daily, we must always remember that He created us to worship Him and to lift Him up. God sent His own Son so that we may again recognize His love for us and have even more reason to praise Him endlessly. When friends ask why we are so happy – it’s because the King of this universe loves us and cares for us, not because we lost weight, or our wife had a baby, or you just got married, although each of those things would place you on cloud 9 and smiling throughout the day, however when you know Jesus as Lord, and you’ve been praying for each of these things, your happiness is not necessarily in the results, but in the Savior who heard your cry and answered your prayer. Moses could have used yet another opportunity to give God praise in the presence of his people, but instead he made himself and his rod to be the hero. Also, we are given opportunities to share the love of Christ when God answers our prayers, let’s aim at giving Him the glory friends, for without Him we are totally helpless. Remember, He is God, and we are merely His humble servants doing what He says, and what He gives us power to do. To God be the glory for all that He does through even us!
PRAYER:
Thank You heavenly Father for working through even us to carry Your message to the lost and discouraged. Thank You for also using us when You see the need for physical hands or bodies to be present for some to believe. Have Your perfect will in our lives Lord Jesus and bless as only You can, so that all glory goes to You. May we learn to always stand behind the cross, so that the world will see Jesus. 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!

Where’s Your Heart?

On 2017-05-192017-05-19 By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, Obedience, Obedient, Totally committed, True witnesses, Unconditional commitment, Witness, WitnessingLeave a comment

Post Date:	Friday, 2017-05-19
SCRIPTURE
From:	Mark 11:7-10 (TLB)
Text:	⁷So the colt was brought to Jesus, and the disciples threw their cloaks across its back for him to ride on. ⁸Then many in the crowd spread out their coats along the road before him, while others threw down leafy branches from the fields. ⁹He was in the center of the procession with crowds ahead and behind, and all of them shouting, “Hail to the King!” “Praise God for him who comes in the name of the Lord!” . . . ¹⁰“Praise God for the return of our father David’s kingdom. . . . ” “Hail to the King of the universe!”
OBSERVATION:
Many will recognize these verses as a scene that’s often taught or preached in church services leading up to Palm Sunday. Many different people involved in this story: Jesus; His followers; the town’s people; the obedient disciples who went and got the colt; the believing bystanders and the unbelieving bystanders. Very interesting roles that each of these folk took in this story and we will examine this closer to see which group each of us may have fit into.
APPLICATION:
As I read this Scripture this morning, it got my attention as to which group of people I may have been included in, so as you meditate on this devotional I would ask that you do the same. One thing about this exercise is that it is one thing to recognize which group you might fit into today, but an altogether different thing to seek the face of God for the desired group you may want to fit into, or ask Him to place you in the group where you would see the most growth, and be drawn the absolute closest to Him. Let’s think about some of the groups: His followers – Some may have been in this group because they were part of the larger group that Jesus had miraculously fed, and they wanted to hang close in case He did that again. Others perhaps staying close because of the promised kingdom He had told them about, while yet others because of the personal relationship they had developed with Jesus. When the colt arrived, some placed their coats on the donkey for Jesus to sit comfortable on, and some spread their jackets on the ground, while others found palm branches and placed them on the ground ahead for the colt to walk on. I got the impression that there were some that did neither. The town’s people – they didn’t beat up the disciples that snitched the colt, but don’t you imagine that they kept a real close eye on them for anything else they may have touched in their town? The obedient disciples – imagine for a moment the conversation these guys had when they left Jesus and went into the town for the colt. The doubt that arose in their minds, or the reassuring by one to the other. Imagine the looks on their faces when they saw the colt, just as Jesus told them they would? Seeing other town’s people around, I wonder if they went sneaking around to get the colt, or boldly, knowing that they had a response from the Master, should the people question them. The bystanders – some curious, some in doubt, some hoping to find something wrong so they could generate some town gossip, while some may have heard about Jesus and was looking for slightly more proof to convince them to either accept or reject Him. Friends, I would really like you to take a moment and reflect on which of these groups you would most likely fit into. As you do this, evaluate your personal relationship with Jesus Christ; your boldness in being His witness; your commitment to spending time with Him daily; your lifestyle as seen in the eyes of the unbeliever – do they see enough of Jesus in you, to claim you as His child? Or do they see you as hypocritical because your actions and words do not match who you claim to be? Where’s your heart, friend?
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, You know us intimately. In fact, You know us better than we know ourselves. As we evaluate our stance in life today, I pray that You will open our eyes of understanding and our stony hearts so that our shortcomings will be evident. Please give us clear thoughts and vision on where we should be in Your plan for our lives, then give us boldness and commitment to follow through, in Your strength. Lord, I pray that my readers and I will draw close to You and allow You to take full control of us, all for Your glory, honor and praise. 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!

Obedience Vs Disrupting God’s Work

On 2017-04-14 By Ed AlgreenIn God's Will, Healing, Obedience, Obedient, Stumbling blockLeave a comment

Post Date:	Friday, 2017-04-14
SCRIPTURE
From:	Mark 1:40-45 (HCSB)
Text:	⁴⁰Then a man with a serious skin disease came to Him and, on his knees, begged Him: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” ⁴¹Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched him. “I am willing,” He told him. “Be made clean.” ⁴²Immediately the disease left him, and he was healed. ⁴³Then He sternly warned him and sent him away at once, ⁴⁴telling him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go and show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵Yet he went out and began to proclaim it widely and to spread the news, with the result that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. But He was out in deserted places, and they would come to Him from everywhere.
OBSERVATION:
God blessed this leper for the faith he showed in presenting himself to Jesus for healing. However, in his zealous and joyful heart after his healing, he wound up doing exactly what Jesus told him not to do, and this disrupted the ongoing work of Jesus.
APPLICATION:
This is a challenging one for us to learn, for the question becomes: How often do we override the commands of God, to do what we feel is best? Yes, even when our plan is to supposedly honor and glorify God. This reminds me of what we do when someone tells us a secret and asks us to keep it between us two. What’s the first thing we do? We find someone who we feel is trustworthy and we preface our gossip with: “Now ‘Tom’ told me to keep this between us two, but I know you won’t say anything, and I really believe you should know this…”, right? Now I know that God never made a mistake, so I’m sure that He knew this leper would instinctively go and tell the world that a man whom they despised and rejected is now perfectly whole again, and it was Jesus, the Christ who healed him. However, look at what happened to the ministry of Jesus when the healed leper allowed his will to be done, instead of the will of the One who just healed his body. Jesus said up in verse 38 that His whole reason for coming to earth was to preach the Word of God in all villages, then in just a few verses later we see where Jesus’ ministry was then restricted to to isolated places outside of the city. I wonder what impact our cruel, unthoughtful words; or our selfish and often bitter attitudes; or our prideful and arrogant treatment of others; must have on the work of the Lord in our circles of influence? Remember, that our knowledge and our vision of what lies ahead in a situation is restricted by what we can see in that present moment, compared to the eternal God who knows and sees all things, including what the future holds for those involved. He has a purpose in commanding us to follow His Word, even when it seems so strange to us. Oh may His perfect will be done, so that His glory might be revealed, resulting in awesome praise and worship to the Father, for ‘Our God Is an Awesome God!’
PRAYER:
Father, please forgive us for the times that we deliberately jump out in front and decide to do things that totally disrupts Your work. Yes, we always think that we know enough to make sound decisions or recommendations, but oh how limited our knowledge truly is. The leper in our story today probably thought that he was doing the best possible thing, for he was promoting the name of Jesus by telling the world that He is the one responsible for his healing. However, Jesus didn’t tell him to go and do what he thought best, which is exactly what we tend to do way too often. Please open our eyes to the innocence of raw humility and strict obedience to You oh Lord, so that You might accomplish Your will and Your work in our midst, without us erecting stumbling blocks along the way. Your way is perfect, please help us to always be mindful of that, 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!

Our Promised Healer

On 2017-03-14 By Ed AlgreenIn Healing, Know and Believe, Know Jesus, Obedience, ObedientLeave a comment

Post Date:	Tuesday, 2017-03-14
SCRIPTURE
From:	Exodus 15:26 (MSG)
Text:	God said, “If you listen, listen obediently to how God tells you to live in his presence, obeying his commandments and keeping all his laws, then I won’t strike you with all the diseases that I inflicted on the Egyptians; I am God your healer.”
OBSERVATION:
God had performed miracle after miracle in the process of getting His people out of Egypt and through the wilderness, yet as soon as they felt like their crisis was over, the Israelites would return to their false gods and their sinful ways. So God made them a conditional promise, that I believe holds true even today. Let’s look at this closely, as I believe it could reap benefits for the child of God even now.
APPLICATION:
I want you to be the judge in a scenario I will explain. The cops are called to a scene where trouble was reported. There are two young men at the scene. One (dressed in jogging pants) reports that he was passing by on his daily walk, and was beat up and robbed by the other man. The second man reports that the first man cursed at him and hurled insults at him while he was passing by, and provoked him to protect his ‘good name’. Fortunately, the police have never seen the first man before, whereas the second one had many encounters with the law over the past year. Who would you assume to be the guilty party among the two? As in this illustration, I believe that God was reminding the Israelites that if they live in obedience to the commands that He had laid out for them, then He will know they are serious about their commitment to Him, and for that He will spare them of the plagues and sicknesses that He was forced to send on the Egyptians to get their attention. In fact, He promised that He would be their healer. And this is where my introductory story fits in, for if you are living like the devil, why would you want, or expect God to step in and heal you or help you through a difficult time? In His Word, God is clear that He will punish the wicked but joyfully bless and heal the righteous. Based on your lifestyle, your commitment, and your obedience to God, will He recognize your cry, as one of His, when you cry for help? If not friend, may I encourage you to surrender your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ, and learn to live in obedience to His Word, so that you may become one with He and His Father – God? Then we can claim the promise given to us in this verse today, that He is our Healer!
PRAYER:
Dear God, You have already given so much for us. Thank You from the very bottom of my heart for loving each of us so much that You gave everything – for our ultimate good! After reading through the Israelites plight through the wilderness, and seeing Your willingness to still accept them and promise to be their Healer, I believe that Your children today who might meditate on this blog still stands a chance also. I don’t believe the rules have changed, for I believe that You still want to see us be obedient to Your commands that You lovingly put in place to help us be more like You. Please provoke us towards being Your obedient children willing to honor and serve You in every way possible, every day. 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!

Know Jesus So You May Obey Him

On 2017-03-03 By Ed AlgreenIn Know and Believe, Know Jesus, Knowing Christ, Obedience, Obedient, Salvation, WitnessLeave a comment

Post Date:	Friday, 2017-03-03
SCRIPTURE
From:	Exodus 5:1-2 (TLB)
Text:	^{1 …}Moses and Aaron went to see Pharaoh. They told him, “We bring you a message from Jehovah, the God of Israel. He says, ‘Let my people go, for they must make a holy pilgrimage out into the wilderness, for a religious feast, to worship me there.’”²“Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is Jehovah, that I should listen to him, and let Israel go? I don’t know Jehovah and I will not let Israel go.”
OBSERVATION:
Pharaoh challenged Moses and Aaron as to why should he obey the commands that their God sent them to convey to him. In not knowing the same God that Moses and Aaron knew, loved and worshipped, Pharaoh refused to obey what the two brothers relayed to him from their God. After all, why should an unbeliever obey a god that they don’t know, and that we feel is genuine?
APPLICATION:
To tell someone that I met for the first time, that I have the best wife in the whole world, they may look at me and admire how well programmed I am to say those words to even a stranger. To tell that stranger that my wife said that they must not eat certain foods because it will destroy their bodies, they may look at me like I’ve really lost my mind, or perhaps ask me to get out of their face. However, if my healthy looking wife walked into the room and became acquainted with them and answered their questions about nutrition and how she attributes her great health to certain diet restrictions that she follows every day, the stranger may become more apt to accept what she says – listen and obey. As I read this Scripture this morning it was like God stopped me and made me ponder for a while that aren’t Christians doing the same thing as Moses and Aaron> Think about it, we become very spiritually fed during our weekend services and as we enter our weekday we try to share, or some may even demand some of the scriptural commands on those we work with, or come across during our day. If they don’t know God, why would they listen to us or consider obeying what we try to convince them that God said? I am very convinced that the most important thing Christians can do for unbelievers is to live life in total obedience to God, so that we can convince them that God is impacting our life. Secondly, don’t ‘beat around the bush’ about why we act the way we do, or why we attend church, or why we don’t care about their crude jokes, or why God is so important in every decision we make. When a person’s heart is touched by the Lord, THEN and only THEN will they want to hear what God has to say to them. Let’s remember, we are not in the sales business, we simply bear witness to the Truth, and He will do the convincing. Remember, He intricately designed the heart, and He knows exactly what it takes to reach that heart with the love and acceptance of Jesus Christ. When we go over and above what God intended, or leads us towards, we actually cause walls to be erected by the unbeliever. Are you meeting many folk like Pharaoh? How’s your witness for our Lord, convincing to the unbeliever? Remember, God is the One who does the convincing and the saving, we are merely the earthly vessels that He might use to help in that process. Let’s not get the order messed up and confuse the unbeliever as to who brings salvation into their lives!
PRAYER:
Lord, You’ve shown us through the story of Pharaoh how challenging it is to obey Your commands if we don’t know the Commander personally. Please forgive us for often reversing that order and expecting our friends to like the things we like or go the places we go, when their hearts are often polluted with so much of the world. Please continue to work on believers so that we may simply desire to be conduits through which You can share Your love, Your salvation message, and Your grace, so that others may see and believe. I am anxious to be used by You through circumstance yet unknown today. May Your will be done, oh Lord, my Rock and my salvation, 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!

Your Response to ‘Impossible’ Tasks

On 2017-03-01 By Ed AlgreenIn Know and Believe, Know Jesus, Knowing Christ, Obedient, Trust, Witness1 Comment

Post Date:	Wednesday, 2017-03-01
SCRIPTURE
From:	Exodus 3:10-12 (Voice)
Text:	Eternal One: ¹⁰So go. I’m sending you back to Egypt as My messenger to the Pharaoh. I want you to gather My people—the children of Israel—and bring them out of Egypt. Moses (to God): ¹¹Who am I to confront Pharaoh and lead Israel’s children out of Egypt? Eternal One: ¹²Do not fear, Moses. I will be with you every step of the way…..
OBSERVATION:
Moses was challenged way outside of his comfort zone, because he was being asked to do something he had not been trained for, and that he felt very unqualified for. As we ponder the ‘application’ of this Scripture reading today, I want us to think about exactly what it would take for us to agree to such a task!
APPLICATION:
How many times have you been asked to take on a job that you have received no training for? How many times have you been invited to a meal or a meeting with top government officials, and you turned it down because of shattered nerves or 1001 other excuses that you quickly came up with? In my work field we have customer interfacing employees, and we have support staff that strictly work behind the scenes making sure that the front line staff could perform their jobs well. We find that if an employee whose makeup best suits dealing with customers is placed in the backroom, they are seldom happy in their jobs. I believe that Moses was like that! To be asked to go and see the king was a huge challenge for him, and to further be asked to confront the king with demands that anyone could guess would be confrontational, just caused Moses to pull back and try every which way to escape his assignment. Been there and done that?? I bet that we all may have faced similar challenges before, and we could probably identify with Moses. So is there anything we can do to prepare ourselves for these types of challenges? Friends, I believe you will agree that you will very easily do what your parent or spouse tells you to do, and almost anything that a sibling might ask you to do! Why? Because you trust them, and you know that because they love you, they would never ask you to do something they know you would fail at, or that would bring harm to you. So I believe that brings us to the point of obedience to God. Trust is built based on relationship. So I believe that we must first look at how well we know the One (our Father) that we are wanting to follow and/or obey. In building this relationship we will also develop a sense of what all the One, who we are wanting to trust, is capable of doing. May I remind you that the God we place our faith and trust in, has been proven over and over again, but I also believe that He will quickly give you the assurance that You need as well. I would gladly and unreservedly assure you friend, that my God is not only the Creator of this earth and each of us, but He loves us above and beyond anything we have ever experienced here on earth. In fact, He proved that love for us by sacrificing the life of His very own Son, Jesus, so that we might have a clear path to the Father and His heavenly home. I accepted Him over 40 years ago, and without hesitation, will highly recommend Him to anyone reading this devotional. Please read my ‘Footnote’ for more information on how you might know Jesus personally. That’s the beginning of a relationship with Him! May you accept Him as Lord, trust in Him as your Savior, worship Him as God and live for Him as a living sacrifice and witness to a world that is lost and going to Hell if they are not introduced to our Savior.
PRAYER:
Thank You Father for loving us enough to sacrifice Your very own Son to save us from our sin that seperates us from You. Thank You for hearing our cry for help, and for challenging us with assignments that cause us to trust You more, and to depend on You as our sole Provider; Healer; Friend; Deliverer; Savior and Lord. Please touch the hearts of my readers and I so that we might develop the faith of Moses, and be willing to do as You command for the salvation of Your people. In thanksgiving, and desiring more faith from You, I glorify Your holy 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!