A Precious Treasure – Its Purpose in Our Lives

On 2020-06-17 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Purpose, Recognize God, Treasure, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Wednesday, 2020-06-17
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: 2 Corinthians 4:7-10
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT: ⁷But this precious treasure—this light and power that now shine within us^[c]—is held in a perishable container, that is, in our weak bodies. Everyone can see that the glorious power within must be from God and is not our own. ⁸We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit. ⁹We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. ¹⁰These bodies of ours are constantly facing death just as Jesus did; so it is clear to all that it is only the living Christ within who keeps us safe.^[d]

OBSERVATION: What ’treasure’ is Paul referring to in our Scripture today? Why do we need this ‘treasure’? What are the benefits of having this ‘treasure’? These are all great questions that we will meditate on today, and hopefully walk away feeling enriched because of the ‘Treasure’ that is ours through Jesus Christ – God’s one and only Son.

APPLICATION: There was such a vacuum left for the Christian when God allowed His Son to die on Calvary’s cross, that He proceeded with something that He promised, He gave us the Comforter. In this reference ‘us’ means the Christian. So at the moment that we invite Jesus to rule and reign in our lives, the Holy Spirit/Comforter comes in to not only rule and reign, but to lead, direct, comfort and help us maintain a right relationship with God right here on earth. Because the Holy Spirit resides inside of us, we can look at that place of residence as a ‘container’ in which the Holy Spirit lives. The type ‘container’ referred to by Paul in verse 7 above. When this happens, Paul gives a few illustrations of the benefits to us:
1. Paul assures us that the power within us is then far greater than anything we have ever experienced before, for it is not our own power but that of the God who created the whole world;
2. Paul assures that although we may be under intense pressure, and feel like we are being pressed in by the extreme weight of the world, yet we could expect to stand firm, and not be crushed or broken!
3. Paul told us that we will still feel intense stress over the various things that occur all around us, but we will be comforted and never want to give up or give in!
4. Paul said that we may still feel like we are, at times, hunted down like animals, but the Holy Spirit will constantly remind us to never abandon our faith, or the God who loves us unconditionally!
5. Paul reminded us that we will feel knocked down at times and we are merely waiting for the count, but we have a comforter who stands battle for us and we will therefore get back up, and moving on to continue God’s work, until He comes!

Friends, know that our Redeemer lives and that He has the power, grace and love to give us our own bodyguard, encourager and friend to see us through the rest of this life. Perhaps you might be struggling in one or more areas mentioned above. If you are a child of the King, please be reminded that God has you covered. He protects His own, supplies our every need and defends us while here on earth. Look up my friend, for my Redeemer lives, and He will soon return to take His children home to glory to be with Him throughout eternity. We have that assurance, so there is no need for worry while we wait for His return!

PRAYER: What an assurance that Jesus is mine! What an assurance that Jesus will return for me someday soon! What an assurance that Jesus provided everything I need here on this old wicked earth, so that I may be safe in His arms even while still here. Thank You, thank You, thank You Lord Jesus for loving this old humble man. My friends will read this blog and they will need a similar assurance as I received this morning. Please Heavenly Father, touch the hearts and souls of all who will stop by and ponder this today. Please draw them unto Yourself and fill them with the assurance of salvation that leads to life eternally in heaven with You. I love You Lord, and I life my voice in worship and praise to You, my King! AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org 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 or listening to this devotional, please go to 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. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Blinded Eyes are Opened

On 2020-06-16 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Tuesday, 2020-06-16
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: 2 Corinthians 3:13-16
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹³We are not like Moses, who used a veil to hide the glory to keep the Israelites from staring at him as it faded away.^[g] ¹⁴Their minds were closed and hardened, for even to this day that same veil comes over their minds when they hear the words of the former covenant. The veil has not yet been lifted from them, for it is only eliminated when one is joined to the Messiah. ¹⁵So until now, whenever the Old Testament^[h] is being read, the same blinding comes over their hearts. ¹⁶But the moment one turns to the Lord^[i] with an open heart, the veil is lifted and they see.

OBSERVATION: Sometimes it’s just the little things from everyday life that causes us to recognize the greatness of God! Think about this: there are times when we notice friends just having a brain freeze over the things of God. They just don’t get it, we tend to look in wonderment of what must be wrong with them, or what must be causing this mind block. I don’t believe that we do this in a condescending way, but it’s usually something very clear and understandable to us, yet our friends, who are very intelligent, just don’t get it. God used Paul to help the Corinthian church, and us, understand why this happens. Be open to God’s Word as we meditate, dear friends.

APPLICATION: One of the key phrases I discovered, and loved in this Scripture today is ‘when one is joined to the Messiah’! I pray that this phrase may also snatch the hearts of many as you join me in this study today, for this alludes to the fact that there are definite benefits to becoming one with Christ. Similar verbiage is used around marriages, for that union also comes with benefits. What’s different for us, is that God designed and made us; He had a purpose for us being born, and He made the ultimate sacrifice of giving His Son on Calvary so that we can continue glorifying Him in heaven for all eternity. This was very much God’s design for us! However the greatest advantage to this exciting Scripture today is that it was God’s design that we gain additional insight and knowledge about all that God had in store for us, and what He has in store for us throughout eternity, when He knows that we could handle that. I believe that with the way we are designed, we would have been so extra busy looking for ways to work around God’s commands, if we did not understand why we are the ‘apple’ of His eye. We could also recognize how we tend to use this same method of educating our kids, if we feel like they are not ready to handle such intense, long reaching information. Imagine being educated on advantages of being God’s special child, if you had never heard about how this is possible, when we are human and God is not? Added to that, what if you had never met anyone who actually followed through with accepting the Lord Jesus in a personal relationship with Him? I believe that what we often miss is that God and God alone is supreme, and we are not. If we are missing something, it doesn’t mean that God has missed something in designing us. What it does mean is that God has a plan for us, and as we place our faith and trust in Him, He will open the floodgates of Heaven to bless us, to provide for us and to direct our every path so that He might be glorified, even through us! Faith means that you are willing to follow through in total obedience to God’s commands, even if you don’t know why, or what, the result will be. When you are obedient even in these circumstances, I believe that God will follow through in blessing you beyond anything you could imagine or wish for. He alone is God. Learn to trust Him faithfully in all His commands, because of His love for you!

PRAYER: Thank You Lord Jesus for Your love, Your mercy, Your grace and the awesome knowledge that You bless us with – when You know that we are ready for it. Please bless us with what we need to know, when we need to know it, so that the individual You have caused to cross our path each day will be drawn to You. Thank You Lord Jesus for granting me peace about the knowledge I need for each and every day. Be glorified through every act and deed Lord, so that all my circle of influence might see You and desire to know You as Lord. AMEN!

The Perfume of Christ

On 2020-06-08 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Worship4 Comments

DATE WRITTEN: Monday, 2020-06-08
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17
TRANSLATION: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹⁴…. God uses us to spread his knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume. ¹⁵Our offering to God is to be the perfume of Christ that goes out to those who are being saved and to those who are being lost. ¹⁶To those who are being lost, this perfume smells like death, and it brings them death. But to those who are being saved, it has the sweet smell of life, and it brings them life. So who is good enough to do this work? ¹⁷Certainly not those who are out there selling God’s message for a profit! But we don’t do that. With Christ’s help we speak God’s truth honestly, knowing that we must answer to him.

OBSERVATION: These verses reminded me that when we share the love, and hope of our Lord and Savior with others, it will seem like a death sentence to some, but to others it will bring life, hope and encouragement. However Paul warned his church, and God is warning us today through this passage, that the gospel will impact our listeners. For some it will smell like death, and for others like life. For this to happen, God’s children must share what’s inside of them. Let’s evaluate if we are openly sharing with others today!

APPLICATION: We associate so closely with family members that we can often finish their phrases in conversation! Many of us are employed, and we know most employees because of something that occurred, or was said during an encounter with them. For those readers who attend church, no doubt you will know many of the attendees, and some may have even become friends, in similar for to what I explained about employees. I believe you might agree with me that we walk away from certain encounters feeling really good about some of the people in the group, while we are still very skeptical of some. For those that don’t speak up, or acknowledge in some way that they were in a setting with you, I believe that you might walk away unmoved, or unaffected by them. But what about the undecided, or the unsaved? Don’t you think that they probably look up to those who appear happy in their relationship with the Lord, hoping that they could better understand what’s different, and how they managed to gain such peace? If we therefore have nothing to share, don’t you suppose that this friend might wonder if they misjudged you, because you obviously have nothing good to share about the Christ they thought lives inside of you? Friends, I truly believe that we have become so afraid of rejection (not wanting to hurt our pride), that we neglect to say or do the perfect will of our Lord. Are we ashamed? Are we embarrassed? Do you suppose that He might be ashamed or embarrassed of us for not sharing the awesome news of the One who rescued us from our guilt, shame and sin? Remember, He sacrificed His very own Son so that we might have the means of entering heaven with Him one day. There is no greater gift than that, my friend! I’m sure that many will respond that they are not a preacher or Bible scholar, so they stay away from trying to preach or witness. Be reminded dear one, that I would recommend that you share your story – about the One who saved you and gave you peace about eternal life. That will be way more powerful than trying to read the first 12 chapters of the New Testament to your listener, and you don’t have to be a theologian to share your story! I would also suggest to any reader that may have the gift of preaching or teaching, that if you avoid sharing the sweet perfume of Christ with those under the sound of your voice, I feel like you have just wasted their time and yours. In 99.9% of cases, they came to hear about Jesus Christ, so give them the truth of the Gospel without wasting their time. Also, the Word of God is intended for Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, man and woman, king and servant, so there is no respecter of persons. Jesus gave His life for all, so let us share His Good News with all, so that they may know and believe in the same Lord and Savior as we do. These verses does not refer to religion, Church denominations, or the like, so share Christ and Him alone – for His glory and our avenue of worship to Him!

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for giving us Jesus! Thank You for the awesome sacrifice You made so that we might enjoy eternity with You. There is no better news that we could share with loved ones than this. There is nothing better than meeting people who long to have what we have. Please Lord, make us bold and give us courage to gladly share our story. You redeemed us and made us fit for Heaven! Thank You Jesus! Now help us to share that good news with everyone that we meet. AMEN!

Last Word – Worship Him and Keep His Commands

On 2020-06-06 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Obedience, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Saturday, 2020-06-06
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
TRANSLATION: The Voice (VOICE)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹³And, when all is said and done, here is the last word: worship in reverence the one True God, and keep His commands, for this is what God expects of every person. ¹⁴For God will judge every action—including everything done in secret—whether it be good or evil.

OBSERVATION: When mom or dad warns that this is their last word on the subject, we tend to stop what we are doing, or thinking, and pay close attention! In the last two verses of Ecclesiastes, we are given a similar warning by Solomon. In both cases we receive consequences for our actions after the warnings. No matter what your age might be as you read this devotional, please stop and pay close attention to how you are responding to the warnings given to us by God through His servant, Solomon. It’s a matter of life (eternally – in Heaven) or death (eternally – in Hell).

APPLICATION: In ‘old-school’ parenting, our parents may have stood with a belt in their hand when they warned us that their response to us on a particular request is ‘final’. We knew this meant that if the request is brought before them again, it meant that we had no intention of obeying their first response, because now we are hoping to change their minds to give a more positive response! But what does this all mean to the Christian who searches our God’s Word for the course of action they should take on a questionable subject? Perhaps we read into God’s response that perhaps His response was intended for the neighbor on the other side of the street; or perhaps that we misunderstood what He was actually instructing us to do the first time; or even that we totally ignored what we thought He was saying, since it was so negative compared to what we wanted to hear? Friends, over the years I have learned that in trying to obtain a correct answer to a dilemma, we could pose a question in a certain way so that we receive an answer that we want. Another person with no skin in the game could pose the question in their own way and receive a very different answer! I don’t believe for a minute that God would vary on His response to us, but I do believe that we could very easily tune out parts of the response that we don’t want to hear. The bottom line is, that when we approach the throne of God for help or direction in a matter, we had best put all personal agendas aside, because we are taught in the Word that His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. You see, God is all-knowing and He has a plan for us. He knows every little itsy bitsy thought, word or action from us. He also knows what He has in store for us tomorrow and throughout eternity. So when we ask for His permission to go to the North Pole, and He has plans for us to minister to someone in the far South, His GPS directions for us to safely arrive at our destination will look a whole lot different to whatever Garmin might be telling you. In fact, you might even question if He even understood your request! Friends, please join me as we listen closely to Solomon in our study verses today. His last words to us is that we be loyal in worshipping the King of all kings. He’s the One who made us; He has a plan for our lives; and He is already preparing a place for us to occupy when He calls us away from this world of sin and hardships. Secondly, we are to obey the commands of our Heavenly Father. What are those commands? Read the Book, for God has included all of His commands in His precious Word – the Bible. He knew that we would need a Book of Instructions, so He gave us one, and He placed His Holy Spirit inside of us to help us understand and obey His commands. We need no other GPS, for He has directed us in His Word what to do, where to go and what to say. Oh that we would learn to be obedient soldiers/children/servants.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thankfully You made us, so You know full well how stubborn we are and how we tend to try and do our own thing even when You have the ‘wheel’ and are directing us in the right path. Please forgive us for our human stubbornness and our selfish wills. You have already spoken to many of us and given us Your last word, please help us to be obedient to our Father, our Deliverer, our King, our Savior – the One who loves us more than life itself. May our hearts and our lips be filled with constant praise as we worship You each and every day, and no matter what level of education we may have, I pray that You might impress upon us every day to follow Your commands that You designed for our good. Lord we look forward to being with You some day soon when you are ready for us, but while here on this earth, may we look and sound just like You – the One who created us in His own image and prepares us each day for our heavenly home. AMEN!

Do It Well – While You Can

On 2020-06-05 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Evangelize, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Share, Share God’s Word, Teach, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Friday, 2020-06-05
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: Ecclesiastes 9:7-10
TRANSLATION: The Voice (VOICE)

BIBLE TEXT: ⁷So here is what you should do: go and enjoy your meals, drink your wine and love every minute of it because God is already pleased with what you do. ⁸Dress your best, and don’t forget a splash of scented fragrance. ⁹Enjoy life with the woman you love. Cherish every moment of the fleeting life which God has given you under the sun. For this is your lot in life, your great reward for all of your hard work under the sun. ¹⁰Whatever you find to do, do it well because where you are going—the grave—there will be no working or thinking or knowing or wisdom.

OBSERVATION: I once heard a senior employee ask ‘What’s the least we could do, and still get by without being fined for missing the mark on that new regulation?’. I am convinced that this is the attitude of many employees who try to do just enough to not be challenged by management. What about your Christian life, do you have it down to a science on the minimum that God might approve of? The wisest king that ever lived was used by God to tell us that whatever we find to do, give it our all, because this might be the only opportunity to do it at all. Let us seek the wisdom of God as we meditate on this thought today.

APPLICATION: Whether you are an employee, or an employer that happened across this devotional, I believe that it doesn’t take long to recognize those employees who: can’t do enough for their employer; while others will do only enough to maintain their job and earn a paycheck; while others really don’t care enough about whether they keep their job or not, for they are just not going to kill themselves over a job! The company/employer will go a long ways in successfully achieving its goals with some employees, while battling to stay in business with other employees. But what about the church? Supposedly filled with people who are trying to live up to the principles taught by Jesus, yet undependable and uncommitted to the work of the Lord. Oops, too harsh? Perhaps, but folk it is time that we take it seriously what Jesus ordered in Matthew 28:19-20, that we are to: 1) Go into all the world; 2) Baptizing those that we come into contact with, and influence; and 3) Teach them to obey all the commands given by the Master. So please allow me to ask you a very pointed, but important question: Since accepting Jesus as your personal Savior, which of the three commands above have you flourished in and which do you struggle in? Does church attendance satisfy either of these commands? What about the banner that you carry that reads: ‘I’m a Christian’ – does your display of that banner count as obedience to either of these commands? Please stop for a moment and carefully analyze how you would rate yourself in responding to today’s Scripture on being a Christian, or obeying the commands of our Savior. Are you doing well with the honor of being a child of God? Notice that Solomon said that you only have today to do it well. When your time here on earth expires and you have been laid to rest, you will no longer have opportunity to Go, Baptize nor Teach those that need the Lord. Is your time well spent now dear friend? Neither in the Matthew reference nor in the Ecclesiastes reference does God give you the opportunity to ask the pastor, or your Sunday School teacher, or your elder, or a good friend to do these things for you. As you meditate today, let me encourage you to think about how you will respond to God when He asks how you did in these areas. Will you be proud to report, or will you be ashamed and disappointed that you never even tried? It’s not too late, ask your pastor how you might get involved in ministry at your church. After you pick him up off the floor he will gladly steer you in the right direction. He wants you to be involved in ministry!

PRAYER: Precious Lord, please forgive us for doing only enough to get by and perhaps look good in the eyes of our pastor. We are reminded that You sacrificed Your one and only Son, Jesus, because of Your love for us. Yet we find excuse after excuse why we can’t do something in your vineyard. We ignore the pleadings from our pastors for help in many areas of ministry. We find it impossible to commit to giving of our time or finances. Please embolden Your church and speak to our hearts once again about the need for ministry right in our own homes, in our neighborhoods, our churches and our country. Oh Lord, how will they know if we don’t tell them. Please help us to be so proud of our Father that we will gladly share about Him and our relationship with Him, so that You may be honored and praised even here on this old earth. AMEN!

My God Will Supply Your Needs!

On 2020-06-042021-03-11 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Thursday, 2020-06-04
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: Philippians 4:18-20
TRANSLATION: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹⁸….. Your gift is like a sweet-smelling sacrifice offered to God. God accepts that sacrifice and it pleases him. ¹⁹My God will use his glorious riches to give you everything you need. He will do this through Christ Jesus. ²⁰Glory to our God and Father forever and ever. Amen.

OBSERVATION: I have a first-hand, real life, current experience that I want to share with you, that truly brings out the truth and promise in our Scripture verses today. I will make up names, in order to protect the names of the real people, because the emphasis of praise belongs to God, as indicated in verse 19 above. I wanted you to know without a shadow of a doubt that our God is real, and that He always does what He promises He will do! There is no God like our God, precious friend!

APPLICATION: While traveling to an appointment yesterday, I was listening to Christian radio. There was a preacher who shared from these verses, and he told myself, and other listeners, that a phrase commonly used by friends today to a friend who is going through a rough time is ‘Hang in there, everything is going to be OK’. Unfortunately, that was a catch phrase that I used a lot when trying to comfort someone experiencing a challenging time. In fact, I had just used that phrase to ‘Jon’ recently, as he had experienced a tragic loss. Like many of you reading this devotional, you may immediately feel sorry for Jon as you turn your thoughts towards him and begin to worry along these lines: ‘where would I possibly find the funds to burry a lost loved one, especially after going through months of unemployment due to Covid’. True to family loyalty, Jon’s family members had already chipped in all they possibly could, to help with the burial arrangements. But I was so touched by that sermon I mentioned above, that I promised God I would do my best to always respond with Philippians 4:19 instead of a vain statement such as the one I have always used in the past. This really impacted my life dear friends. However, I went on to my appointment with a thankful heart that God would supply our needs. In the meantime, God was actively working in the lives of His servants, the ‘Smiths’, to give of their financial means to Jon so that he would be less stressed about finances, and concentrate on the loss of his loved one. That generous gift was given to me for Jon under the understanding that it was from God, so that He might be glorified. I obeyed the request of the obedient servants of God by calling Jon and sharing the good news with him. He could only bow his head in tears, as my call actually interrupted a meeting he was having with his sister at the time discussing how on earth will he ever find the funds to busy his loved one. Children of God, and friends who may be sitting on the sidelines wondering if God is still looking out for us today, let me assure you that God was as real as He has ever been to me yesterday! He orchestrated the sermon; made sure I was listening when the sermon was played on the particular radio station I was listening to; His impressing upon the heart of the Smiths to give to this need; and then opening my eyes to see how this all played out – on a day that was extremely stressful for me. I believe that God had a purpose in sharing this with me. I have already had an opportunity to use God’s Word in communicating with Jon, and I am praying that God will work miraculously in His life, even through this very challenging time. In sharing this message with you today, I believe that God is passing this message on to you, knowing that you might need this today also. Be reminded of this awesome promise dear one, and know that God is able, willing and has promised to always provide for our needs. Please join me in placing your faith and trust in Him, the only wise, true, all-powerful, ever-loving, soon-coming King of all kings and Lord of all lords – Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

PRAYER: Oh what a Savior! Thank You Lord for Your sacrificial gift on Calvary! Thank You for gifting to us the Holy Spirit to guide, protect and help us along life’s challenging course each and every day. Just as You promised, You have proven that You will meet our every need. Thank You Heavenly Father for who You are, and for accepting even us as Your humble servants and Your redeemed children. Lesson learned! Please remind us each day to share Your love and Your gift with all that we may come into contact with. I know You are alive and that You have a place prepared for my fellow believers and I whenever You call us home to glory! While left here on earth, may we be careful to allow Your love to work through us for Your own praise and glory. Please be with ‘Jon’ today, and all those who are in need, so that You may be recognized, accepted and praised. AMEN!

Recognize and Worship God For His Many Gifts

On 2020-06-01 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Monday, 2020-06-01
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: Ecclesiastes 3:9-14
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT: ⁹What does one really get from hard work? ¹⁰I have thought about this in connection with all the various kinds of work God has given to mankind. ¹¹Everything is appropriate in its own time. But though God has planted eternity in the hearts of men, even so, many cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. ¹²So I conclude that, first, there is nothing better for a man than to be happy and to enjoy himself as long as he can; ¹³and second, that he should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of his labors, for these are gifts from God. ¹⁴And I know this, that whatever God does is final—nothing can be added or taken from it; God’s purpose in this is that man should fear the all-powerful God.

OBSERVATION: Instead of griping and complaining about our job, or our work, we are encouraged by the wise King Solomon to instead remember that these are gifts from God. In doing so, we will do like any good child, we will worship and praise the Almighty for all that He has blessed us with! So what’s your stance on work – A pain? Something you dread? Something you wish that everyone else had to do, so that you wouldn’t have to? Or are you truly thankful to God everyday for Him blessing you with a job/income/ability to pay your own bills?

APPLICATION: I bet there are many days that you question whether God even loves you – especially when you have to leave a sick child at home, or perhaps you had a car accident on your way to work, yet you have to stay at work and give your boss every possible effort you could muster up. How do I know that? Well, I have also been there and done that! Many times it’s not until you pass by an underpass where dozens of homeless citizens live, that you finally raise the courage to raise your hands towards heaven and give God thanks for blessing you so incredibly. But I want to recommend another way that might help you to daily count your blessings. Try and open the Word of God each morning and read a few verses from His Word. Ask God to enlighten your heart and your soul so that you might see the awesome power and love of His Son, who sacrificed His life for sinners such as you and I. It won’t take many days of devotional time with God before you will begin to realize how awesome our God truly is! This will cause you to look at all the ways that He looks out for you, and all the ways that He provides for your every need. You will be reminded that the very job that you thought would kill you, is actually an awesome blessing from God, and it will become the source of your obedience in tithing and for praise and worship to your generous God. Friends, I am convinced that God provides awesome gifts for us each and every day. My prayer is that as we rise from our beds each day, we will raise up sweet hallelujahs to the King of all kings for having such a love for even us, and for giving unconditionally to us in so many wonderful ways. Perhaps the world may then be convinced that Jesus lives within us, provides generously for us and loves us like no other could possibly love us, until He returns to take us home to glory!

PRAYER: Loving Lord, we are ever so grateful for all that You give to us and all that you provide for us each and every day. Please forgive us when we moan and complain even about the very things that You bless us with. Please teach us to always lift up holy hands in praise and admiration of our awesome God, so that others may see and believe. We love You Lord, and we are eternally thankful for all that You do for us. AMEN!

What Have You Traded For The ‘Glory of God’?

On 2020-05-29 By Ed AlgreenIn Adoration, Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Friday, 2020-05-29
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: Psalm 106:19-22
TRANSLATION: The Voice (VOICE)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹⁹The people made a golden calf in Horeb
    and bowed to worship an image they had made.
²⁰They traded the glory of God
    for the likeness of an ox that eats grass.
²¹They forgot about God, their True Savior,
    who had done great things for them in Egypt—
²²Miracles in the land of Ham
    and amazing deeds at the Red Sea

OBSERVATION: There are certain Scriptures that will convict and challenge us like we would think is not even possible, and this is one of those. I believe that God placed this in His Word strategically to draw our attention to the fact that yes, His children of old traded other material items in place of all that He had done for them, but yes, He also knew that we would not learn from their wrongs and that we would also do the same. I pray that as we study this today we will be challenged to do something about those things that we have allowed to take God’s place in our lives.

APPLICATION: I believe that each of us could analyze our lives and identify several things that we have allowed into our lives that tend to divide, or hinder our attention to God. Let me suggest that you think back to the day that you, Christian brother or sister, surrendered your heart to the lordship of Jesus Christ. I believe that like me, you will find that there was nothing that could get between you and your Savior. For you were consistent in fellowshipping with God each day as you sought to know more about Him, and as you shared your struggles with Him. You wanted to attend every church service and teaching, as you were hungry for the Word of God. We all remember answers to our prayers, and we could clearly recall the miracles of God in response to our prayers and concerns. BUT, something happened that caused a divide in our allegiance. What was that? What is it today that has caused you to wander from God and has hindered your close relationship with Him? For those who have recently reminded themselves of the Israelite’s journey from slavery to the ultimate ‘Promised Land’, you will recall that: there were many miracles performed by God to convince Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery; God led Moses and the Israelites by day and by night; God provided food and water for His people; God held the waters of the Red Sea back so that His people could travel across safely by dry land. Yet, as you can read in verse 20 above, they counted all the goodness of God as nothing, and from metal they created their own god to worship. Do we really do this today? Think long and hard about this friends, because I believe that we trade God off for many things in our life. What do we trade God off for when it’s time to assemble ourselves together with other believers (church)? Perhaps sports; the beach; mechanical work on our car; visiting friends; television shows; etc, etc. Why do we not tell the truth about our income, our tithe, or our offerings? Would God approve of the numbers we include on our taxes or our financial statements? What if He truly gave us income based on the amount that we currently tithe, will anything change? Why are we doing things like this? Are we trading worldly values for the gracious and awesome gifts of God to His children? Oh that we may be children of the Word, and may we be faithful to our heavenly God who went all the way to the cross to show His love for us. There is nothing God wouldn’t do for us, except sin. What are you prepared to do for Him?

PRAYER: Precious Lord, You are so good to us! You have demonstrated real love to us, and provided Your Word so that we might be reminded of what You expect from us. Please strengthen us to be strong and powerful as You are. We know that there is no one with greater power than Yourself, yet we settle for the weakness of mankind and everything that this world throws at us. Please forgive us for our littleness of mind, and help us to keep our eyes fixed on the King of glory, the King of all kings. We need You every hour of every day, please teach us to fix our eyes on You and walk full in Your wonderful grace and power, so that You may be glorified through us. AMEN!

A Humble Plea To All My Readers: On June 9th I am scheduled for cervical surgery and I suppose that I will be handicapped for a few months And unable to release a new blog each day. Please pray for my surgeon, all support medical professionals and myself as we go through this surgery, and also pray for a quick recovery so that I could continue the Lord’s work through this blog. I would greatly appreciate the prayers from all who are able, remember and/or concerned for my welfare. Thank you in advance, and may God richly bless you each and every day.

Love Never Gives Up On People

On 2020-05-232020-05-23 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Faith, Faith, Love, Love God, Love of God, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Saturday, 2020-05-23
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: 1 Corinthians 13:7-8
TRANSLATION: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

BIBLE TEXT: ⁷Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits. ⁸Love will never end. But all those gifts will come to an end—even the gift of prophecy, the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages, and the gift of knowledge.

OBSERVATION: In one of my Bible translations, the word ‘Love’ in verse 5 of this chapter, was closer defined as the ‘love of God within us’. That helped me look at this chapter in a whole new light, because too often we use the word ‘love’ as it pertains to our spouse, verses the way that we like everyone else. I believe that this opening sentence gives us a bright new way to look at the way that we ‘love’ others, for it tells us that the love of God should shine through us without fail, regardless of how miserable or unloving the other person is. Join me as we think about this today.

APPLICATION: In these verses Paul is reminding the Corinthian church, and believers today, that we are to always believe in the good things of another person that we are challenged to deal with. It’s sad, but way too often we tend to ‘write another person off’ when they don’t act like we do, or talk like we do, or even at times look like we do. And this is especially true if that person crossed the line of trying to correct us or offer advice to us, or disagree with us! Solomon went as far as saying in Proverbs 10:12 that love covers a multitude of sins. Surely as children of God, we are always endeavoring to love our fellow man, so would it not be natural for us to try and work through our differences, because of that love? Perhaps we are guilty of what the Corinthians were doing – they tried to sidetrack the issue by concentrating on some of the other gifts of the Spirit. However, Paul corrected them and helped them understand that the other gifts were given to help us survive the current time, but the one they should be concentrating on, is the one that will last for all times – love. With that in mind, my heart was challenged to think how different our world would be if we dealt with every situation through the lens of ’love’ for one another. So let’s look at a few examples of how this might impact our world: (1) Let’s suppose that our spouse made us very upset, and their action made us so mad that we wanted to walk out on them. But we were quickly reminded by God of His love that lives inside of us, and that we should respond in a way that Jesus, who loves all people, would respond. Do you foresee us calming down and trying to respond in godly love, in spite of our human anger? Don’t you see how that would get is through that rough time? (2) Let’s suppose that our child was expelled from school because of cursing and disrespect for their teacher and most students. We convinced ourselves that our neighbor was right in saying that we raised our child in love and to always give respect for the authorities, so of course we need to impress that neighbor by following through with a large discussion with the teacher and principal of that school and give them a piece of our mind! However, during your devotional time that morning you were reminded of what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13 about the love of God that resides in you and how you, in return should always demonstrate that love for others. But the question remains, how do you settle this issue and come out on top at your child’s school? Friends, through this period of Covid 19 lockdown, I have been amazed by all the many ways that folk have learned to adjust in their daily lives. Churches have continued to serve their parishioners, banks have continued to serve their customers, children have continued their schooling, etc, etc. I have every reason to believe that if we love, like Jesus first loved us, then we will seek ways to show love in every circumstance of life, even those that seem impossible to us and have raised our blood pressure because of how upset we may have gotten. Folks, all things are possible with the God we love, but we need to get away from our selfish and sinful vendettas and seek the face of God to help us resolve matters in love for each other, and in a way that will be pleasing to God. This is only possible with the child of God, because of His grace, His power and His help. If you have not invited Him to be Lord of your life, then I would encourage you to read through my Footnote and especially drill down on the link ‘To Know Jesus’. Seek Him today while He may be found, dear friends. You can receive the same help offered to believers who obediently seek God in every circumstance of life.

PRAYER: Lord, it is evident that when we take the reins from You and try to do life alone – in our own way, we will follow the example of the world and respond to life’s challenges in ways that pleases the enemy, instead of You. Please be patient with us as You constantly remind us of whose we are. May we take our stance in full obedience to Your leading and in a way that You will be please with and honored. We need You involved in every aspect of our lives, especially the decisions we make and the actions that we take when posed with one more temptation set up by Satan. I am a child of God, and I want to please You in every way and in all things. My readers and I would be eternally thankful for Your guidance, especially when we are tempted to lose it with other humans. Oh that we may be good representatives in every walk of life, with Your help, strength and guidance. AMEN!

The Definition of ‘Love’

On 2020-05-22 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Faith, Love, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Friday, 2020-05-22
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: 1 Corinthians 13:4
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT: ⁴Love is large and incredibly patient.^[f] Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous^[g] when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance.

OBSERVATION: It would seem appropriate that Webster and other dictionary writers would have simply put as their definition for ‘Love’: See 1 Corinthians 13 in the written Word of God. Let’s take time today to really allow the beginning verses of this chapter to soak in and clarify, or remind us, of the meaning of a word we use and abuse a lot.

APPLICATION: Notice that at weddings where the focus of the whole ceremony, and the whole idea of what brought a couple together, is the subject of ‘Love’. Of particular interest is the ‘go-to’ place for pastors when trying to reiterate the key word that will hold marriages together. I have not been to a ceremony where the best dictionary is taken out to help define ‘love’, but instead the Bible is always used, as the pastor aims to find the most authoritative description of this important word. Because we have so many ways that we use the word ‘love’, it becomes a challenge to really share with a couple what we are actually feel about the subject. You see, in the Bible, there are 5 different words to better define what we are saying in reference to ‘love’, but they can’t be used in a marriage ceremony, because we don’t use these words in our current vocabulary: Ahab; Agapao; Agape; Phileo; and Philadelphia. However, we know from experience that we assume several things when we think of love and we have to be very careful with that. Think about the following: a). If someone gives us an unexpected gift, whether monetary or something else of value – we may tend to think that they really love us; b). If someone really looks out for us and tries to protect us from harm, we may tend to think they love us; c). If someone is always saying nice things to us or about us, we may tend to think that they really love us; etc, etc. However, let me encourage you to read the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 13 and be reminded of what God has to say about the subject of ‘love’. He used Paul to teach this lesson to the church in Corinth, and He had it included in the Bible so that all those that followed – you and I, could understand what true love is. In just the first 4 verses, Paul shared that he could talk all day long and even in many languages, but if he did it without love in his heart, he would merely be speaking empty words. Paul probably saw where many of his parishioners were good talkers, and they may have even done like we tend to do today, where we may say to a Brother or Sister that we love them, so he wanted them to know that they needed to speak from a heart of love. I would carefully challenge us with the same thought, and I particularly ask God to give me that kind of love and grace to speak from an honest and contrite heart. Paul also wanted to make it plain that even if he may have been gifted with great knowledge and of prophecy, but was void of love for his brethren, he gained nothing at all. God knew that we would get caught up on monetary gifts, so He had Paul address this also. Paul even took it as far as giving sacrificially, even of himself, but he clarified that if he went even that far, and did not do it in love, then he would gain nothing. Friends, I pray that as we meditate on this thought today, that our lives would be impacted by what Paul had to say in the Scripture, and in what God taught us throughout His Word. God showed us what love is, when He permitted His only Son to be sacrificed on a criminal’s cross for our good. I pray that we would learn to love with that kind of passion. Then perhaps, we might understand the true meaning of Love and be able to practice it without a sense of selfish gain.

PRAYER: Oh that we would be able to love folk that may have said something to us or about us that we didn’t appreciate. Oh that we might truly learn the type love that God showed at Calvary – unselfish and sacrificial. Lord, You have shown in Your Word that unless we love with all our heart, our efforts are useless. What the world needs now, is love. May the greatest love ever shown, be portrayed through us as we deal with others today. This is my humble plea for self and for all my readers today, oh Lord. AMEN!

Nuggets From God's Word

Category: Recognize God