Category: Representation of the Master

Imitate God and Do Good

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Imitate Jesus, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Representation of the Master, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Tuesday, 2020-11-24
WRITTEN AT: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

BIBLE REFERENCE: 3 John 1:11
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT: 11 Delightfully loved ones, don’t imitate what is evil, but imitate that which is good.[q] Whoever does good is of God; whoever does evil has not seen God.[r]

OBSERVATION: Living in this world we will come across those who are good and practice the ways and commands of God, but each day we are also subject to encountering those who are downright evil, and you would question if they may not have even heard of God. In the eyes of those that you come into contact with, they will also see you in one of these categories, based on your character and your attitude. I realize you don’t act in certain ways to please others, but as we meditate on this verse by John, let’s ask God to show us which areas of life we need to improve on in order to always look more like Him!

APPLICATION: Each day we are blessed to place our feet on the ground and encounter the world, others will be analyzing our character, our habits and our values. When we encounter praiseworthy things, others will see from the expressions on our face if we are thankful for those things, or if we are aggravated because we felt we were deserving of more. In a recent devotional, I used a verse from this same Book where John was thankful for the great testimony and works of Gaius. In the verses immediately preceding our focal verse today, John taught about the disappointing actions of Diotrephes in not respecting the work of the church leaders, and slandering those trying to further the work of the Lord. I wonder if John was not teaching from these very real examples when he taught that we should strive to do what is good if that is the testimony of God in our life. Then he may be warning us to be careful not to follow the evil practiced by some, like Diotrephes, for he acted like one who never even met God. But whether this was John’s intent or not, I do know that we will meet some in our path almost daily whose actions fit either Gaius or Diotrephes. Although we must be prepared with a mindset like our Lord to deal with others, we must daily prepare ourselves and determine in our own heart, with God’s help, whether we will portray God only in our attitudes and actions. If not, we will relax our guard and allow the natural self to just do and say what comes natural. I believe it is important to truly understand how John approached this – notice how he simply pointed out that doing what is good imitates what Jesus practiced here on earth and what He taught us to do in His Word. Doing evil demonstrates that we may not even know the King of all kings, but are mere imitators of our worldly master – Satan. Our lives will reflect whose we are. If you know my Savior, please aim to always imitate Christ in your life, dear one. Let’s not disappoint Jesus, the Messiah. Seek His help daily so that you will stand firm in the faith.

PRAYER: Lord You are good and Your mercies endure for ever and for ever, praise God! Please battle in our lives and work in our heart to help us represent You well. May we never dare to show evil towards our Brother or our Sister while also telling them that we are children of the King. For as children of God, may we always imitate and represent the Son of God so that others will be convinced of Your presence and Your work in our lives, Lord. John spoke this in its simplest form – if we do good, we are imitating God. If we do evil, we may not have ever known You. May it always be clear to the world whose we are. 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!

I’m Not Ashamed

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christ's Representative, Like Jesus, Representation of the Master, Representative of Christ, UnashamedLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE  FROM:   2 Timothy 1:11-14 (NET)

DATE WRITTEN: Friday, 2020-10-23
WRITTEN AT: Hope Hull, AL

TEXT:  11 For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher. 12 Because of this, in fact, I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, because I know the one in whom my faith is set and I am convinced that he is able to protect what has been entrusted to me until that day. 13 Hold to the standard of sound words that you heard from me and do so with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 Protect that good thing entrusted to you, through the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

OBSERVATION:   Paul was able to mentor the young man Timothy because he was convinced of his calling, and committed to the One that he served. Regardless of what happened to Paul, including beatings and imprisonment, he was unashamed of the One that he served. I wonder how many of us could truly pass that test today?

APPLICATION:   Many churches in America, and perhaps other parts of the world, will celebrate when one of their own commits to the ministry of Jesus Christ. Some churches may even make particular mention of individuals who commit themselves to serving as elders, deacons, teachers or other leadership/servant roles in the church. Because of this recognition, often folk will be prideful of these positions, but nonetheless, committed to serve for the duration of their committed term. There are some ministry jobs and assignments that remind me a little of what Paul experienced, such as missionaries who travel to countries that they know are unfriendly to the gospel of Jesus Christ; pastors who serve in churches and they may or may not be able to pay them, yet they work endless hours to win the lost and disciple the saved, just as if they were serving the richest of congregations. Of course, all church positions require a heart for representing our Maker to those that we serve, and with hearts  and mindsets of volunteering our time, effort and complete selves. But to put this all into perspective and try to identify with Paul, I believe that we need to think about the sacrifices we may make in serving and in our volunteering, even if we knew that we would be mocked, ridiculed, beaten, cursed at, or imprisoned for what we do. Would we still be able to stand upright and share, in the words of Paul, that we are unashamed of the message and person of Jesus Christ?I believe that my biggest appeal today would be for the lay persons who might read this devotional. Sure these verses were written to Timothy who was a young pastor. Sure these are very applicable to pastors, elders, teachers and other church leaders. But friends, let me remind you that God didn’t save us so that we might shut up inside of us that good thing that He did for us. I refuse to believe that He would have to create another Red Sea phenomenon, for us to truly believe, brag on, and boast about our God. For if we have permitted the lordship of our Savior and Lord to rule and reign inside of us, and if we maintain an active and sincere relationship with Him, then a river of life would flow out through our actions, our speech and it would become very evident in our outward expression and reactions to others. Remember, we don’t want others to see how cool we are, or how rude we could be, but instead, we want them to see Jesus in and through every aspect of our lives. Nothing to be ashamed of my friend, allow that good thing that has made a difference in your life, to be revealed to others so that they may desire our Savior also. Paul made reference to ‘that day’, meaning the day that we meet Jesus face to face. May we live in such a way that we will be overjoyed and filled with celebration on ‘that day’ because of the relationship we had with Jesus while here on earth, opposed to a time of regret because we were ashamed, and we kept everything about God’s goodness locked up inside of us.

PRAYER:   Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Your Son, Jesus, and for making the way possible for us to see You face to face one day! In fact, we are so thankful of that precious gift, that we want to commit ourselves wholeheartedly to evangelizing that ‘good thing’ that has gotten hold of this old sinful person, and caused a complete turn around in our walk. Lord, we surrender all to You, so that You may fill us with more of Yourself, so that others will see Jesus, and not the earthly sin-filled bodies that would constitute the alternate man. People need the Lord, not more of the same old sinful world. Use us Lord as Your instruments to fulfil Your purpose here on earth. 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 Sebring, 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!

The Results of Disrespecting God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Personal Witness, Praise, Recognize God, Reflection of Christ, Representation of the Master, Representative of Christ, Witness, WorshipLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2019-11-05

Bible Reference: 2 Samuel 12:13-14
Translation: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

Bible Text: 13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan said to David, “The Lord will forgive you, even for this sin. You will not die. 14 But you did things that made the Lord’s enemies lose their respect for him, so your new baby son will die.”

OBSERVATION: This is probably a subject that many readers will ignore, because in your own minds you are confident that you never disrespect God! However, just for the challenge, let us pause for a few moments today and see what God may have to say to us through His Word.

APPLICATION: Unless we truly meditate on what Nathan said to David, we could each jump on our high horses and dismiss this warning from God, by convincing ourselves that we never disrespect God. One Bible version states that David gave cause for the enemies of God to mock Him, while yet another version said that he gave reason for the enemies of God to blaspheme God. For those who may not be familiar with this story, we are told that although David used all kinds of secrecy tactics to hide his murder of Uriah, because of his sin with Uriah’s wife. Yet, much to David’s surprise, God directed Nathan to confront David about his sin and to detail the consequences for his sin. But notice that the emphasis of Nathan’s confrontation was not on how much David must have hurt Uriah’s family, or how selfish it was for David – a king who could have gotten anything, or anyone he wanted in the country under his reign – yet he stole Uriah’s wife. Notice how most people in the country probably had no clue that David and Bathsheba had an affair, for David never went to her home – but God knew. Notice how David used his army general to have Uriah killed in battle, and no one would probably have ever known that David was behind the murder – but God knew. But I want you to particularly notice that Nathan’s emphasis in his whole encounter with David was on the point of how his actions affected the image of the God – the very God that David served. Friends, I believe that many things happen in our lives and we do quite well at keeping it hidden from family, friends and the rest of the world. But when we stand in God’s presence and claim that we are what God expects of us, while deep inside there are lingering guilt about actions we have done that is totally opposed to God’s perfect will, should we not ponder what God must be thinking of us? Often, much to our surprise, when our sin occurred, there were probably some who looked on and pondered, ‘so is this what Jesus would do?’ For as a representative of God, our words and our actions remind people of God, or do they? The Word of God says that David’s sin caused those who were enemies of God to disrespect Him even more than they did before. Do you want to stand before God on Judgment Day and be guilty of something like that? Do you want to walk around knowing that you can’t face God each day in all honesty, because you are living in sin? Do you sometimes feel like a wolf in sheep’s clothing? The Word says that those who know my voice will obey my commands. Is that you my friend? Or do you know His voice and still act just like you want to? Please join me in committing to stop disrespecting our Father, and instead, learn to obey His voice and His teaching so that others will see Jesus very clearly in all that we are.

PRAYER: Loving Father, please touch the hearts of Your children today. If we say that we belong to You, please give us the boldness to live like we do. We are as a transparent glass in the the eyes of the world. They need, and they are often looking for the Savior of the world. Oh that they may have to look no further than us, as they share in our lives and watch our character every day. Oh that they may see Christ in me, is my ultimate plea today oh God. Please touch the hearts of each one reading this devotional today that they may also commit afresh to being a bold witness for You dear God. AMEN!

Who Do You Think You’re Fooling?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Representation of the Master, Representative of Christ, Sacrifice, WitnessLeave a comment

Monday, 2019-09-09

Bible Reference: Matthew 12:33-37
Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Bible Text:  33 A good tree produces only good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. You can tell what a tree is like by the fruit it produces. 34 You are a bunch of evil snakes, so how can you say anything good? Your words show what is in your hearts. 35 Good people bring good things out of their hearts, but evil people bring evil things out of their hearts. 36 I promise you that on the Day of Judgment, everyone will have to account for every careless word they have spoken. 37 On that day they will be told that they are either innocent or guilty because of the things they have said.

OBSERVATION: It happens all too often. Our actions, and the foolishness coming from our lips, has such an impact on those that we associate with each day, that people are confused and uncertain about where we will spend eternity. For what they are seeing is the fruit of what has been produced from ones filled with love, blessings, and a Christ-like character, or they are hearing the same from you as any other non-believer. As we meditate on this today, let’s concentrate on what the world sees in us.

APPLICATION:  I am intrigued by the different ways that people act, depending on the audience, and in some cases the location. Think about the church member who acts prim and proper while on church property, yet so different in another setting that their friends hardly recognize them. Far-fetched you might say? Recently I saw an individual who was advertising their faith through the words on the tee shirt they were wearing, yet their actions were those of an unbeliever. It was embarrassing to me, so I can’t imagine what it must have been to God, for He said in His Word that He wants us to be holy, just as He is holy. In fact, He is expecting us to imitate His Son, who came to earth and lived among mankind. Friends I believe that often we must remind ourselves that at one point in our lives we may have done certain actions, or spoken in certain ways, but now that we have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us, and now that we know about what God expects from us through His written Word, we just don’t live like that anymore. Jesus basically told the Pharisees that what’s inside, is bound to be exposed through the things we say and in the ways that we act. Don’t you know that people we come into contact with are bound to be confused when we proclaim our faith in Christ, yet our actions reflect anything but the love of our Savior? Friends, living life according to God’s instructions in a world led and controlled by Satan, is almost impossible for us to do on our own. We need Jesus each and every day to guide our path and protect our thoughts and words, if we are going to be like Him. At the beginning of each day, consider asking for God’s guidance, direction and power to help you be more like Him during the day, while being so exposed to the things of this world. Then at the end of each day as you reflect on your day, be sure to analyze whether friends may have witnessed enough evidence to find you guilty of being a Christ follower. No one to fool in this evaluation, because God sees and knows all things and He could help you honestly evaluate, and help you rediscover His love and His power to help you live life pleasing to Him. To the unbeliever who would like to partake in this God-directed life, please read the information in my ‘Footnote’ for help in finding Jesus. Alternately, I would be thrilled to tell you more about my Savior, so feel free to contact me.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the freedoms that You give us. These often get us in trouble, because we often do our own thing instead of begging You for power, grace and mercy to live in a ‘foreign’ land as saints of Your awesome kingdom. We can only succeed in our Christian walk by depending heavily on You to guide us, protect us, and strengthen our will to be more inclined to Your ways. We need You each and every day to help us in this daunting task oh Lord. Please touch the lives of those who may not know you, yet they may stop by to read this devotional. Please draw them unto yourself. I ask all this in the strong and holy name of Jesus, AMEN!

Who is Your Pilot?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Pleasing to God, Representation of the Master, Representative of ChristLeave a comment

Thursday, 2019-06-06

Bible Reference: John 7:16-18
Translation: Good News Translation (GNT)

Bible Text:  16 Jesus answered, “What I teach is not my own teaching, but it comes from God, who sent me. 17 Whoever is willing to do what God wants will know whether what I teach comes from God or whether I speak on my own authority. 18 A person who speaks on his own authority is trying to gain glory for himself. But he who wants glory for the one who sent him is honest, and there is nothing false in him.

OBSERVATION: Jesus spoke the words of His Father. Are you still caught up in self-recognition, or are your audiences hearing the words of your Father? Meditate with me today in this Scripture and examine your own heart, as I do the same.

APPLICATION:  The people recognized that Jesus was an awesome teacher. However Jesus wanted to make it clear that His words came directly from the Father. Verse 18 reminded me of some of our current day teachers, preachers and evangelists, where we see, or hear one speaking from a very selfish ‘me-ology’, instead of the unadulterated Word of God. Could that be the kind of person that Jesus was talking about – trying to gain glory, or draw attention to themselves, by speaking from their own authority? Let’s remember that our godly responsibility is to pray for those who teach us, not to judge them, or make fun of them or ridicule them. That’s where God takes over. Fortunately though, we also have preachers and teachers who display a true sensitivity to God and His Holy Spirit, and therefore there is a deep honesty and openness that causes them to lean on their Master and seek His will in their ministry. Did you notice that Jesus depended on His Father for the right words, and the best timing in which to say them? How much more should we do the same today? So you might wonder, what is there in this Scripture for laity, like you and I? 1). We have been given the litmus test to help us discern whether we are being fed the honest truth of God’s Word, or whether we are seeing a popularity contest, or perhaps self promotion. Honesty to ourselves will help us to place ourselves under the right preaching or teaching, so that we can be truly taught by God; and 2). Look inwardly and allow God to show you any faults that may be evident in your life. Perhaps you are the false teacher/preacher. Are you promoting self every opportunity, or are you standing behind the cross of Christ, with Him as your spokesman, His work will be accomplished? Let Him have His way in your life, friend. Don’t just let Him be the ‘co-pilot’ in your life, but give Him the wheel and let Him pilot you through this life. Let Him receive glory for all that is accomplished in your life and in your ministry.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, it is so easy to sit back and gloat on the praise that others may give us. Yes, I know it is meant to encourage us and lift us up, but dear Lord, in humility we need to constantly learn that it’s all about You, and not of ourselves. Oh that the people might always see Jesus, without attention being drawn to us. For without You in our lives, and without You guiding our every step, our impact on a lost world would be non-existent. Please continue to use our talents and our willingness to serve for Your glory, and hopefully for the growth of Your church. Please help us to display so much of You, that those that we come into contact with, may receive Your glory. Please forgive us Lord for those times that we may have promoted self instead of You, the One who makes this whole life possible, and worth it all! To God be the glory! AMEN!

Representing God Here on Earth

On By Ed AlgreenIn Awesome God, Eternal Life, Representation of the Master, Representative of Christ, SalvationLeave a comment

Friday, 2019-05-31

Bible Reference: Isaiah 48:11–13
Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

Bible Text:  11 I will rescue you for my sake – yes, for my own sake! I will not let my reputation be tarnished, and I will not share my glory with idols! 12 “Listen to me, O family of Jacob, Israel my chosen one! I alone am God, the First and the Last. 13 It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth, my right hand that spread out the heavens above. When I call out the stars, they all appear in order.”

OBSERVATION: As a child of the King of all kings, we should constantly be mistaken for King, because of our actions, words, and our heart. But how often does that happen? Way too often our friends will see no difference between followers of Jesus Christ and the ungodly. Why do you suppose that might be? Well, in our Scripture today God said that He would not share His glory with the likes of this world. So wouldn’t that mean that we should be dedicated to the glory of our King and not just to pleasing our friends and the rest of the world? Let’s open our hearts to the Word of the Lord today as we meditate on Him.

APPLICATION: I believe that God spoke to me on two items in these verses this morning, and I wanted to share this with you friends:

1. The verses preceding those above spoke about God purifying His people with fire. Then He said something very powerful in verse 11: “I will not let my reputation be tarnished”. Friends, we may claim the name of ‘Christian’ or ‘follower’ or we may have a desire, and commit to live like Jesus. However, this may sometimes result in no change in our lives. I believe that God will then quickly step in to make sure that His reputation is not tarnished. We hear about Christian leaders being caught in adultery or some other sin, and we may sometimes wonder how did they get caught. Friends, God said that He will not allow His reputation to be tarnished. I believe that this still very much applies today! Christianity is not a ‘pretend’ thing, it’s a lifelong commitment to the very One who sacrificed His life for our salvation. He’s the One who holds our future in His hands, and may I remind you that He will not allow His reputation to be tarnished!
2. In verses 12 and 13 God reminds us of His awesome power and supremacy. Let’s try to keep in mind that this God that we serve, created the universe that we enjoy today. He is the ONLY God – the Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end. Let’s also note that it is just not the human race that is under the obligation of obeying our Master, but even to the stars that we enjoy looking at – God also made them and they are obedient to His call. When we think of the awesomeness of our God, do we need to go any further than to simply read His Word and savor the awesome descriptions of our Creator? May I remind you that we serve a strong, awesome God!

Friends, do you know this awesome God of whom I have spoken in this devotional? If you do, please enjoy His presence today and rejoice in the awesome God that He truly is. If you don’t know my God, please allow me to introduce Him to you. There is information in my ‘Footnote’ that might help you, but I would welcome your email asking for my help. It would be my honor to introduce you to the One who will make the difference between eternal life with the Creator of this universe vs endless death in the presence of the Evil One – Satan.

PRAYER: Praise God, I can rejoice in the joy of my salvation, the Creator of this universe and the One who lives forevermore! Lord, please deal in my heart daily so that I may never misrepresent You or tarnish Your name. Please touch the hearts of my readers today so that they may also commit to a pure, dedicated life that is totally sold out to You – a life that will never sacrifice or tarnish the wonderful name of Jesus. May others see Jesus through our actions and through all areas of our character, for I ask this in the precious and holy name of Jesus, 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!

Not Ashamed

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christ's Representative, Like Jesus, Representation of the Master, Representative of Christ, UnashamedLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE  FROM:   2 Timothy 1:11-14 (NET)

TEXT:  11 For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher. 12 Because of this, in fact, I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, because I know the one in whom my faith is set and I am convinced that he is able to protect what has been entrusted to me until that day. 13 Hold to the standard of sound words that you heard from me and do so with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 Protect that good thing entrusted to you, through the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

OBSERVATION:   Paul was able to mentor the young man Timothy because he was convinced of his calling, and committed to the One that he served. Regardless of what happened to Paul, including beatings and imprisonment, he was unashamed of the One that he served. I wonder how many of us could truly pass that test today?

APPLICATION:   Many churches in America, and perhaps other parts of the world, will celebrate when one of their own commits to the ministry of Jesus Christ. Some churches may even make particular mention of individuals who commit themselves to serving as elders, deacons, teachers or other leadership/servant roles in the church. Because of this recognition, often folk will be prideful of these positions, but nonetheless, committed to serve for the duration of their committed term. There are some ministry jobs and assignments that remind me a little of what Paul experienced, such as missionaries who travel to countries that they know are unfriendly to the gospel of Jesus Christ; pastors who serve in churches that may or may not be able to pay them, yet they work encless hours to win the lost and disciple the saved, just as if they were serving the richest of congregations. Of course, all church positions require a heart for representing our Maker to those that we serve, and with hearts  and mindsets of volunteering of our time, effort and complete selves. But to put this all into perspective and try to identify with Paul, I believe that we need to think about the sacrifices we may make in serving and in our volunteering, even if we knew that we would be mocked, ridiculed, beaten, cursed at, or imprisoned for what we do. Would we still be able to stand upright and share in the words of Paul, that we are unashamed of the message and person of Jesus Christ?I believe that my biggest appeal today would be for the lay persons who might read this devotional. Sure these verses were written to Timothy who was a young pastor. Sure these are very applicable to pastors, elders, teachers and other church leaders. But friends, let me remind you that God didn’t save us so that we might shut up inside of us that good thing that He did for us. I refuse to believe that He wanted to create another Red Sea phenomenon, but instead a river of life that would flow out through our actions, our speech and become very evident in our outward expression and reactions to others. Remember, we don’t want others to see how cool we are, or how rude we could be, but instead, we want them to see Jesus in and through every aspect of our lives. Nothing to be ashamed of my friend, allow that good thing that has made a difference in your life, to be revealed to others so that they may desire our Savior also. Paul made reference to ‘that day’, meaning the day that we meet Jesus face to face. May we live in such a way that we will be overjoyed and filled with celebration on ‘that day’, opposed to a time of regret, God being our helper and guide.

PRAYER:   Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Your Son, Jesus, and to make the way possible for us to see You face to face one day! In fact, we are so thankful of that precious gift, that we want to commit ourselves wholeheartedly to evangelizing that ‘good thing’ that has gotten hold of this old sinful person, and caused a complete turn around in our walk. Lord, we surrender all to You, so that You may fill us with more of Yourself, so that others will see Jesus, and not the earthly sin-filled bodies that would constitute the alternate man. People need the Lord, not more of the same old sinful world. Use us Lord as Your instruments to fulfil Your purpose here on earth. 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 Sebring, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

 

God Can!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Healing, Representation of the Master, SubmissionLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Friday, 2017-05-12
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Mark 9:28-29 (ERV)

Text:

 28 Then Jesus went into the house. His followers were alone with him there. They said, “Why weren’t we able to force that evil spirit out?”

29 Jesus answered, “That kind of spirit can be forced out only with prayer.
OBSERVATION:
On the first read of this passage of Scripture, one might assume that the disciples didn’t have enough faith, or perhaps they didn’t have the necessary power to command the evil spirit out of the boy brought to them by his father. But we will have a closer look at what Jesus told His disciples so that we might also know how to handle these situations today.
APPLICATION:
TV evangelists will tell you that you must bring the sick to them for healing. Some churches have healing services, while others barely bring the subject up. Jesus had performed many miracles in the presence of His disciples, and He even told them that they had power to do what they had seen Him do. However in this instance, Jesus told the disciples that this type of issue could only be handled through prayer. And prayer is directed to whom? Jesus is telling the disciples that only God could handle this type of a situation. In other words, be careful how you go about thinking that you can do anything. Notice in verse 18 the father told Jesus that he took the child to His followers and they couldn’t get rid of the evil spirit from his son. Friends, today we are no different. We are advocates of the Father, and we had best remember who is in charge. May we never assume that we could do anything in our own strength. Our job is to communicate (pray) to the Father. It is He who does the healing, if within His perfect will, He sees and understands that this would be the best thing for the individual, and that it might bring praise and honor to His Son, Jesus. The other thing that we must be careful of, is the manner in which we approach the throne of grace and speak with our Father. We are not His boss, so we don’t approach Him as such. Servants approach their Master in humility, thanksgiving and with petitions that He alone may choose to respond to. Notice in verse 29 Jesus said that the Father must be approached in prayer, meaning that we should plead our case/requests with Him, Remember, we do the asking, God does the healing. I don’t believe that God would be very happy at all with us if we try to reverse the rolls, for after all, He alone is God. As His workmanship, we are simply tools that He could use to accomplish His will and His work, if He so chooses.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, it is so easy for us to pick pieces of Scripture and hang our hats on those nuggets, as they may better fit the situation we are facing at the time. Lord, please get our attention to the fact that You are in control and that You alone are capable of the miraculous works of the Master. We are simple, humble servants and we must approach Your throne with that simplicity. Servants ask, not tell their Master what to do. May we never forget the authority You have over us, nor forget the absolute lack of authority we have over You. Thank You Lord for loving us anyway and for allowing us to represent You before a lost world. Thank You for Your discipline when its necessary to remind us who’s in control! With much love, appreciation and submissiveness I ask these things dear Lord, AMEN!
FOOTNOTE:
There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’.  If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Holiness – Because God is Holy

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christ's Representative, Holy, Holy Living, Representation of the Master, Representative of ChristLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Wednesday, 2017-05-03
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Leviticus 19:1-2 (CEV)

Text:

 1 The Lord told Moses 2 to say to the community of Israel:I am the Lord your God. I am holy, and you must be holy too!
OBSERVATION:
God had shared with the Israelites that they were His chosen people. He showed this in the way that He brought them out of slavery in Egypt and into a land filled with milk and honey – the Promised Land. He disciplined them when they did things contrary to His commands. However God also took care of their needs and loved on them in many different ways. Now, God wanted to see them go off into the Promised Land in a manner that might show respect, honor and praise to the One who brought them to this point. This is very much in line with what God expects from us today!
APPLICATION:
If I was a carpenter, I would teach my son a trade – and guess what that trade might be? In teaching that son what might best align him with the teachings of my Lord, I would steer him towards a humble, but yet glorifying life dedicated to Jesus Christ. My greatest lessons would be through my actions and not just through my words. I would be careful in not demanding that he lives in a manner that I have never been able to accomplish. Moses went on in the rest of chapter 19 to teach the Israelites some of the ways through which God might be glorified in their lives. I believe that it is super important that we grasp hold of this teaching friends, for God not only says in John 3:16 that whosoever believes in the Son of God will become children of God, but there are many other verses in the Bible that teach the same principles taught in this chapter. The God in whom we place our faith and our trust is a Holy God. To say that we believe in Him, or that we are His followers, or that we are Christian, and then continue to live like the world, is a huge conflict and contradiction of our beliefs. We then become hypocrites of God and distract the witness for Christ. That’s totally opposite to what we are called to be, for in us the world should see enough of Christ that they would desire to know our source of truth and help – Jesus Christ, in a very personal and meaningful way. So friends, what are others seeing in you even when you don’t have an opportunity to witness to them verbally? I pray that Jesus is so prominent in your life that the whole world will know the driving force behind all that you do and all that you are. I pray that Jesus Christ might be glorified daily because of your actions and your witness for Him! To God be all the glory!
PRAYER:
Great is thy faithfulness Lord, to even me! Thank You for the opportunity to be called a child of the King of all kings – Jesus Christ. Lord may Your saints be so appreciative of this attachment to You, that Your character will be displayed through us in everything that we do, so that You might be glorified in all things. Have Your will and way in us today oh Lord – our Rock; our Redeemer; our Savior and our soon coming King, 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!

Oh The Limitations We Place on Jesus!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christ's Representative, Faith, Faith in Action, Genuine Faith, Representation of the Master, Representative of ChristLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Friday, 2017-04-28
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Mark 5:39-42 (Voice)

Text:

 39 Jesus and His three disciples went inside.

Jesus: Why are you making all this sorrowful noise? The child isn’t dead. She’s just sleeping.

40 The mourners laughed a horrible, bitter laugh and went back to their wailing. Jesus cleared the house so that only His three disciples, Jairus, and Jairus’s wife were left inside with Him. They all went to where the child lay. 41 Then He took the child’s hand.

Jesus: Little girl, it’s time to wake up.

42 Immediately the 12-year-old girl opened her eyes, arose, and began to walk. Her parents could not believe their eyes.
OBSERVATION:
It is obvious that after the daughter of Jairus closed her eyes in death, the visitors immediately gave up on the miracles of Jesus. Notice how they sent for Jesus while the child was alive but extremely ill. However, as soon as she died they sent word to Jairus that there was no further need for Jesus to come, as the child had died. Praise God that Jesus is not limited by the small ‘boxes’ we surmise about Him or build around ourselves and our circumstances!
APPLICATION:
It is so easy for us to look at these visitors to the home of Jairus and criticize them, but are they truly that much different to us – to what we would’ve done in that situation? We pray for friends who are sick; we tend to pray harder when they are forced into hospital; and we pray out of desperation when we hear that their condition is critical and possibly life threatening. But would we even allow a visitor in the room of the deceased? What if Jesus came by to visit with, and possibly raise our loved one from that death bed, would He be allowed anywhere near the room or the bedside? Notice in our Scripture how it speaks of the mom and dad being filled with amazement and awe, but said nothing of the disciples who accompanied Jesus? Could it be that they had seen these kinds of things already and that they never doubted for a moment that Jesus could raise that dead girl to new life? So what’s different with us? We read in the Holy Word of God that these miracles occurred. We believe that Jesus is alive and powerful in much the same way that He was when these Bible accounts occurred. So what stops us from calling on Him for miracles today? Are we limited by faith alone? Have we drawn a ‘box’ in our minds that Jesus can only do so much, and for whomever we fix in our minds on? Friends, may I remind you today that our Jesus loved us so much that He obediently went to the cross, having all the power necessary to destroy the whole bunch of His accusers, and He did that so that ‘whosever believeth on Him’ (John 3:16) would have clearance to the throne of grace and eternity in heaven with He and His Father! I don’t believe that He made that sacrifice in vain. I believe that His love for us is beyond anything we can comprehend, and that whatever hurts us, must also bear heavy on His heart. He wants us to communicate (pray) to Him about our hurts and disappointments, so that He could intervene as necessary to relieve our pain and bring glory to Himself. Hopefully our faith is large enough to allow God to accomplish His work in our lives and our situations.
PRAYER:
To the Creator of this universe; to the God of all, in heaven and on earth; to the Savior of the world; our Deliverer; our Healer and our everlasting Lord; we stand in awe of You today, recognizing that You are so much greater than we are; exceedingly more powerful that anything we can imagine with our earthly eyes, yet You are our King and our Heavenly Father! Oh how miniscule we are in comparison to how awesome You are! We are nothing to compare to Your great love and power, yet we often place You in a ‘box’ of limitations that extend only as far as we could see and understand. Please forgive us for our short-sightedness and lack of faith. Thank You for working a miracle in the home of Jairus thousands of years ago, so that we might be reminded today that there is no limitation to Your power and Your grace. Thank You for our inkling of faith, please continue to increase our faith so that we might properly represent You to a lost world. 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!