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Post Date: |
Tuesday, 2017-11-14 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
2 Samuel 22:31-33 (ERV) |
|
Text: |
31 God’s way is perfect. The Lord’s promise always proves to be true. He protects those who trust in him. 32 There is no God except the Lord. There is no Rock except our God. 33 God is my strong fortress. He clears the path I need to take. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| David had himself a huge praise and worship time with the Lord after he stopped and realized the magnificent God who had brought him safely through the pursuit of Saul to eliminate David. Wouldn’t it speak volumes to your kids to later find your journal where, at least one time in your life, you recorded a celebration of God’s handiwork in your life? |
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| APPLICATION: | |
| Just last night I heard men say that they would never delete the last voicemail from a parent, or the last text from a loved one, because these things bring comfort when they begin to miss that loved one. Fortunately for us, David recorded many of his times of private worship and prayers, because it gives us biblical reminders that if God did it for David, He could very well do the same for us, if we are obedient to Him and have fully surrendered self to Him. Hearing these things from someone we know personally really touches the heart and impacts us tremendously. Recording our experiences will allow God to strengthen and encourage us again as we record the experiences we have enjoyed with God. But for the family member that finds those handwritten notes, it becomes a personal highlight in their life to know that God was so special to their loved one. This, in turn, will give boldness to that loved one who may be facing their own challenges. Friends, you may not feel like you are a proclaimed writer, but recording words that you’ve thought, or prayed or sung out to God, will bring comfort to a relative. You could easily repeat the cycle that David began in our Scripture today! Who knows? Just as I was blessed by David’s recorded words today, our great grandchildren might be blessed by the notes we leave around the house where we recorded our own life-experiences with God. Will you join me in trying that, so that God might be glorified through even us? |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Lord, you’ve strategically placed the words and songs of great saints, like David, so that we might read them, be reminded of the many ways that You have also blessed us, and encourage us to do the same for our ancestors. Lord, make us bold servants to obediently follow Your teachings and Your commands, and help us to unselfishly record many of our blessings, with hopes that others might be lifted up and encouraged to do the same. You are glorious and wonderful in so many ways to each of us every day, please help us to take a moment and record those blessings for the benefit of others being also blessed from our experiences. AMEN! |
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| 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! | |
Category: Share
Importance of The Father and The Son
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Post Date: |
Tuesday, 2017-10-31 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
John 8:19-20 (TLB) |
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Text: |
19 “Where is your father?” they asked.
Jesus answered, “You don’t know who I am, so you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, then you would know him too.” 20 Jesus made these statements while in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, for his time had not yet run out. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| It is difficult to see the truth or know the man when you don’t trust him or spend time with him. This is what happened to the Pharisees when they were looking for ways to arrest Jesus. They were so intent in looking for the worst in Jesus, and for possible reasons to arrest Him, that their eyes were blinded to the fact that the God of this universe was actually one with His Son, Jesus. I believe that God still wants His children to seek after His Son. Let’s develop an appropriate application for this Scripture…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Often when a person is in trouble, their first instinct is to call on God. This will often include non-Christians and saints. I believe that one of the messages included in this Scripture today is that you are to know Jesus, if you truly want to know the Master of this universe, God. We will hear friends and loved ones asking for our prayers when there is trouble going on in their lives or in the lives of their loved ones. Who is this ‘God’ to them? One who stands ready to save the lives of those who crucify Him again and again each day through mocking and despising His Son? Friends, when there is One who loves you so much that He was born with a specific purpose in mind – His Father wanted to provide a means for us to make it to heaven. He saw where the sacrifice of animals was just not cutting it, so He miraculously sent His Son through a human mother, so that we could see and understand that He was just like us – born of a woman. The Bible records many miracles so that we could see that Jesus was also God. However, just as recorded by the prophets of old, Jesus also died a very cruel death at the hands of mankind who despised Him and didn’t want Him around. We tend to practice a type of crucifixion ourselves when we want to do our own thing, without the accountability of God – the One who loves us beyond anything we could ever imagine. To my readers, some of whom might be my own blood relatives, I want to plead with you to reconsider this Jesus who showed ultimate love for us, through His death on the cross at Calvary, so that we might enjoy life abundantly with He and His Father in heaven for all eternity. If you have yet to surrender your life to Jesus and receive this ultimate gift of love, please do that today. Our time here on earth is not assured beyond the very moment that you read this blog, so please don’t procrastinate, bow your head and invite Jesus into your heart right now and ask Him to forgive you of your sin. |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, thank You for providing the means for us to spend eternity with You and Your Father, God. A sacrifice that we will probably never fully understand. However, for those of us that have accepted that free gift of love, we are eternally grateful to You and we look forward to the day that we can look full into Your wonderful face and enjoy the sweet communion with You and our Father, God. Please give us wisdom on ways that we could help to touch the hearts and lives of those that have yet to make this decision, for we want to see all of our family, friends, coworkers and acquaintances joining with us in celebration around the throne on that great homecoming day! AMEN! |
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| 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! | |
The Importance of Your Ministry
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Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-07-26 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Luke 10:16 (ERV) |
|
Text: |
16 “When anyone listens to you my followers, they are really listening to me. But when anyone refuses to accept you, they are really refusing to accept me. And when anyone refuses to accept me, they are refusing to accept the one who sent me.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Jesus sent out 70 disciples to minister in His name. These were not necessarily anyone special, like ordained or specially trained pastors or teachers, but they were sent by Jesus to go and share whatever He had taught them. How is this different to what we are called to do today? | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I’m sure that anytime we hear of people being ‘called’ of God, we think of our pastors, and perhaps other pastors from our community that we know, but how often do we think about the idea of us being called individually to minister in the name of our Lord? We often hear believers say that I just work with the youth at my church, or I’m involved in the kids ministry, or perhaps I teach an adult Sunday School class. The real unfortunate statements that we hear way too often is that ‘I’ve done my part, so now it’s up to the younger folk to carry on the ministry in the church and in our community’. Friends, I can find nowhere in the Bible where Jesus called anyone to carry on the message of the cross and handed them a retirement package that would activate at a certain age. At what age do you stop being married, or stop bragging about your spouse? Let’s look at the Scripture again…. The Word say that when others listen to you and I declaring the name of the Lord, they are actually listening to Jesus – the One who sent us. When they refuse to accept the one whom we teach and preach, they are rejecting Jesus, and His Father (GOD) who sent Him. I don’t know about you friend, but those are some pretty serious consequences that our ‘ministry’ could have on those that we mentor, or tutor (teach). I trust that Jesus will always clearly say to us at the end of life’s journey: ‘Well done good and faithful servant’. Don’t disappoint Him child of God. Your individual ministry is very important. If God assigned it to you then taking it lightly, or not doing it at all, is disobedience to Him. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| You provided the way, and You provided the means for our salvation Lord Jesus. Please help us to never be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Please prompt us into the service of ministering in Your name so that You and the Father might be glorified, for Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever, 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! | |
The Invaluable Testimony of Eyewitness
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Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-07-10 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Deuteronomy 11:1-2; 7 (ERV) |
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Text: |
1 “So you must love the Lord your God. You must do what he tells you to do and always obey his laws, rules, and commands. 2 Remember today all the great things the Lord your God has done to teach you. It was you, not your children, who saw those things happen and lived through them. You saw how great he is. You saw how strong he is, and you saw the powerful things he does.
7 It was you, not your children, who saw all the great things the Lord did. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| I believe that Moses realized that the younger generation of Israelites might be entering into the Promised Land without ever having witnessed the powerful hand of God through the many miracles in Egypt, and in the wilderness. I believe that the older generation were probably content in their tents knowing that they had witnessed a lot in their day and that hopefully their children would never have to face those challenges again. We will consider the application to our current day situation, as we reflect on the dilemma Moses saw with his people, at such a celebrative time in their history…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Gossip generally starts when one is trying to relay a story based on something they thought they heard someone else say. Exaggerations are generally added, especially to slant the belief of the hearer towards the feelings of the story teller. But if experiences are never shared with others, the lessons that you learned will not help others, or give them a ray of hope through all that they are facing. God brought the Israelites through so much that their experiences are spread across several books in the Bible, yet this younger generation was preparing to enter into uncharted territory, facing huge obstacles, and Moses was afraid that they would probably face these with little hope or trust in the God from whom their forefathers witnessed miracle after miracle. Has things changed? Do our kids know about the miracles in the lives of our parents and grandparents? Do they know about the faith as demonstrated by your uncle? Do they know that the same God who raised Lazarus from the grave, is the same God available to them today and they too can experience His awesome grace and power? Don’t forget friends, there are folk that will deliberately get into conversation with you today, because they may have seen your faith at work, or they’ve heard of the faith that you may have in your Master. Don’t brush them off because you’re at work, or you’re at the grocery store. God arranged the meeting place and the circumstance so that someone might hear your story today. Don’t let Him down! Family will probably call or stop by today and although there might be several reasons for their visit, one might be that they want some of your faith to rub off on them. Let me encourage you to share wherever and whenever you can. The obvious place is at church friends, for most people attend, looking for hope, for answers, for a better way. Be interested in those that you speak with, and not just a casual handshake or smile, for they may enter their future without ever having been touched by the blessings God showered on you. Your sharing with them might be the final thing that convinces them to meet the originator of miracles – our God! Do your part by share what God has done for you personally friend. There is nothing like an eyewitness account! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, You bless us immensely each and every day, and You have not only performed miracles in our own lives, but also in the lives of relatives that have shared experiences with us. Please help us to share with others how You have blessed us, and Lord, please use those circumstances to draw folk to you. Help us to share in simple form what You have miraculously done for us. No need for exaggeration, Your power is enough to draw folk to You and to save the most hardened sinner. Lord, I look forward to sharing with others today, God being my helper, 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! | |
Gifts From God!
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Post Date: |
Saturday, 2017-07-08 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Deuteronomy 9:4-6 (VOICE) |
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Text: |
4 When the Eternal your God has driven them out ahead of you, then don’t begin to believe He gave you this land because you’re so good and righteous! It’s just the opposite; He is giving you their land because those other nations are so bad! 5 It’s not because you’ve conducted yourselves so well or because you have such pure hearts that you’re going to take the land; the Eternal your God is driving out those other nations ahead of you because they’re so wicked. He’s keeping His word, the promise He made to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6 I’ll say it again: the Eternal One your God isn’t giving you this good land because you’re so good. You’re stubborn, obstinate people. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Moses wanted his people to be reminded who was in charge of the mission they were about to take, for there was nothing they could have said or done that could warrant the overthrowing of the much larger towns they would encounter on entering into the Promised Land. If God was to act based on the goodness of the Israelites, they probably would never have made it out of the wilderness. I believe that we could see where there would be lots of lessons in this story for us also! Let’s apply this Scripture to our lives… | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| We may tend to look at this story as such an obvious case. After all, we remember from reading the story about how the Israelites turned their hearts away from God right from the very beginning of their journey, and very soon after seeing God’s miraculous hand at work at various times. I believe that God knew that as these people entered the land, overcame towns and settled in, there would be a higher likelihood of them pitching a party to celebrate, rather than a huge praise service to give God the glory. So I feel like God inspired Moses to warn them ahead of time. So friends, what is God pointing out to us through this scripture? I believe that a fair number of us are willing to help the poor; visit the sick; encourage the depressed and console the mourning, but what do we expect back? Please don’t quickly respond ‘nothing’, because we gloat in our achievements when we hear our names mentioned in recognition, or mentioned in the newspapers for having helped someone. May I suggest that you try seeking God’s face for Him to show you where the needs are? Then try meeting those needs without calling your pastor to see if he approves, for you are following God’s instructions. If you can meet the need anonymously and not tell anyone else that you did it, I believe you will have something to celebrate with God. Think about it, when God blessed you with the income and abilities to help others, He didn’t send a message to your pastor so he could have the church celebrate your income and talents. Therefore, when you give, as unto the Lord, give in His precious name, so that He might be glorified! He gave it to you and you shared some it. Since it all originated with Him, then He deserves the credit and the praise! Start by tithing to your local church, as instructed in Scripture. When you’re comfortable with that, and realize the praise that God receives through the work of the local church, and that you survived financially in spite of giving a tenth right off the top, then you will be comfortable taking that to the next level. God told us to test Him and see if He wouldn’t bless us beyond anything we could give or imagine. Try it friend! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Father, who are we that a King should die for us and provide the only means into heaven to live eternally with our awesome God? The love, the gift of eternal life, the provisions of each day and the gift of family and friends, way exceed anything we could ever have thought or planned. The gift of the Holy Spirit to help us in our daily walk, makes this whole journey on earth possible. Thank You Lord Jesus for every gift You have given to me. May I live the life You have designed for me, so that all that I do and all that I am, may bring glory to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 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! | |
Share The Good News
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Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-04-26 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Mark 5:18-20 (TLB) |
|
Text: |
18 So he got back into the boat. The man who had been possessed by the demons begged Jesus to let him go along. 19 But Jesus said no. “Go home to your friends,” he told him, “and tell them what wonderful things God has done for you; and how merciful he has been.”20 So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to tell everyone about the great things Jesus had done for him; and they were awestruck by his story. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| The appointment that Jesus had with the demon possessed man led to a total change in his life. He knew that he would benefit from being around Jesus even more, so he pleaded with Him to allow him to travel with Him. That would have been safe, secure and perhaps filled with ongoing miracles, but Jesus had a much bigger mission in mind for this man – to share his miracle of ‘new life’ with others, so that they too might see and believe – just like our personal witnessing/ministry today! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Imagine how small Christendom would be if, when folk went into a place like a church, they found Jesus, accepted Him as Lord and personal Savior, and never came back outside. Not only would the outside world never hear their gripping story, but they would think the worst of what must have become of them. Friends, it is one thing for the world to hear about some of the things that go on inside places of worship, but it is a totally more convincing fact for them to witness what happened in a life that was totally torn by sin, but have since seen a 180 degree change in their conviction, their lifestyle and in their demeanor. So often we hear the saying ‘what’s inside will come out’, and we see that materialize through the various ones that we encounter each day, but I must also share with you that if a change occurred inside of you, and you are not living out that change, then one might question if anything ever truly changed in you. Let’s consider briefly an example – a frequent visitor to the local pub, who most evenings have to be driven home because he would get too intoxicated to walk straight or drive home. This gentleman was introduced to Jesus and he accepted Jesus as Lord of his life. While a total change came about in his life, and he had no more desire to hang out in places where the Holy Spirit would not feel comfortable, he comes across his bar-hoping buddies from time to time. Much like the demon-freed man, this new convert made it a point to get in the way of his buddies, and he openly shared his story with them. Friends, this gentleman didn’t automatically become a preacher, but he had a story about how his life was changed. Sharing your story with others is often more powerful than reading the scriptures to your friends. Imagine, you are sharing a personal experience you had with God, not just about a prophet or healing that took place thousands of years ago that Bible writers told you about. Please don’t misunderstand, the Bible is the Holy Word of God and it always has the power to save and draw people to Christ. However, when you have bathed yourself in the Word, your personal story will be especially important to share with folk who need to know that our Savior lives, and He is active in our lives even today! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace that saved a wretch like me, who was steeped in sin and had no hope of eternity. Much like the demon possessed man in our story, You accepted my plea for salvation and forgave me of my sin. I am eternally grateful for that dear Jesus. Much like our subject today, I am most comfortable around Your people who think much the same way as I do. But praise be to God, You allow me opportunities to ‘go back home’ and share the Good News of my Savior. Many of you reading this blog may fit into a similar mold as described. Let us pray that as we are taken outside of our comfort zone, that God would provide the opportunities to share Christ and to bring Light into the darkest lives of those who need a change. Out story is super important, please help us to ensure that it becomes very evident to the hearer that it is You who influence our lives each day, and You who saved us from a life destined for Hell and transformed us into a child of the King! Lord, may this be the day that ‘our story’ will lead someone to knowing more about You! 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! | |
Use What You Have
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Post Date: |
Saturday, 2017-04-22 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Mark 4:23-25 (ERV) |
|
Text: |
23 You people who hear me, listen! 24 Think carefully about what you are hearing. God will know how much to give you by how much you understand now. But he will give you more than you deserve. 25 The people who have some understanding will receive more. But those who do not have much will lose even the small amount they have.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Jesus was right in the middle of teaching, and I believe He probably started to see the blank stares that many teacher receive when they realize they may have lost their audience. Jesus was very careful to indicate the need for close attention and understanding, as they would be blessed as they share with others what they had learned from Him. In fact, He advised that they would by blessed in accordance with how much they share with others, from what they had learned. I wonder – are we receiving our share of blessings? | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| In a children’s class or even in a young adult class, the teacher might often do a recap at the end of class and ask questions about the lesson they just taught, to check for understanding, and also to prove how well the kids were listening. Isn’t it interesting that the ones who were most attentive, are the ones bubbling over with all of the answers? Ever wonder how many leave your class and while on break or in between classes they actually stop and share the exciting lesson they just learned in their last class? My daughter came to visit recently, and she was bubbling over with excitement about something she had just learned. Supposedly she had talked about the subject most of the day and couldn’t stop talking to her mom and I. I believe this is what Jesus is saying to us through these verses in our study. For if we listen to the right things, because Jesus taught that we are to listen carefully to the right things, and if we use that information to help others, or teach others, then we will be blessed with more and more, so that we could continually bless others for God. If we leave the lesson there, everyone would be happy, I believe. However, Jesus went on to say that if we ignore the good things that are being taught to us, and therefore don’t grasp the truth of the Word so that we could happily share that with a friend, neighbor, coworker or even family members, then even the small amount of knowledge that some may have will be taken away. Friends, I believe we can recap this lesson by saying that blessings are in store for those who share what they have learned, however blessings are withdrawn from those who refuse to listen and/or share what they have learned. How’s your tank of blessings? Filled, or almost empty? You have now been reminded of the formula to refill your tank, go for it friend and willingly share what you learn so that the blessings keep flowing! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, thank You for giving to us so that we might share with others! Please continue to show us how we might gain more, so that we might give more. Open our minds of understanding and our hearts with a deep desire to learn more. Help us to be empty vessels, because we have shared with others all that we have taken in. May You be blessed and glorified because of all that we give. 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! | |
Careful of ‘Burn-Out’
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Post Date: |
Friday, 2017-03-17 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Exodus 18:17-18 (NIV) |
|
Text: |
17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Moses had fallen into the trap of assuming that only he could hear and solve the disagreements among the people. Praise God,someone loved him enough to challenge him about being the judge and savior for all these people,and offered a solution to him to avoid ‘burn-out’. This is a lesson we all can learn from! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, saw something coming to Moses, and he gave him good advice that would do many leaders today a world of good! Jethro saw that Moses would soon ‘burn-out’ if he continued at the rate he was going. Many leaders fall into the trap that Moses found himself in, for they are very guilty of acting like unless they do the job themselves, it won’t get done properly. Many would just as soon do the job themselves instead of dealing with the sting of rejection, or subordinates that become agitated because they feel taken advantage of, when asked to do additional work. Friends, I would never indicate that I am perfect, but I see this way too often. It is probably one of the hardest lessons for a manager/leader to learn and practice, for way too often we feel like we may not have a job tomorrow if a subordinate is capable of doing our job. I had a manager who told me at least annually that my job is not considered fully achieved, unless I have someone fully trained to do it in my absence. Friends, this happens way too often in God’s work around the church also, where our pastors; teachers;maintenance teams,deacons and elders become over burdened with responsibilities because of the above reasons. Unfortunately, while this goes on and these leaders bury themselves in pressure and endless hours, others sit around finding fault, or feeling incomplete because they are not asked to learn additional responsibilities or help in some way. Friends, may I suggest that we are doing God and our fellow men and women a disservice when we don’t give them an opportunity to help alongside of us? If we burn ourselves out before we ask someone to come alongside of us and train to help us out, I honestly believe that God will hold us accountable for our selfishness. Let me encourage you to seek the seek the face of Jesus and ask Him to open your eyes for opportunities to mentor someone else to eventually assume your responsibilities in all phases of your work life. Remember, your job is considered incomplete, unless you have someone trained to assume your responsibilities when you are unavailable to do so! Seek God’s face for the one that He has in mind to train under you and help you out. |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, thank You for trusting me enough to allow me to serve in Your vineyard here on planet earth. Who am I that the King of Glory should live and die for? Who am I that this same King would choose to adopt me into Your kingdom and allow me to serve your people while remaining here on earth? I’m just a sinner, saved by your wonderful and marvelous grace! Because You have trusted me to serve, may I be very open to allowing others to serve as You direct, and may I not be judgmental of their relationship with You. For all those who will read this devotional, may God be gracious to you, and may He use you fully to reach the lost and disciple them until Jesus returns to take us, and them, up to glory to be one with the Father. AMEN! |
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| 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! | |
Always Be Open To Share
May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………
Today’s Bible Reference: Acts 8:27–31
Today’s Bible Text: 27 …… The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah. 29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.” 30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)
My Take Away: Isn’t it interesting how we can usually place enough reasons in our mind to not do something we feel prompted to do? We may need to call someone, but we fill our heads with excuses on why we should delay, or perhaps not call at all. The same for visitation – we can quickly fill our heads with excuses of why this may not be an opportune time to visit, or why the person may not appreciate you coming by at all. Phillip had every reason to doubt the Holy Spirit’s instructions to him. The eunuch was from the Queen’s palace – and surely he will want nothing to do with just a local Christian fellow wanting to teach the gospel or be a witness, right? Think also about the fact that the eunuch was just returning from Jerusalem where he went to worship. Now surely the Holy Spirit would not want you to go and be a witness to a church goer! After all he’s probably a Christian already, seeing that he went out of his way to go such a distance just to worship! Then, of course, there is probably the usual excuses of being afraid that you may be asked a question you can’t answer, or you will probably stammer over your words in nervousness. But isn’t it interesting that Philip did exactly what he was instructed, without finding all of the usual excuses, and of course, the story reveals that it was a very timely visit, that ultimately led to the conversion of the eunuch. I wonder how many opportunities we miss because of our many excuses that we tend to place in the way of God’s urging, and nudging for us to be a witness. God had this whole encounter with Philip and the Eunuch ordained for His purpose. I believe there are similar encounters He has in store for us as well. May I encourage you to be obedient to what He may ask you to do?
Prayer: Lord God, You know all things and You have everything under Your perfect control. Please help us to just be obedient and follow Your direction to us and Your assignments for us. Like Philip, we could easily be part of a great big plan that You have in store to actually change the heart and eternal direction of someone we know. Use us dear Lord to be involved in anything that we could do to facilitate Your destiny for our friends and family. May Your perfect will be accomplished, even through imperfect messengers like us. For I ask all this in the precious and all powerful name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior, AMEN!
Footnote: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!
2016
Meeting The Needs of Others
THE HOLY BIBLE (New Living Translation – Matthew 14:13-16): 13 As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. 14 Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 That evening the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.”
THOUGHTS: One might look at this passage and see where the disciples were ready for some one-on-one time with Jesus. But since that was almost impossible with over 5,000 people hanging around, the disciples suggested to Jesus that they would send them on their way so they could take care of their physical needs. So from man’s eyes this appeared to be a great responsibility that was way beyond them. Now I realize that the disciples could have been looking out for Jesus’ best interest emotionally also, because He was visibly upset over just learning of the death of His friend, John the Baptist, but I also can’t help but believe that the disciples also needed some time alone with Jesus. This kind of made me think about the times that we close the doors to the world and get in our comfortable church buildings to soak in the blessings of God for ourselves. We need that ‘refueling’ time. We need to saturate ourselves in the love and warmth of our Savior so that our ministry, or our evangelizing ‘tanks’ might be refilled and re-energized. This is all well and good friends, but how often do we leave our respective churches on fire for the Lord, and head out of the doors to the world with a deep, burning desire to share the love of God, that we were just reminded of? You see, the crowds will press in on us to gain an understanding of why we might be different. Scripture tells us that we should be ready to give an account, and share the joy and source of our happiness and our salvation. I believe that in much the same way that Jesus told His disciples to feed the crowd, He is also telling us to feed His sheep. Don’t push them away so that we can go to ‘soak and sour’, but share His love as we know it! Show His kindness as we have experienced it! And most of all, be ready at all times to give account for the joy that fills our hearts in knowing Jesus Christ, the Master of this universe, in a personal way. These are things that the world is badly in need of today among the pressures of unemployment, declining stock markets, increasing consumer costs, etc. The world needs Jesus, and we are His ambassadors to spread the good news. How will they know, unless we tell them? Friends, for the ongoing benefit of the kingdom, consider committing to share all that you have been blessed with spiritually!
PRAYER: Thank You Lord for Your blessings on me! Thank You Savior for Your amazing, unselfish sacrifice made just for me! Thank You Jesus for the amazing power and influence You have given to Your children to be instruments of Your love and a reflection of Your precious sacrifice. Oh that we may be open channels of Your amazing grace, to all that we come into contact with, and to all where a need becomes evident to us. Jesus blessed over 5,000 through the hands of His disciples, and I am sure that He can also meet the needs of many through us as we surrender our selfish selves to the awesome and miraculous power of the Almighty God. Oh Lord, may we let go and let God, and may Your power become very evident today because of our surrender. These are my wishes Lord, but may Your perfect will be done. For I ask these things in the wonderful name of Jesus, my loving Savior and Lord, AMEN!
FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely 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, Sebring, FL! 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!
Nuggets From God's Word 