Category: Stumbling block

Don’t Be A Stumbling Block

On By Ed AlgreenIn Ask and Receive, Salvation, Stumbling block, WorshipLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE  FROM:   Romans 11:25-26; 33-34 (TLB)

TEXT: 25 I want you to know about this truth from God, dear brothers, so that you will not feel proud and start bragging. Yes, it is true that some of the Jews have set themselves against the Gospel now, but this will last only until all of you Gentiles have come to Christ—those of you who will. 26 And then all Israel will be saved…..

33 Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his wisdom and knowledge and riches! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! 34 For who among us can know the mind of the Lord? ……

APPLICATION:   As I meditated on the Word of God, I was reminded, in awe, of His great wisdom, and His awesome power to fulfill His Godly purpose. This particular Scripture reminded me of a sad story, but one that brought awesome results. Many years ago, my cousin, a young man about 35 years old, was electrocuted and fell to his death from a roadside electric pole. The mourning of that mother, my aunt, could be heard over most of the small town. However, before the sun set the following day, my dad (brother to the grieving mother) had surrendered his heart to Jesus! He then became a Godly influence to his five children until the day he died. What happened in this Scripture today, also reminds me an awful lot of our churches today, for it almost seems like the movement of Christ has been slowed down and possibly even dwindled some, and I wonder if it is not God dealing more intensely in the hearts of so many that are totally lost. This may not make total sense to everyone, but I wonder if God is not saying to our churches: ‘put away selfish desires, prejudices and pride. Remember, your wisdom is nothing compared to the wisdom of our awesome God. For people to gain wisdom from and in you will teach them very little however, to know Christ will gain them all eternity’. The Bible reminds us that God’s ways and thoughts are way beyond our own, so that tells me that I can’t possibly understand all that He’s up to. However, I know from the Word that God made us all to worship and adore Him, so shouldn’t our every effort be in seeking ways to know Him better, accept Him more fully and worship Him in total surrender to self and this wicked world? It just seems like we are currently facing the same dilemma that Jesus spoke of in our Scripture verses today. For we hate to look at the evening news because of all the crime, violence and acts of hatred that fills our news portals, while churches are closing their doors in record numbers because of non-attendance, lack of giving and leadership. We hear excuses such as COVID, or the effects of war, but friends, we must remember that Jesus is coming back soon to collect His church. Can you even fathom how few will be taken up to glory with Him, compared to the huge population of earth? To the church, I would say with great urgency that people need the Lord. The Gentile population has grown, and unless we who are Christian, stand firm in our faith, lift up the banner of God so that the lost may recognize God in His greatness and accept Him as Lord, then there will be a massive divide on the day that Christ returns to take His bride away with Him. It would hurt my heart to think that God may have to push Christians aside, so that the unsaved may find Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, I have family and friends that I believe will be left behind if they remain unchanged. Assuming that many of you are in a similar position, I would encourage you to join me in praying to the God of this universe for a great movement upon our land. Oh that Jesus may rule and reign in our personal lives, our families, our churches, our communities and in our nations around the world, so that the people will know and believe in the sacrificial lamb of God – Jesus Christ. May the God of this universe become known as Everlasting King of this universe!

PRAYER:   Lord You are good and Your mercies endureth forever! In our Scripture today, we are reminded that although You created us to worship You, many refuse to do so. You created us in Your likeness hoping that we would live in similar fashion to Your example while here on earth, yet there are many who mock and scorn You and Your children, much like what occurred in times past. The warning signs of Your return are evident Lord, and we thank You for promising us that You will return for Your children! Heavenly Father, please soften the hearts of Your children, so that Your churches may be filled to capacity with worshipers longing to draw close to their Creator, our Everlasting God, and may this impact the unsaved like never before. 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 are not already connected in a local Bible teaching church, let me encourage you to find one so that you may grow in the love and stature of the King of all kings. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Obedience Vs Disrupting God’s Work

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

Post Date:

 Friday, 2017-04-14
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Mark 1:40-45 (HCSB)

Text:

 40 Then a man with a serious skin disease came to Him and, on his knees, begged Him: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched him. “I am willing,” He told him. “Be made clean.” 42 Immediately the disease left him, and he was healed. 43 Then He sternly warned him and sent him away at once, 44 telling him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go and show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Yet he went out and began to proclaim it widely and to spread the news, with the result that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. But He was out in deserted places, and they would come to Him from everywhere.
OBSERVATION:
God blessed this leper for the faith he showed in presenting himself to Jesus for healing. However, in his zealous and joyful heart after his healing, he wound up doing exactly what Jesus told him not to do, and this disrupted the ongoing work of Jesus.
APPLICATION:
This is a challenging one for us to learn, for the question becomes: How often do we override the commands of God, to do what we feel is best? Yes, even when our plan is to supposedly honor and glorify God. This reminds me of what we do when someone tells us a secret and asks us to keep it between us two. What’s the first thing we do? We find someone who we feel is trustworthy and we preface our gossip with: “Now ‘Tom’ told me to keep this between us two, but I know you won’t say anything, and I really believe you should know this…”, right? Now I know that God never made a mistake, so I’m sure that He knew this leper would instinctively go and tell the world that a man whom they despised and rejected is now perfectly whole again, and it was Jesus, the Christ who healed him. However, look at what happened to the ministry of Jesus when the healed leper allowed his will to be done, instead of the will of the One who just healed his body. Jesus said up in verse 38 that His whole reason for coming to earth was to preach the Word of God in all villages, then in just a few verses later we see where Jesus’ ministry was then restricted to to isolated places outside of the city. I wonder what impact our cruel, unthoughtful words; or our selfish and often bitter attitudes; or our prideful and arrogant treatment of others; must have on the work of the Lord in our circles of influence? Remember, that our knowledge and our vision of what lies ahead in a situation is restricted by what we can see in that present moment, compared to the eternal God who knows and sees all things, including what the future holds for those involved. He has a purpose in commanding us to follow His Word,  even when it seems so strange to us. Oh may His perfect will be done, so that His glory might be revealed, resulting in awesome praise and worship to the Father, for ‘Our God Is an Awesome God!’
PRAYER:
Father, please forgive us for the times that we deliberately jump out in front and decide to do things that totally disrupts Your work. Yes, we always think that we know enough to make sound decisions or recommendations, but oh how limited our knowledge truly is. The leper in our story today probably thought that he was doing the best possible thing, for he was promoting the name of Jesus by telling the world that He is the one responsible for his healing. However, Jesus didn’t tell him to go and do what he thought best, which is exactly what we tend to do way too often. Please open our eyes to the innocence of raw humility and strict obedience to You oh Lord, so that You might accomplish Your will and Your work in our midst, without us erecting stumbling blocks along the way. Your way is perfect, please help us to always be mindful of that, AMEN!
FOOTNOTE:
There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’.  If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Be Not Ashamed of the Gospel

On By Ed AlgreenIn Ashamed, Boldness, Stumbling blockLeave a comment

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: Nehemiah 8:1–3
Today’s Bible Text: On the first day of the seventh month, the people came together in the open area in front of the Water Gate. Then they asked Ezra, who was a teacher of the Law of Moses, to read to them from this Law that the LORD had given his people. Ezra the priest came with the Law and stood before the crowd of men, women, and the children who were old enough to understand. From early morning till noon, he read the Law of Moses to them, and they listened carefully.
The Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take Away: I found it awesome that the Israelites gathered in the square, in unity, and asked that the book of Moses be read to them. Friends, I had to stop and think carefully about when church goers would ever call the pastor and ask that he come and read the Bible in their large, public group setting. Also, think with me about the length of time that Ezra was allowed to read, and compare that to the length of time that we would sit around in a church service or allow a pastor to participate in a public setting. Could it be that we have come so far – perhaps in our knowledge and our modern day conveniences and technology, that we feel like we have a lot of things worked out on our own and really don’t need to sit through an extended period of training in the basics of God’s Word? I recently attended a prayer summit, and many attendees were very curious as to how we would handle sitting through a conference where all we would do is to wait before God, pray, read His Word and sing. However, we saw God come and bless us with His awesome presence, and the time slipped by without anyone losing their mind! I believe it comes down to what we are willing to set as a priority in our life. God is waiting for us to open our hearts and reach out to Him, so that he could fill us with His awesome presence. What are you willing to do in order to draw closer to God and allow Him to speak to you? Are you willing to fully surrender your life to Him? Are you willing to take God with you into your homes, into our churches and even into our public places? He hung on a cruel cross and died a criminal’s death for you and I, and never considered it ‘shameful’. Are you willing to do the same for His sake? I started this devotional yesterday, but due to illness I had to return to my bed. Praise God that I was able to pick it up again, because this chapter is loaded with great truths that can benefit us all.

Prayer: Father God, You endured it all for us. Please strengthen us so that we may be willing to allow You to shine through us wherever we may find ourselves. Please help us to never be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, no matter where we may find ourselves. Perhaps if Your children would truly be Your people out in the highways and byways, perhaps the lost might stand a chance of seeing Jesus and having a greater desire to know Him personally. Lord, unfortunately I believe that if we are not representing You well, we may very well be a stumbling block to someone coming to know You because we are not living the life we are claiming. Lord may that never be the case, I pray. I ask for boldness to be a better witness for You, and I ask this in the name of Jesus, 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