Ask God First And Wait For His Response

On 2022-08-022022-08-02 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Ask and Receive, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Submission, Worship1 Comment

DATE POSTED Tuesday, 2022-08-02
WRITTEN AT: O Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 1 Samuel 14:36-39
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT: ³⁶…Saul said, “Let’s chase the Philistines all night and destroy every last one of them.”
“Fine!” his men replied. “Do as you think best.”
But the priest said, “Let’s ask God first.”
³⁷So Saul asked God, “Shall we go after the Philistines? Will you help us defeat them?” But the Lord made no reply all night. ³⁸Then Saul said to the leaders, “Something’s wrong! We must find out what sin was committed today. ³⁹I vow by the name of the God who saved Israel that though the sinner be my own son Jonathan, he shall surely die!”

APPLICATION: I love the accountability of those close to Saul in reminding him to turn to God before making his decisions. This is an awesome reminder for those who love and respect other – that they will see those things that we tend to overlook, and that are for our own good – remind them Lord to always remind us and make us accountable to God. I’ve had friends contact me in the past and asked me to be an accountability partner, but they were looking for one who would be honest and frank with them. What a joy it is to help someone in their path to closeness with God! Another part of this Scripture that caught my attention, is the fact that Saul expected an answer from God, and he wouldn’t walk away without knowing why there wasn’t an answer. Based on his knowledge and past experience with God, Saul knew that he would normally hear from God. Do you have such a relationship with God? I remember an elderly church member who prayed so sincerely for my injured arm that when she approached me the following Sunday and I was still having pain, she was befuddled about what must have happened. She had prayed for me, and she was confident that God would answer her prayer. Isn’t it rewarding that we could approach the throne of God and ask anything of the Creator of this Universe? Are you catching a glimpse of the awesome power available to the child of God? Now, one of the things that I’m glad that God chose to permit in His Word, is the silly oath that Saul made. I admit that Saul was extremely confident in the power of God, but to bet his life, or that of his son’s, on the lack of response from God, seemed way overboard. We can have all the confidence that’s humanly possible in our God, but to say like some, that ‘you would put your head on a chopping block’, or like Saul, that he or his son would die if they blocked the decision of God, is beyond reasonable, at least in my sight. Friends, we have tremendous insights into what a true and sincere relationship with God looks like. Adding the extra oaths like we do to convince mankind, is not necessary with God. Let our yes be yes, and our no be no. God knows what we say, and He even knows our heart and our thoughts. Any oaths we make is for the good of our fellow man, not for God. Notice that Saul waited for God’s response before continuing with the next step for he and his army. Oh that God will give us the wisdom and the commitment to always do the same.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: In our relationship with God, I am overjoyed that we can wait for, and receive, His response to our prayers BEFORE we move forward on our own and mess things up!

PRAYER: Loving Jesus, thank You for who You are and for all that You are to Your children. Please help us to never attempt to move forward in our own power, especially with such limited wisdom and knowledge about tomorrow. Lord, I pray that after being reminded of the experience of Saul, every reader and listener will have a deeper desire to seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and ALL these gifts, wisdom and decisions, will be given to us. You alone are God, and we are nothing compared to You – powerless and dumb to the plans You have for us. Please help us to live in the light of eternity, and to always depend on You for all things. Please touch the hearts and lives of those who are seeking for the Savior today. Oh that they will find, accept and obey Jesus. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might 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 subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. 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!

About Following Jesus

On 2022-02-022022-02-02 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Follow Christ, Follow Jesus, Missions, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Submission, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Wednesday, 2022-02-02
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Matthew 8:18-22
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹⁸At the sight of large crowds gathering around him, Jesus gave orders to his disciples to get ready to sail back over to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹Just then, a religious scholar approached him and said, “Teacher, I’ll follow you wherever you go!”
²⁰Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens, birds have nests, but the Son of Man^[n] has no true home in this world.”
²¹Then another man spoke up and said, “Lord, I’ll follow you, but first I must take care of my aged father and bury him when he dies.”
²²But Jesus said to him, “Now is the time to follow me, and let those who are dead bury their own dead.”

APPLICATION: We once had a friend who would agree to go with us anywhere we invited them to go. However, when it was time to go, we found that something more attractive came up and that friend backed out on their commitment to us! In essence, that individual was saying yes to us, provided that nothing better comes up in the meantime! Perhaps you are also guilty of this, but today I want us to assume that we are a disciple of Jesus Christ, and I hope that many of you are exactly that. Let’s continue to assume that Jesus is about to leave our town and make His way to a nearby town. Initially I believe that many of us would agree to the initial invitation from Jesus to come along with Him. But supposing that you hear about the long walk to get there? Suppose you hear of the daily visiting with the town’s officials as you seek to challenge them on their pagan beliefs? Suppose you hear the whispers from group members about the sleeping conditions once you leave home? Suppose you hear that there are no organized meal times nor food items being taken along with you? Are you starting to look for excuses yet that might help you get out of the commitment you made at first? In our Scripture, the religious leader liked what he saw, and he was convinced that he wanted to go along, so he immediately agreed to go along/follow the Great Healer/Master/Deliverer. But Jesus warned that it won’t be pretty. You see, Jesus didn’t want this leader to assume that there would be lavish hotels along the way with scrumptious meals. It wasn’t like that at all. One who called themselves a disciple of Jesus, suddenly remembered that his ailing dad would have no one left to take care of him and bury him. But Jesus said to this disciple what I believe He says to each of us today: Enough with the excuses, these things will take care of themselves. My work is most urgent, because it involves saving souls. Nothing is more important. No excuse in delaying response to my calling. Perhaps to some of you reading this devotional, Jesus may be saying to you: today is the day of salvation, tomorrow will be too late; My work revolves around saving souls from the pit of Hell and from the evil one. Imagine looking into the eyes of one that you ‘didn’t have time’ to minister to, and see them fade away into eternity with Satan? Are you sure you have something more important to do right now than to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ? Perhaps your church is calling you to join them in ministry. Perhaps the Missions committee wants you to join them on a trip to share Jesus with a group living way out in the country. Will you go, or are you still searching for excuses?

BLESSING(S) NOTED: The rewards for following Jesus are ‘out of this world’! Praise God, Jesus loved us enough to forgive us of our sin and reveal Himself in all of His righteousness to us, so that we may desire to know Him personally and eternally! Oh what joy to trust in Jesus!

PRAYER: Thank You Lord for supplying every need to those of us that are in need. Thank You for considering to use us in Your service/ministry here on earth. We are no different to the Religious Scholar in today’s Scripture, nor the disciple who felt it more important to stay and take care of his dad, for we all search for excuses to avoid doing things we may presume will be uncomfortable for us. Please Lord, embed into our minds the importance of seeing a lost soul come to know the Lord Jesus. In agreeing to follow Jesus, we will be led to times that we may have to challenge someone about their lack of faith in Jesus. We will probably end up in very uncomfortable living conditions as we travel to, or stay over in their town. Please remind us as You did in today’s Word – TODAY is the day to follow Jesus – whether it’s across the waters to a new mission field, or whether it’s in the darkest neighborhood of unfriendly nations. We ALL need Jesus and to know Him personally, if we ever hope to join Him and the Father in heaven when we die to this world. Use us Lord in Your challenging service, so that others might see proof of one who knows You personally. AMEN!

Why Me, Lord?

On 2021-01-072021-01-06 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Submission, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Thursday, 2021-01-07
WRITTEN AT: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

BIBLE REFERENCE: Matthew 3:13-17
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹³Jesus left Galilee and went to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. ¹⁴But John kept objecting and said, “I ought to be baptized by you. Why have you come to me?” ¹⁵Jesus answered, “For now this is how it should be, because we must do all that God wants us to do.” Then John agreed. ¹⁶So Jesus was baptized. And as soon as he came out of the water, the sky opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove. ¹⁷Then a voice from heaven said, “This is my own dear Son, and I am pleased with him.”

OBSERVATION: Ever been asked to do something that is totally out of your experience, talent or God-given abilities? I’m sure that you were probably way more likely to take on the challenge than I, for if it’s not a proven thing, I would have lots of questions and objections, since I don’t want to mess up. This was the option first taken by John, for he didn’t feel worthy to do such an honorable task as baptizing the King of the universe, the One in whose name John was actually baptizing others. I pray that our thoughts today would center around doing what God demands, even if it’s outside of our talent or knowledge base.

APPLICATION: I believe that many of us have a multitude of excuses that we pull from when asked to take on yet another job at church. I’ve never done that before; I have never been trained to do that; I don’t believe I’m suitable for that; I have too many irons in the fire already; Can’t you find someone else to do that? Those are probably some of the most common excuses we would give to the pastor, or the nominating team when approached about taking on additional responsibility at church. BUT, what if it was Jesus who approached us to do a specific task? He knows everything about us, including what He could do with a willing, obedient heart willing to serve God in whatever He asks. Wouldn’t you think that perhaps God has a special work to accomplish through you, and only for you? In other words, you may think that your friend Susie might be best suited for that, only to find out that God has a different mission for her. In fact the task He presented to you may not be suitable for anyone else but you, so unless you allow Him to complete His mission through you, that particular task may not be fulfilled. How would you then feel? Supposing your declination may prompt God to ask you if you don’t trust Him enough to complete the task He asked you to do? But look at the story of Jesus again, the prophets foretold it, and Jesus particularly went to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. Although without sin, Jesus was prompted by the Father to be baptized as a sign of His identification with the Father. John had preached to the people that One would come whose sandals he was not worthy to untie. So John knew that this action requested by Jesus might look like he was overstepping his authority. John knew that it just appeared wrong for the servant to baptize by the Creator. Why me, Lord? John asked it, and I’m sure that many times we ask it, when approached to take on a task that seems outside of our comfort, talent and knowledge area. BUT, I believe that God enables the one that He calls to handle His work. I believe that as we surrender ourselves to the Master each day, God uses us to complete His work in much the same way that He wanted it done. He calls us into service and He enables us in our service to Him, so that His work may be completed supernaturally, even through His messengers. What if we determined in ourselves, with God’s help, to turn this little phrase around from ‘Why me, Lord?’ to ‘Why not me, Lord?’. Don’t you think that God will then see the willingness in us to do whatever He demands? What if John responded to Jesus: ‘why of course Jesus, I would be honored to follow Your command, even though I feel so unworthy’? Trusting in God often means that we are trusting Him to do far greater things than we could ever accomplish on our own.

PRAYER: As Your humble servant stands before You today Lord, I acknowledge that talent, knowledge and trust is limited without You. Please encourage my readers to join me in taking the hand of the One who calmed the waters; who parted the Red Sea; who caused the blind to see again and so much more, for with You all things are possible. Many are dying without hope and they need to know our Savior. Please give us strength, wisdom, boldness and power to overcome the expected opposition of the evil one and instead keep our eyes and trust fixed on You. It was determined that John should baptize You from the very desire of the Father. I believe that He also gave us Jesus so that we could do mighty and powerful things through the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Use us Lord so that Your work may flourish in our midst, even through using humble servants such as us. 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!

Show Mercy & Snatch Friends From Danger

On 2020-05-022020-05-02 By Ed AlgreenIn Caring, Holy Spirit, Prayer, SubmissionLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Saturday, 2020-05-02
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

Bible Reference: Jude 1:20–23
Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

Bible Text: But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love. And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.

OBSERVATION: I was reminded of a popular old hymn entitled ‘Rescue the Perishing’ as I read this Scripture today, and with everyone locked in and caring about themselves, and possibly their significant other, I wonder how soon we will return to the idea of caring about others, and trying to rescue them from the path on which they are headed. Without the Lord Jesus Christ, one is headed to a dark and burning Hell, but we are called on to rescue them by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Oh that we would have mercy on those we care about, like God had for us.

APPLICATION: Interesting how God used Jude to not only share this with his church as he prepared to leave them, but also to have this included in His Word for our ongoing benefit. Friends, have you ever stopped and thought real good about the folk that God directs your way for your weekend services? They are looking to escape the cruelty and hatred of their world, and hoping to find the opposite at your church – God’s House. As they walk in, some might look them up and down because their dress code may not be quite like that of your regular church membership, or perhaps they may not have had water turned on at their place, and able to take a shower. I’m hoping that you too may have been touched by this Scripture from Jude. Let’s examine it closely: “Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit”, in other words don’t depend on feelings, or personal ideal you have established, but consider praying under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that is alive in you. I believe God, through His Holy Spirit, will direct your thoughts to be better aligned with His thoughts, so that you might see the heart of that visitor to your church, or that person trying to befriend you, without being impacted by any personal feelings. Fill yourself with God’s Holy Spirit and you will speak His words without having to worry about saying something that may otherwise upset someone. You will quickly see the spiritual need of the individual without being distracted by, or worrying about their immediate physical needs. Friends, Jude also goes on to encourage us to deal with believers from a Spirit filled heart. This is where we show mercy and love towards a Brother who is drifting away and not always living up to the mark. Satan is working seriously on the person and unless you intervene and gently speak to, and love on that person, they will be torn away by the forces of evil. In fact, it will be just like you are snatching that weaker Brother or Sister from the flames of Satan and his wicked and evil judgment. Please focus on the heart today friend. The words and the actions may appear ugly and extremely sinful, but as the heart of the individual is touched, the outside stuff will be cleaned up as they invite God in. At the end of the day, this also helps you to reconcile with God about where your heart is. Interested in the restoration of a soul for Christ, or satisfied to look on in pity as they drift off into eternity with Satan and his demons. People need the Lord, my friend, and unless you tell them about your loving, precious Savior who died and rose again for the forgiveness of your sin, they may never be introduced to your Friend. If they were drowning, or if they were in a burning house, you wouldn’t think twice about snatching them to safety. Please join me as we try to do the same for those who are in danger of dying with hope.

PRAYER: Lord, this is serious business for Your children, for our words and our actions can either serve to help restore one who has fallen, or one who is desperately looking for a better way, OR we could totally turn them off from ever wanting to know You at all. That’s quite a responsibility Lord Jesus, however we have been reminded that we must become better aligned with You, so that Your Holy Spirit may lead us to snatch them from danger of eternal death. My readers and I need You Lord Jesus, because we tend to be so critical of those that just don’t seem to have their act together quite as good as we think we do. Please forgive us for acting this way, for we have seen so often that mankind will fail in and of their own merits. Only things that are done for Jesus will last, and only things directed by Your Holy Spirit will lead to spiritual goodness that could be used for Your glory. Please have Your will and way in our lives this day, Oh Lord. For I ask these things in the all-powerful name of Jesus, my Lord, AMEN!

A Stronger Faith

On 2020-04-23 By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Obedience, SubmissionLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Thursday, 2020-04-23
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

Bible Reference: 2 Peter 1:4-8
Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

Bible Text: … by that same mighty power he has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings he promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us his own character. But to obtain these gifts, you need more than faith; you must also work hard to be good, and even that is not enough. For then you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do. Next, learn to put aside your own desires so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have his way with you. This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply. The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow strong spiritually and become fruitful and useful to our Lord Jesus Christ.

OBSERVATION: It is obvious from this Scripture that mankind can live at peace with our God, if we turn our selfish, sinful selves away from the worldly desires and commit to serving the God who created us, and loves us beyond anything we could imagine. He even has a home prepared already for those who have accepted Him as Lord, so we really have so much to be thankful for here on earth now, and something to look forward to In Heaven! Peace on earth, and even more peace in Heaven, as we graduate from this world to the next. Let’s examine our faith today as we meditate together.

APPLICATION: We are reminded that God has showered His rich and wonderful blessings on us and He is doing everything possible to form us more and more into His character. However, there is work for us to do, so that He might have freedom to work in our lives, and mold us into His likeness. I believe these additional qualities help us to be devoted to our calling and gives God opportunity to respond in marvelous ways to help us attain His ultimate plan for us. Can you imagine us accomplishing anything by just sitting back and allowing someone to do it for us? Don’t you know that the more we are involved in something, the more that we ‘buy-in’ on the idea and the more committed we are to the end result? So let’s look closely at some of the things we are told to work on:

We need more faith – Remember, Jesus told Peter about his lack of faith when he took his eyes off the Master. Remember that James said that our good deeds and our actions will prove our faith. Friends, if we say we have it, then our lives should reflect it!
We must work hard to be good – moral excellence
We must be studious in knowing more about God – get in the Word for yourself. Get to know as much as possible about the Savior who gave up His very life so that you might live eternally with the Father!
We must ‘dig deep’ and discover what God wants us to do – The only way to be obedient to the will of God is to go before Him in daily prayer and study His Word for all that He will guide us to do.
We must put aside our own desires and be more subjective to God’s will for our lives – Often you will find that the worldly things that you want to do is opposed to what you might discern that the Word of God wants you to do. Be willing to put aside your personal agenda so that you might be totally obedient to God.
Enjoy other people and grow to love them deeply – When the love of God is deeply entrenched in you, then you will begin to love His people. When you grow to desire all that God desires, your love for others will grow as deep as God’s love for them. Remember how much He loves them? He sacrificed everything for their eternal welfare! Glory to God for loving us that much!!

Our reward: We will grow stronger spiritually AND become fruitful and useful for our Lord!
Is it worth it all? I desire to commit fully to all that God teaches and directs me to do, including all of the above. I hope that you will do the same!!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for showing me the way to the Father, and thank You for sacrificing Your very life so that I might have the only avenue opened for me to one day see You in heaven. I pray that my readers, my family and my friends might find this same peace today! Please continue to direct our path so that we might grow in our faith; in the knowledge of Your Word; and with unhindered obedience of Your will for our lives. Thank You Lord Jesus! AMEN!

Ask for it

On 2018-11-19 By Ed AlgreenIn In Christ, Integrity, Miracles, Prayer, SubmissionLeave a comment

Monday, 2018-11-19

Scripture

Bible Reference: John 14:12-14

Bible Text: ¹²I tell you the truth: whoever believes in Me will be able to do what I have done, but they will do even greater things, because I will return to be with the Father. ¹³Whatever you ask for in My name, I will do it so that the Father will get glory from the Son. ¹⁴Let Me say it again: if you ask for anything in My name, I will do it.

Bible Translation: The Voice Translation (Voice)

My Take

Ever noticed that your son may go and ask a friend of equal age to do something that both he and you feel is the best thing to do, but it may have little relevance to the friend, until he brings down the power by saying that my dad asked that we do this right away? Bringing the dad’s name into the equation always adds power to the instructions being given. Ever noticed also that as a son, you may tell your buddies to do something that sounds different to what they know your dad has always preached, and they will give you a funny look and wonder where are you coming from with those instructions? Jesus had just introduced the Comforter to His disciples as He (Jesus) prepared Himself to go and be with the Father. Jesus assured His disciples, as He still assures us today, that He will be sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding for us, and that He will receive glory from the Father as His children carries on His work here on earth with the help of the Comforter, or the Holy Spirit. Notice that great emphasis is directed to the fact that even though we stand to do things even greater than He (Jesus) did while here on earth, we must never lose sight of who we are representing, and whose power resides with us to enable the work. Remember that in Acts 19:13-16 there were some who went around trying to cast out demons in Jesus’ name, but even the demons recognized that they were not of Jesus and not speaking on His behalf. Friends, it is safe to say, based on the Word of God, that if any miraculous work is to be done, it will be the power, and the work of Jesus Christ portrayed through us to do the work, with the results being totally for His glory. I believe that there are two important things to remember about being blessed with the power of Jesus working through us: (1) That doing the work of the Lord, demonstrates our love for Him, and not what we might be able to brag on, or benefit from personally; and (2) Miracles are performed in order to bring people to a full knowledge of Jesus Christ. Not for any gain of ourselves, and not for the purpose of relieving our friends from some earthly burden, but that they might know Jesus as their Lord and personal Savior. Please note that there is nothing mentioned about the obedient servant who God uses to stand in His stead and allow His miracle to be transmitted through. But I can assure you that for those who will do this, we will be blessed beyond anything words can describe. To God be the glory for all the great things He can do through even us who believe in Him, and are willing to be used by Him!

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I believe that we, Your children, in our meager faith tend go from one extreme to another way too often. For I believe we recognize our powerlessness and know that we can do nothing miraculous by ourselves. However, I also believe that there are times that our ego steps in at times and we want so badly to see our friends overcome obstacles that we tend to jump in there and pray peace and/or healing over them so they could return to a sense of normalcy. I was recently reminded by a pastor when He said that we could very easily step in the way of You actually disciplining someone, by trying to humanly help them correct or overcome their situation. This scripture has once again opened my eyes to the fact that we must be so driven by the Spirit of God that the things we say and the things we do, are very much aligned with His will and His purpose. I also believe that if the Holy Spirit leads us to a miraculous scenario with our friends that will demonstrate the love of God for them and bring them to a full knowledge of Jesus Christ, then we must, in obedience, seek your leadership and carry out Your work, particularly among the unsaved. Lord, I am concerned that there are so many in each of our circle of friends that don’t know You as their Lord and personal Savior. If it takes a miracle to convince them of Your love and power today, I pray that Your will may be done. Please speak clearly to Your children today so that we may in obedience do Your perfect will. 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!

The Road To Zion

On 2018-02-012018-02-01 By Ed AlgreenIn Empowered, God's Power, Power of God, Power of Prayer, Submission, The power of GodLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE FROM: Psalm 84:5-7 (TLB)

TEXT: ⁵Happy are those who are strong in the Lord, who want above all else to follow your steps. ⁶When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of springs where pools of blessing and refreshment collect after rains! ⁷They will grow constantly in strength, and each of them is invited to meet with the Lord in Zion.

OBSERVATION: I read these verses and their context in other versions, and I would encourage you to do the same, but it is obvious that the Psalmist was encouraged as he reflected on the various walks of life that he travels, and in each case he not only finds God there, but God also encourages him along to the final road that leads to Zion, where he will one day be standing with outstretched arms to welcome us home! Praise to the majesty of our Living God!!

APPLICATION: It seems like as we reflect on our day, or on the past week, month or year, we sometimes look to God and ask “Why did I travel down that road, precious Lord?” Sometimes these reasons become evident to us, but at other times we tend to question things like: the days I spent in hospital; the loss of a loved one; the challenges I face on the job; or the spit in my church. Friends, I believe it is important for the Christian to stop and remind ourselves that after salvation, all roads lead to Zion where we will meet with Jesus and His Father for eternity! As we look intently at our end goal, life becomes very much like a soccer game, for there are lots of obstructions along the way, and so are there distractions, setbacks, restarts, etc. The way that we handle each of these will either bring glory to God, or perhaps disappointment if we tried to do life without Him. Remember, at our conversion, He sends His Holy Spirit to live within us to direct and lead us in life here on earth. For us to ignore that gift and still do life in our fashion, in our own weakness, and under continued pressure from the evil one, would totally disappoint our Savior who sacrificed His own dear life, so that we might be over-comers in these very things. Friends, we can expect bumps in the road as we live in the light of heaven, but let’s always remember that there is nothing that our God cannot handle, if we are humble enough to ask Him and let Him.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that only You can fight the evil of this world and the adversary – Satan. Please help me to acknowledge that daily, so that I might be reminded to always seek Your face and ask for the blessings from Your hand. Thank You for sending the Comforter to be my guide, my protector and my encourager in this challenging life here on earth. Please help me to use all available resources from You, instead of trying to do life alone. With Your help, I can live in peace. In my own power, I will live under immense stress and constantly battling with the evil one. Lord, I’m pretty sure that I’m not alone in all that I’ve asked, so I plead with You to also bless my readers in this way as well. Lord, we want to be more like You, and we can only do that in submission to Your will, Your power and the direction of Your sweet Holy Spirit. We submit to You all over again today 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 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!

Your Response To God’s Testing

On 2017-10-172017-10-17 By Ed AlgreenIn Miracles, Miraculous, Protection, Protector, SubmissionLeave a comment

Post Date:	Tuesday, 2017-10-17
SCRIPTURE
From:	John 6:5-9 (GNT)
Text:	⁵Jesus looked around and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, so he asked Philip, “Where can we buy enough food to feed all these people?” (⁶He said this to test Philip; actually he already knew what he would do.) ⁷Philip answered, “For everyone to have even a little, it would take more than two hundred silver coins to buy enough bread.” ⁸Another one of his disciples, Andrew, who was Simon Peter’s brother, said, ⁹“There is a boy here who has five loaves of barley bread and two fish. But they will certainly not be enough for all these people.”
OBSERVATION:
The disciples had been following Jesus for sometime and had seen many miracles performed, yet when approached with a new challenge they were bewildered as to what they could do. It seems like Jesus never ceased to amaze them, for He often showed His miraculous work in new and innovative ways when faced with new circumstances, That’s why Peter could not fathom the idea of feeding 5,000+ individuals without a large truck of groceries. Today we are also faced with similar dilemmas, so I thought we should look a little closer into this.
APPLICATION:
Things come our way that we least expect. Often we are made to feel like we have no control whatsoever over what happens, and often we feel out of control as to what results from life’s circumstances. Have you ever felt like Philip where something very challenging presented itself, and you were left with you hands outstretched and your mouth open, wondering what to do next? I was faced with very challenging circumstances a few times in my life, and I could do nothing but look to God for His wonder-working, miraculous touch in the situations. In each case, I needed His ministry as much as the individuals involved, for I felt helpless and to some degree hopeless that the outcome would be what I was wishing for. I’m sure that many of you can reflect on similar circumstances in your life also, and while I can’t vouch for all that you may have gotten out of your situation, I’m sure that if you surrendered it to God, your faith was tested, and so was your confidence in Him to do what He felt was best for you in the long term. Friends, we can generally do a fair job encouraging another Brother or Sister, but what about the times when it’s you who need lifting up, or need wisdom to handle a situation in God’s timing and in His will and way? Are you able to wait on the Lord at times like that, and accept what He has in store for you? Philip’s faith was tested that he would surrender the feeding of the 5,000 by, the Master who created them, and provided their needs each and every day. Unfortunately. Philip very quickly resorted to earthly ways of helping others. May God give us wisdom to not feel like we have to save the whole world and it’s many, many challenges, for we have a Savior who has already done this for us and has promised to never leave us alone, but to faithfully care for His loving children, until we join up with Him in glory! Let’s learn to submit to His helping and caring hand, and just celebrate with praises as we see Him work miracle after miracle. To God be the glory, for the great things He has done, and will do, until He returns to take us home to glory where He is! AMEN!
PRAYER:
Precious Father, You are awesome in every way! Please forgive us for being doubtful of that and therefore looking madly for the answers ourselves. Lord, I sincerely believe that as we surrender all to You and allow You to work miraculously in our lives, then we will gain every confidence to surrender the circumstances that concern us, over to You, knowing that the same God who turned water into wine; made the blind to see, and the lame to walk again, is the same God who could still take care of our worrisome challenges. The answer to all of our tests is always ‘JESUS’, may our faith be strengthened by that reminder oh Lord, our rock and our everlasting Father and 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!

Allow God to be God

On 2017-06-162017-06-16 By Ed AlgreenIn direction, Humble, Submission, SurrenderLeave a comment

Post Date:	Friday, 2017-06-16
SCRIPTURE
From:	Numbers 27:4-7 (TLB)
Text:	⁴…We feel that we should be given property along with our father’s brothers.” ⁵So Moses brought their case before the Lord. ^6-7And the Lord replied to Moses, “The daughters of Zelophehad are correct. Give them land along with their uncles; give them the property that would have been given to their father if he had lived.
OBSERVATION:
As the Israelites neared the Promised Land, Moses had just been ordered by God on how to split up the land among all of the tribes. However, there was one family that felt left out, so they brought their case to Moses, which led to God instituting a new law for families whose head just passed away without any sons to inherit the family’s assets. Most leaders have an opinion about all matters, but only humble men like Moses would consult with God before responding to such inquiries.
APPLICATION:
I feel like there are at least two lessons for us to learn in these verses today: These five ladies could easily have gone to their neighbors and complained, or any number of friends or family and whined and complained about them being left out. They could have put Moses and his leadership down for being so un-thoughtful. You know, stuff that most of us would do today! However, the ladies went straight to Moses and plead their case for what seemed like an oversight. I feel like this speaks volumes to us today, for nothing good comes out of discussing the situation with others instead of going straight to the one who caused the problem that upset you. Usually, only them could correct the problem or explain their reasoning. Moses had dealt with these people long enough that I’m sure he had an opinion on how he would have responded to these sisters, however Moses also knew first hand who was truly in charge. He didn’t call his leaders together to discuss the matter, but instead He went straight to his boss – The Lord God. What a lesson for us today! We have so many prejudices and opinions about why we feel the way we do about certain things or people, yet we make decisions and declare they are fair, because that right has been vested in us. Friends, in verse 5, Moses showed us the way to justify our decisions. Let’s stop assuming the position of God, and let our Master and Lord assume His rightful place in our lives and in our dilemmas or decisions. Imagine how you would feel in making a decision in your leadership, feeling assured that you were merely passing on the decision of your Master? There would be no guilt, no further questioning in your mind if you did the right thing or made the right decision. Imagine the peace of knowing that you are merely being God’s messenger, rather than making worldly decisions and expecting God to bless it! Man of God; woman of God; child of God: who’s in charge of your decision making? Are you depending on God to lead you in your decisions? If we want to live according to God’s will, then we must be prepared to ask Him to clarify His will to us. we can’t continue to make decisions and expect God to bless them. He’s in charge, and He will direct our paths and decisions, if we ask Him to and let Him. Imagine the shock from your employer, or your best friend or medical professional if you told them that you would get back to them with an answer to their question tomorrow as you must seek God’s response for you today? Not only will that be a witness, but it will also open their eyes to the proper way of handling our Christian life! God’s in charge – please let Him!
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, please help us to get over our self righteousness and our thinking that we have all of the answers. As we go our way each day, we should be going in Your name and for Your sake. Please help us to consult with you on decisions that we make in our lives. Why pray about a need, if we are going to turn around and do our own thing. Please open our eyes that we may see You and all that You have in store for us to do. Please open our understanding so that we may be filled with Your wisdom that would lead us aright in this sinful, evil world. Lord, may they see Jesus as they look on us or seek our advice. 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!

Give The Lord A Chance

On 2017-05-18 By Ed AlgreenIn Appreciation, Love, Submission, SurrenderLeave a comment

Post Date:	Thursday, 2017-05-18
SCRIPTURE
From:	Psalm 34:8-10 (ERV)
Text:	⁸Give the Lord a chance to show you how good he is. Great blessings belong to those who depend on him! ⁹The Lord’s holy people should fear and respect him. Those who respect him will always have what they need. ¹⁰Even strong lions get weak and hungry, but those who go to the Lord for help will have every good thing.
OBSERVATION:
Speaking from firsthand experience, David is challenging his readers to just give God a chance, then we will see how awesome He truly is, and how trustworthy He is. For those of us who have already placed our faith and trust in Jesus, we are to respect and honor Him, knowing that all good and worthwhile things come from the Father above.
APPLICATION:
I find it amazing how faithful, appreciative and praiseworthy we become to those who help us in one way or the other when we are in need. Yet when we put our feet on the floor each morning and actually have feet to stand on, air to breathe and the warmth and comfort of a home, we tend to take that for granted – as if all that is due to us. But that’s only ‘good’ for those of us that could ignore the news reports of folk starving, homeless, and many without vital limbs to give them mobility. Friends, the Word of God says that we could expect rich blessings if we love Him, respect Him, honor Him and call on Him in every aspect of life. As for that very last item, we must do a better job of allowing God to steer us throughout our day, for I believe that as we do that, we will become less desperate when the repercussions of the crazy, sinful choices that we make on our own. I am fascinated by the fact that we have a Savior who willingly gave His life so that we might have eternal life with He and His Father. A Savior who made the ultimate sacrifice to show His love for us. How could I but love Him? How could I but serve Him? How could I but thank Him, my Savior and my Lord! I know Him, call Him Lord and rest all my cares in His loving, but strong and powerful hands. Do you, friend?
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for this reminder from the Psalmist. You created us, created everything around us to enjoy, and then also offered Your precious Son as a sacrifice so that we might live eternally with You. More love than we could even imagine or comprehend. Oh that we might learn to accept that love, that sacrifice and that gift offered to undeserving sinners in need of a Savior. Lord, please speak to the hearts of those who will meditate on this devotional, just as You have already done to me. Please continue to draw us close to 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!

Nuggets From God's Word

Category: Submission