Category: Surrender

Faith Is The Victory!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Hope, Surrender, VictoryLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – 1 John 5:3-5): 3 We show our love for God by obeying his commandments, and they are not hard to follow. 4 Every child of God can defeat the world, and our faith is what gives us this victory. 5 No one can defeat the world without having faith in Jesus as the Son of God.

THOUGHTS: The subject probably sounds like a catchy Christian term that you’ve heard in an old hymn “Faith is the Victory“, plus you may have heard saints of God refer to this in sermons and/or Bible teaching. However, this phrase became alive to me this morning after being led to this passage of scripture immediately after reading Daniel 1, where I read about a determined young man named Daniel and three of his partners who, because of their faith in God, were determined to be obedient to God, in spite of what the king had dictated for them to eat and live by. Of course, in this very first chapter, by verse 15, 17 and 19 it was very evident that because of their faith and determination to be obedient to God, even under very challenging circumstances, He rewarded these young men with extraordinary health and wisdom in the eyes of the king. Friends, no matter what circumstances we face, and no matter what up-hill challenges we may see ahead of us, we must realize that God has a plan for His children. How many of us will consciously seek to do anything other than bless our children? How much more do you suppose that our heavenly Father seeks to do the same for us? Our part of the blessing is to place our faith and trust in Him, knowing that He is for us, and He will not harm us but instead seek to bless us in every way possible. Daniel was just one example of how God blessed His saints mentioned in the Bible. There are also many ‘Daniels’ around us here on earth that have been blessed of God through victories beyond anything man could explain. If you are His child, having invited Jesus into your life and committed yourself to Him in faith, then I firmly believe that You could very well be next in line for God’s rich blessings. However, it takes ‘FAITH‘ to defeat the evil one of this world and to overcome his effects on our lives (see verse 5). So the question is, my friend: do you believe on the King of all kings and Lord of all lords? If so, will you place your faith and trust in Him today so that He might have freedom to lift you up and set you on solid ground, above the evil dished out by this world? Like in the case of Daniel, He wants to be your God also friend, will you let Him!

PRAYER: Dear Father in Heaven, it sounds almost ludicrous for us to beg You for mercy and grace today, for You have shown through Your Word that if we have faith in You, and allow You control of our lives, we will be victorious. Daniel was just one example that we came across today in Your Word, I know of many saints who can be considered ‘Daniels’ for they too have been protected and delivered from the evil one and the setbacks of this evil world. Their faith have found them the necessary victory that only You can offer. Many of us reading this devotional are facing overwhelming challenges, yet we hold the key to the necessary power to help us be more than conquerors, for we have access to You in and through our faith. Please touch the heart of each one that might read this devotional today and who might have a need for Your mercy and Your precious grace. Please touch Your children once again today. For those whom You have directed to read this devotional today that have not surrendered their lives over to You yet, may they find yet another reason to seek You for salvation. I ask all this with a heart of thanksgiving, in the strong name of Jesus, my 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 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!

God’s In Control of The Just and the Unjust

On By Ed AlgreenIn Just, Righteous, Salvation, Surrender, UnjustLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – 2 Peter 2:7-10): 7-8 Lot lived right and was greatly troubled by the terrible way those wicked people were living. He was a good man, and day after day he suffered because of the evil things he saw and heard. So the Lord rescued him. 9 This shows that the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their sufferings and to punish evil people while they wait for the day of judgment. 10 The Lord is especially hard on people who disobey him and don’t think of anything except their own filthy desires. They are reckless and proud and are not afraid of cursing the glorious beings in heaven.

THOUGHTS: I found it interesting how, within a few verses, God shows us that He cares for, and will protect and rescue those who claim His Son as Savior of their lives, yet He will be especially hard on people who disobey Him and are unjust. I found verse 9 as the most promising verse this morning, as it plainly comforts the Christian who is serious about their relationship with their Savior, by reassuring us that God is ever present with us, even in our suffering. This is reassuring friends, because although we can easily praise God during the good times of our lives, it is especially challenging to recognize God when we are suffering. In fact, in most cases we tend to think quite the opposite – it feels like God has abandoned us. So what about evil folk you might ask? Friends, even in the same verse (9) the scripture goes on to explain that God will punish evil people while they wait for the Day of Judgment. Only you and God know where you stand in your relationship with God, but friend I believe that there are only two types of individuals who would have read down this far in this devotional: 1). You have a personal, living, dedicated relationship with your Savior, or 2). God is dealing in your life and has directed you to read this devotional in light of something that He is ordering me to share with you. Whichever of these two groups you fall into, I believe that it would be very wrong for you to ignore the Word of the Lord, or take it lightly. My God loves us so much that He gave up His one and only Son to provide the means of rescue for us from this sinful world and the Day of Judgment that is promised to all. Please don’t trifle with this gift of God, for I would hate for any of us to face the fury of God that is referred to in verse 9. The critical thing that I really want to emphasize to you today is that, when we reach the age of understanding and hear the Word of the Lord and we refuse His invitation to accept His Son as our Savior, by default, we are headed towards Hell and stand subject to God’s punishment mentioned in verse 9. The only way to change your destination and/or eternal damnation, is to accept the free gift of salvation that God calls us to, and has provided the vehicle by which we are saved. So friend, I believe the path is clear, and I believe you can easily deduce that only you can make the decision and choose the path that You will follow today that will result in your final destination in eternity. If there is personal doubt as to where you stand, I would encourage you to read, and follow through with the tips in my Footnote, to reassure yourself of your final destination. It is THE most important decision you can make today!

PRAYER: Lord God, You have made it very clear in Your Word the importance of deciding today, and following through with open communication with You, so that our final destination in life can be guaranteed. If we book a flight today, we want to see our final destination on the ticket, nothing else. Yet in life we tend to think that our destination will change depending on how good, or bad we are, or some other irrelevant aspect of our lives. Your Word is very clear, and our study today is very clear. May we be obedient to Your call on our lives, so that our final destination will be guaranteed, and secured. Thank You Father for loving us enough to care about us during this lifetime and in the world to come after we depart this old earth. Please tender the hearts of my readers so that they may read, listen and obey, so that you may be lifted up and praised. I ask all this in the precious name of Your only Son, Jesus my Savior, with thanksgiving. 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 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 blogger.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!

Our Awesome God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Human Trafficking, Love, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Ezekiel 35:10-13): 10 You thought the nations of Judah and Israel belonged to you, and that you could take over their territory. But I am their God, 11 and as surely as I live, I will punish you for treating my people with anger and hatred. Then they will know that I, the Lord, am punishing you! 12 And you will finally realize that I heard you laugh at their destruction and say their land was yours to take. 13 You even insulted me, but I heard it all.

 THOUGHTS: It is one thing to brag about an event that happened somewhere else, or to someone you heard about or once knew, but in this passage of scripture I was made very aware that the God who instructed Ezekiel, is the same God that I serve! For throughout scripture God assures us that for those who have accepted His Son, that we are considered His people and that we will actually live with Him throughout eternity! I was also made keenly aware that God will not sit idly by and see His children suffer or taken advantage of. Therefore I believe that we are to stop living for self, and get rid of the selfish and greedy attitudes that we may have developed. We are to take our roles as God’s children very seriously, and to be all that we can be for His honor and His praise. As an example of a current situation that we permit to happen without, in many cases, doing anything about it: Unfortunately, because of my job, I have become keenly aware of the most hideous crime in the world today – Human Trafficking. Let’s ask ourselves how this could possibly have started, and how could it possible continue right in our own backyards, and with our blessing. If we are truly God’s representatives, would we not be as determined as God was in Ezekiel 35, to see our neighbors and/or our town’s people won to the Lord? I can assure you friend that no one can possibly say that they have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ and then treat another human being with such contempt. Furthermore, if we love the Lord like we think we should, I don’t believe that we can honestly sit idly by, know that a neighbor is possibly performing criminal acts, and not get the law involved in order to see justice served and innocent people saved from such a crime. In Ezekiel, God saw that His chosen people were being abused, so He stepped in and told the prophet that this was just not going to happen to His people, for He alone is their God! With all my heart, I believe that God is just as jealous about His children today, for He is still God – our God, our Deliverer, our Savior and our Protector! If you know Him, then let’s claim Him as our awesome God and serve Him with everything we have, every day! If you have not accepted my Lord as your Savior yet, then I plead with you friend, to consider the God who made you and who is very protective of His kids. Surrender your life to Him today, won’t you? There is help available in my ‘Footnote’ towards this end. Please don’t delay this vitally important decision friend, God loves you way too much to see you doomed to the pits of Hell because of your indecision.

 PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for loving Your children with such passion. Thank You for convicting me of my sin and causing me to surrender my life to You some 39 years ago. I believe that You will send children to this devotional who vary in their understanding of You and Your love for us. As You have provoked them to this source, I pray that You will also deal decisively in their lives to cause them to fully surrender to the gift of Jesus Christ. May this be a day of decision for Your children – my family, my friends, my coworkers and those that I know personally. Please cause them to fully understand Your deep and sincere love for us and Your promise to never forsake or leave us. With all that is going on around us today, it is evident that we need You more today than ever before. Please have Your will and way in our lives oh God. I ask this in faith, believing with all my heart that You have a deep and sincere love for us that surpasses all human understanding! This is my prayer that I ask, and celebrate, in the wonderful name of Your precious Son, Jesus, with thanksgiving, 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 blogger.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!

Spiritual Refining

On By Ed AlgreenIn Refining, Submission, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – 1 Peter 4:12-16): 12–13 Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner. 14–16If you’re abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate. It’s the Spirit of God and his glory in you that brought you to the notice of others. If they’re on you because you broke the law or disturbed the peace, that’s a different matter. But if it’s because you’re a Christian, don’t give it a second thought. Be proud of the distinguished status reflected in that name!

THOUGHTS: Ever stop to think about the reason why ‘good’ people who always strive to do their very best, still struggle in their marriages or in their family structure? Could there possibly be any good come out of their struggles or failure? Do you tend to question their commitment to their marriage or their family? What about Christians who still suffer as much in this world as any other individual? Do you tend to question their Christianity? Perhaps you should be careful about doing that, because according to this scripture God may be testing them in order that they might grow in their spirituality. He may be getting their attention, because they may have drifted so far away from Him, or taken Him for granted. Friends, although we are to encourage one another, we need to be careful about trying to be god to them, or for them. God is very capable of taking care of His children. Sometimes this will be through obvious blessings, while other times it may appear to us to be suffering, or hard times, or lack of attention by God. I hope that you will be reminded by this scripture today, that God’s ways are not our ways, nor is our ways anything like His ways. Let us learn to place our faith and trust in Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, knowing that all things work together for good, for those who fully trust in God. Our position is to be subservient to God and allow His perfect will to be fulfilled. We can’t tell Him what to do or how to do it, but what we can do is to always be prepared for His mighty works, especially if He chooses us to bless us in the process, or if He chooses us to help enact any part of that. Oh that His touch on our lives today may be as a spiritual refining that draws us even closer to the Master, so that we may be of more, or better use to Him.

PRAYER: Dear God, may Your powerful hand be at work in our lives today, creating a spiritual refining process that will draw us closer to You and more available to Your service. It’s not all about us, but I truly believe that for us to be of any worthwhile use to You, we must be refined and closely tuned to Your image, Your likeness, Your character and in full obedience to Your perfect will. Please forgive us Lord where we have allowed self to step in and interfere with the work You have orchestrated. May we simply surrender fully to You and allow You to use us as You see fit, and in full cooperation with Your perfect will. Refine us daily oh Lord, so that we may look, act and truly reflect You in all that we say or do. I ask this in the precious and all powerful name of Jesus, my 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 blogger.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!

Help In Seeing The Good in Your Trials

On By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Surrender, TrialsLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The New Living Translation – 1 Peter 1:6-7): 6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

 THOUGHTS: We must be extremely careful not to doubt our salvation when we, as Christians, have troubles and trials arise in our earthly lives. Think about it friend, if we didn’t have these, what kind of witness would we be to those who need a Savior. For God would not have opportunity to show the unsaved how gracious He truly is to His earthly servants, and the handiwork of His miraculous hands in the lives of His children. Secondly, if we were spared from trials, how might we experience the graciousness of God to be especially loving, caring and powerful in helping us to overcome these things that are way beyond our reach and/or resolution? In this scripture today, this analogy is compared to the proving process used in the precious metal ‘gold’. For when it is brought to extreme heat, it is maximized in strength and durability. Likewise, when we face trials, it’s not that God doesn’t love us or care for us, for it is then that He is preparing us for battle, or to use the phrase of an old TV star, God is preparing us for the ‘big one’! Probably the most challenging thing for us to do, is to praise God, even in the midst of our trials, because we understand, and have faith to believe that He is strengthening us. Friends, when we say that we are Christian and we truly believe that we have placed our hand in the hands of the Almighty God, we must then hang on for the ride of our lifetime, knowing that we are under His control, His protection and His will, knowing full well that He loves us way too much to see any harm or hurt impact us. Can you imagine the admiration and pride that must come across the face of Jesus when He looks on His creation (us) and see us living in full submission to Him, and we finally get the scripture that indicates – all things work together for good, to those who love and have surrendered their lives totally to Jesus? My challenge today is first of all for self, that I may be totally surrendered to the Savior and allow Him full control over my life. Only then can I truly desire to see each of you do the same. However, for yourself, if it’s to be, it’s up to you! Therefore align yourself with the Lord of all lords and the King of all kings, who loved you enough to personally sacrifice His very best so that You might trust in Him, handle life’s circumstances and look forward to spending eternity with Him in glory!

 PRAYER: Father God, I adore You, I love You and I praise You for who You are and for all that You have helped me through already in my short life. However, You have taught me through Your Word that I am not perfect, so I surrender my total self to You today and pray that You might use me in ways that might allow Your kingdom work to increase and flourish here on this earth. I am equally concerned for my friends who will read this devotional today, for I always want Your very best for them also. Please satisfy every doubt or weakness in commitment and/or total surrender. Please provoke decisions in their personal lives that will cause Your name to be lifted high and every soul be drawn closer to You in full obedience. May we learn to celebrate You in all aspects of our lives, even when going through tough times. You alone are worthy of our praise in all aspects of our lives, so I worship You and ask all these things in Your precious and holy name, Lord 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 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 blogger.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!

How to Shoo the Devil Away

On By Ed AlgreenIn Humble, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Contemporary English Version – James 4:4-7): 4 You people aren’t faithful to God! Don’t you know that if you love the world, you are God’s enemies? And if you decide to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 5 Do you doubt the Scriptures that say, “God truly cares about the Spirit he has put in us”? 6 In fact, God treats us with even greater kindness, just as the Scriptures say, “God opposes everyone who is proud, but he is kind to everyone who is humble.” 7 Surrender to God! Resist the devil, and he will run from you.

 THOUGHTS: Isn’t it interesting how we get so fed up with Satan, but yet we are unwilling to change anything about our own character and/or life to change that? I was drawn to these verses, especially after just reading Ezekiel 20 – which I would encourage you to read if you are touched in any way by this passage in James. For God gave the Israelites rules and instructions on how to please Him and live together in peace and harmony. After the parents failed, God attempted to help the children become different in their endeavors, but they also failed, and faced destruction. Here in James, God saw where the problem was continuing and He once again gave instructions on how children of God can draw closer to Him and resist the devil. Friends, I would dare say that even in our day, after all that has gone on before us, we still are faced with selfish motives and greed, to the extent that old Satan is attacking us from every side. Unfortunately this appeal especially pertains to Christians, because Satan fears that we may be too involved with Jesus Christ. In this scripture, James is warning us that our relationship with God is weakened when: a). We are unfaithful to God; b). We love the world; c). We are God’s enemies, because He will not reside where sin abounds; d). We doubt the scripture too often and try to handle obedience to it under our own terms; and e). We are proud – assuming that there is something personally that accounts for all we have accomplished or are enjoying. Friends, the return of Jesus is near, and the Bible is clear that we will either face a welcoming smile from our Savior, or we will be turned over to Satan, because of our disobedience and lack of regard for the Savior who died to bring us life everlasting. Are you successful in shooing Satan away? Are you prepared to totally surrender your life to Jesus Christ and allow Him to save you from your sin, and guide you into life everlasting in His presence? If it’s to be, it’s up to you! Please read the help in my ‘Footnote’ on how to make a change in your life. The benefits are ‘out of this world’!

 PRAYER: Thanks for being so patient with us dear God. I can’t imagine how our lack of appreciation, and lack of desire to please You, must hurt You, especially considering all that You have done for us and our ancestors. Thank You for Your forgiveness, Your undying love and Your amazing grace. Thank You for loving us in spite of our failures. I pray that You will especially ignite a renewed fire within the lives of my readers and myself, so that we may totally surrender ourselves to You and subsequently reap the rewards of being a child of the King. Oh how I look forward to one day being in Your holy presence and worshiping before You in person! Please impact the lives of my readers and I today, is my humble and sincere prayer that I ask in the name of Jesus, the Christ, 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 blogger.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!

Choosing God Is Worth Far More

On By Ed AlgreenIn Rewards, Surrender, Worth it allLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Good News Translation – Hebrews 11:24-29): 24 It was faith that made Moses, when he had grown up, refuse to be called the son of the king’s daughter. 25He preferred to suffer with God’s people rather than to enjoy sin for a little while. 26He reckoned that to suffer scorn for the Messiah was worth far more than all the treasures of Egypt, for he kept his eyes on the future reward. 27 It was faith that made Moses leave Egypt without being afraid of the king’s anger. As though he saw the invisible God, he refused to turn back. It was faith that made him establish the Passover and order the blood to be sprinkled on the doors, so that the Angel of Death would not kill the firstborn sons of the Israelites. 29 It was faith that made the Israelites able to cross the Red Sea as if on dry land; when the Egyptians tried to do it, the water swallowed them up.

THOUGHTS: Choosing God Is Worth Far More Than …. Can you think of anything that is more important? This chapter of Hebrews is filled with so much of the faith our forefathers displayed in the King of all kings and the Creator of all things, that our lives should be impacted to the extent that nothing will ever cause us to stray in our faith. For because of their faith we saw where mere, humble, man stood before a very powerful earthly king and demanded that the majority of his people that were being held in slavery, should be freed and surrendered to the leadership of one who had absolutely no experience with leading a mass of people. Because of his faith in, and obedience to God, Moses saw where the king crumbled to the overwhelming power of God and gave in to the demands of Moses. We see where this one miracle of faith led to many more, as Moses followed in obedience to God. The masses were fed, when there was no food source in sight; they drank water from a fountain when there was nothing visible other than a shepherd’s stick and a rock; they faced death with the natural eye, but yet saw the waters divided and a path provided for them to cross between two lands, then looked back in human panic to see how the opposing enemy was gaining on them, only to witness the battle being won for them as the divided waters collapsed on the enemy and drowned them all. Friends, in these verses it is plain to see that Moses placed his trust in God, rather than any other earthly treasures or resources available to him, because he saw that his present obedience and future rewards could only come from, and lead to eternity with God. I believe this is a wake-up call for us to reexamine our lives to determine if we are placing our faith in something, or someone that leads us to this type of eternal rewards that Moses chose, or are we struggling to turn loose of the earthly assets, or clinging to earthly values, or placing our faith in mere man rather than God? If you are misguided in your faith, then I pray that God would quickly open your eyes to show you what your eternal rewards might be. If you are misguided, I believe that, based on the Word of God, I can safely tell you that you might currently be so earthly minded that you will be of little Godly use in the life to come. Unless you plead with God to intervene and help you to turn your life around, may I ask that you be careful not to take on the guilt of others who might be following you? Please read Ezekiel 3:17-20 to understand how God threatened Ezekiel with the sentence of bearing the guilt of all he led, if he was disobedient.

PRAYER: Thank You for Your Word dear Lord. Thank You for loving us enough to show us the results of obedience to You and the effects of disobedience. We are again reminded of the rewards of choosing You as our personal Lord and Savior and being obedient to Your Word and Your commands. I know that “It Will Be Worth It All When we see Jesus“, so help us to live our lives in light of that truth and therefore surrender our lives totally and wholeheartedly to You in every aspect of our lives. All to You I Surrender. Thank You for hearing my heart and my prayer dear Lord, for I ask all this in the precious 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 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 blogger.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!

Qualities of Our High Priest

On By Ed AlgreenIn Forgiveness, High Priest, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Hebrews 7:26-28): 26 Jesus is the high priest we need. He is holy and innocent and faultless, and not at all like us sinners. Jesus is honored above all beings in heaven, 27 and he is better than any other high priest. Jesus doesn’t need to offer sacrifices each day for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. He offered a sacrifice once for all, when he gave himself. 28 The Law appoints priests who have weaknesses. But God’s promise, which came later than the Law, appoints his Son. And he is the perfect high priest forever.

THOUGHTS: I wonder what God might say about our form of worship and our Christian leadership today? In this passage in Hebrews there was a comparison between the high priests of the day that the people looked up to as their earthly connection to God, and THE great High Priest that God had provided for the people which, by the way, was provided for you and I until His return to take us up to glory. You see, often we place our church leaders on such a pedestal that we almost consider them a little god. Now friends, please don’t think that I am belittling our pastors/preachers/priests or other church leaders, for they do play a role in our spiritual walk, but PLEASE, you are to always look to God, through His Word, and  be attuned to His voice as He leads you to all Truth and a true Godly example. Man could easily disappoint you and/or possibly lead you astray, and into a path of their own personal conviction, that may, or may not, always line up with God’s purest plan for you. Because of our weakness and laziness to help ourselves to the written Word of God, we place our full faith and trust in the ‘God’ taught to us by those church leaders we believe we can trust. Experiencing the works of God and feeling His precious love for us, gives us a much fuller description and view of God that becomes very personal, and is key to helping us form a ‘relationship’ with Him. Trying to draw close to a ‘God’ that someone else may, or may not have experienced, is like looking in from the outside at a marriage between a husband and wife, rather than actually being one of the spouses experiencing the sweet relationship with the other spouse. In the above verses, Take note of the differences between earthly high priests and THE Hight Priest provided by God for us. I have highlighted qualities of the earthly priests in ‘red’ and the qualities of God’s High Priest (Jesus) in ‘bright light blue’. Of particular notice I want you to tune in to the later part of verse 28. Notice that unlike electing a church leader of our liking, or with qualities we feel are important, God invested His very own personal interest in providing us a ‘perfect and eternal’ Hight Priest, by sending His very own Son – One who is a vital part of the triune God and who acts on God’s behalf. He didn’t want us to settle for second best, He gave us His very own so that we might be drawn to Him. This is the ‘real thing’ friends, have you surrendered your life over to this ‘perfect’ High Priest? This was a huge sacrifice by God, we should respond by accepting this ‘gift’. In my ‘Footnote’ I have offered tips on how you might go about this, based on the written Word of God. Be prepared, friend. God could call you home at anytime, and I want you to be ready to meet Him.

PRAYER: Father in heaven, thank You for making provisions for my eternal future with You. Thank You for helping me to look beyond those that I respect in our church pulpits, and coming directly to the foot of the cross, asking for Your forgiveness and accepting Your ultimate sacrificed made on my behalf. You are a merciful and loving God, having shared a vital part of You so that I might become one with You. Thank You Lord! Please touch the hearts of Your children today so that we might be drawn to You in all humbleness and faith, and in great expectation of one day kneeling at Your feet and worshipping You for all eternity! Thank You for Jesus, our perfect High Priest! Please help us to sample our lives after Him so that we too might be an example to others that we come into contact with, and who also needs You. I am amazed by Your love! I ask all this today in the wonderful name of Jesus, our perfect High Priest, and Your loving  Son, 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 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 blogger.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!

We Have An Advocate

On By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Surrender, UnderstandingLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Century Version – Hebrews 4:14-16): 14 Since we have a great high priest, Jesus the Son of God, who has gone into heaven, let us hold on to the faith we have. 15 For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin. 16 Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it.

THOUGHTS: Often we find it difficult talking with someone who we suspect cannot identify with what concerns us. Let me illustrate: unless a person went through a period of poverty, it would be mighty challenging for them to understand our concerns about not having enough money to meet all of the bills, or not able to go to certain doctors because we can’t afford the general examination fee, much less any other fees that might accrue during our visit. Because we face these kinds of challenges here on earth, it sometimes gives us a complex in dealing with the Lord Jesus Christ. However, these verses this morning are a breath of fresh air, as it reminds us that Jesus lived here on this earth and faced the same challenges that we now face and He did it without sinning. Therefore, as we go to the Father in prayer, we can rest assured that we are communicating with someone who knows all about the challenges that we face, so we can talk freely with Him expecting Him to not only understand, but to help us through our situation. Friends, I am excited and filled with hope that I have an advocate who knows and understands all that I face every day. He longs to hear from me so that He might receive permission to shower His help upon me. He loves me more than I love myself, so I am convinced that He has my best interest at heart. I pray that you will gain this kind of confidence in Jesus Christ even today, friend. He loves you and He wants to be your advocate before our Father. Won’t you consider letting Him in today?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for loving us enough to send us Your very own Son Jesus. Thank You for allowing Him to live on this earth and experience all of what we encounter each day. But most of all, thank You for bringing Him back to Your side to be our advocate. I am reminded of our Guardian Ad Litem program where children who are abused, neglected and abandoned receive the protection of a Guardian who looks out for their best interest. Thank You Lord Jesus for loving us and looking out for our best interest. Thank You for understanding our needs and our peculiarities. Lord, may we therefore trust our lives into Your hands so that You may mold us to be more like You; protect us from the evil one; and lead us to a path of righteousness, for Your name’s sake? I want to be just like You Lord, please lead me and show me the path to achieve that goal. Soften the hearts of the hardened today so that they may surrender to the only One who truly knows all about their needs and concerns. For I ask this in faith, and in the wonderful name of Jesus, my 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 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 blogger.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!

Pride Comes Before A Fall

On By Ed AlgreenIn Humility, Obedience, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Jeremiah 38:17-18, 28): I told him that the Lord had said: “Zedekiah, I am the Lord God All-Powerful, the God of Israel. I promise that if you surrender to King Nebuchadnezzar’s officers, you and your family won’t be killed, and Jerusalem won’t be burned down. 18 But if you don’t surrender, I will let the Babylonian army capture Jerusalem and burn it down, and you will be taken prisoner.”……. 28 I was held in the courtyard of the palace guards until the day Jerusalem was captured.

THOUGHTS: I am amazed that we can look into God’s Word and not just see the amazing things that He did such as bringing people back to life, or miraculously healing them, but to also see some of the same characteristics in the folk of that day that compares to much like we see and experience today. In spite of knowing that he could possibly be killed for sharing with the king exactly what God said, yet Jeremiah was faithful and told King Zedekiah just that. In verses 19 thru 27 we are told how the king asked Jeremiah to handle the questions when asked by the palace authorities about the meeting between Jeremiah and the king, because the king found it impossible to concede to what God wanted him to do, as it would burst the pride of his kingdom. I found vs 28 interesting, because it gives the idea that Jeremiah waited in full expectation of what God said He would do, and in later verses we will read the rest of the story! I believe that way too often we go off in our own direction and, in spite of asking God for His advice, we are so filled with personal pride that we do our own thing, although His warnings and/or directions have been made plain to us. Friends, God is all-knowing and all-powerful. If we are truly His child, and we want to be truly obedient, then we will allow His will to override our wants and our pride. This requires a close walk with God and demands our knowing His very thoughts and plans, and allowing that sense of direction to lead us into all truth, even if it looks like it will probably lead to folk laughing at us, or thinking that we have lost sense with reality. God’s true messengers tell the story as they understand it from God, not as they have manipulated it to best suit their purpose. We are chosen to be God’s messengers of His truth, not to dilute it with our wants and/or benefits. I believe that God is watching as we decide today whom we will serve. What shall it be friend?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for trusting Your servants to deliver Your Word to those that need it even today. You are well aware of how manipulative we are in still sharing that Word with our own personal prejudices and twists that help us to feel important and without including ourselves in the mix of all who need correction. Please tender our hearts, and please cause us to allow Your words to penetrate us first personally, before we ever think about sharing them with someone else. You are the Creator and ongoing Master of this universe. All things were made by You and are still under Your control. Please help us to understand that this will not change, even if we try to soften the reality of that, or not tell the whole truth of what it will take to draw mankind unto a saving knowledge of You. There is no need for us to be intimidated by others, for Your message is designed for us all. There is no gain for self, for Your Word is intended to draw mankind unto You, not unto us. Please forgive us for our littleness in trying to use Your message for our benefit. Please help us to wipe away self-pride and instead practice true servant-hood and be Your humble messenger simply delivering Your Word to lost mankind. Only the blood of Jesus can wash away the sin of mankind, nothing else. May Your will be done today in our lives, I pray, in the all-powerful and matchless name of Jesus my 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 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 blogger.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!