Category: Teach

The Penalty For Disobedience

On By Ed AlgreenIn Preach, Teach, WitnessLeave a comment

Friday, 2016-07-15

Scripture

Bible Reference: Ezekiel 3:17–19

Bible Text:  17 “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately. 18 If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 19 If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me.

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

I believe that way too often we find so many excuses and reasons to not do the work of God, that we tend to doubt if it was really Him who directed us to do the work in the first place. We talk ourselves out of the things we one-time thought that God may have called us to do. Friends, you will note from the above verses that Ezekiel was not only instructed what to do, but he was given the penalties up front for both himself and the people he was supposed to minister to, if he didn’t fulfill his assignment. What? Not only will I be punished for my disobedience, but the kindhearted people that I am instructed to minister to? Wow, that has put a whole new dimension on the impact of disobedience. All along, I thought that I might suffer if I chose to do ‘my own thing’ out of deliberate disobedience, but never gave a second thought that I was also bringing damnation on those I would have ministered to. However, think carefully about this friends. If you were given the foresight into the day and the hour that a disaster would hit, wouldn’t you and those around you punish, if you chose to keep that news bottled up inside of you? I believe that God is warning us, as He did Ezekiel, that there is coming a day when Jesus will return for His children – those who have accepted Him as their personal Lord and Savior. Being filled with that knowledge and not sharing that to a point of trying to convince your family, friends or coworkers, would that not show that we are uncaring, unconcerned, unaffected by their lost condition and really don’t care if they go to Hell or not? Does that not  leave room for God to say, as He did with Ezekiel, that He will hold us responsible for the death (eternal death – Hell bound) of those individuals who were depending on us being obedient to God? Why not address this with the Master when you pray today? This really spreads to all walks of life friend. If asked to preach, teach, witness or evangelize and you do everything but your assignment, aren’t you guilty of disobedience?

Prayer

Dear God, You went to the cross willingly for us, even though You had the power to reverse that. Jesus, You showed love for us by doing Your Father’s will, knowing that this act alone would bring eternal life to Your children who would follow in obedience. Although You knew that all would not accept Your offer of love, yet You followed the commands of Your Father in total obedience. As Your children, wanting to please You in every way, we need to follow Your example of obedience. You made it clear to Ezekiel that both he and the people he was instructed to minister to, would suffer if he disobeyed. Lord, please touch the hearts of your children once again today, beginning with me, and help us to accept our responsibility seriously. We’re talking pretty serious stuff here – eternal life vs everlasting death. We know what we want, and what we desire for our family and friends, now help us to do Your will in total obedience under Your awesome strength, guidance and wisdom. In the powerful name of Jesus, AMEN!

Footnote

If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Building A Better Generation

On By Ed AlgreenIn Generational Responsibilities, Obedience, TeachLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Psalm 78:6-8
Today’s Bible Text: [Teach] So that the coming generation would know them [His holy laws] by heart, even the children who are not yet born, So that they might one day stand up and teach them to their children, tell them to put their confidence and hope in God, and never forget the wondrous things He has done. They should obey His commandments always and avoid following in the footsteps of their parents, a hard-headed and rebellious generation – A generation of uncultivated hearts, whose spirits were unfaithful to God.
The Bible Translation: The Voice (Voice)

My Take Away: I’m sure by now you have read the scripture today and concluded that the Psalmist was referring to the Israelites, right? Are you wondering yet how this might impact you and I today? Friends, with very few exceptions, I believe that churches you know, have either closed over recent years, or seriously declined and in fear of possibly closing their doors. This is critical to consider, because I would question how many homes have parents who are committed seriously to God – to the degree that they teach God’s Word in their homes and/or practice the truths of God before their kids. At my church, we have more kids at our mid-week Children’s Ministry than we do on Sunday, yet we have only a very small group of adults who actually stay at church for an adult prayer or Bible study class. This tells me that although God demanded our ancestors to teach their children the Word of God, and that the children learn to also teach their children, somewhere along the way that process didn’t transition over properly. Does this mean then that each generation will do better or worse, in regards to standing firm on the Word of God? I believe the answer to that is evident. Today we see and/or hear about some of the most horrendous crimes imaginable, and yet we question if there is no God. If our children continue to drift away from God, what do you suppose the future will look like? Will we be charged with failing to pass along/teach the Word to our children? I believe the challenge to each of us today is to get before God and ask if we are doing all that He expects of us. We often talk about having a balanced diet, may I suggest that living life without being true to your Creator and the Savior who gave His life for you, is like living with a key ingredient of life missing – unbalanced. Please consider drawing closer to God, and ask for His help in disseminating His truths to your children – His precious kids.

Prayer: Oh Lord Jesus, how sorry we are for dropping the ‘ball’ – our responsibility to learn Your Word and to pass it on to our children. We have failed You miserably in this, and we are seeing the consequences of this in an awful way everyday and in all aspects of our lives. Please teach us again to pray – so that we might recognize our Master, and our weaknesses. Please teach us again the importance of studying our ‘rule book’ – our Bible, each and every day so that we might clearly follow the path You intended for us to follow. Please continue to remind us of our responsibility to teach and lead our children – our generation, about the God who loves them, who cares for them, and who wants to be their Father, and the One who will help them through this challenging life. May we be found faithful oh God. I humbly ask this in the name of Jesus, AMEN!

Footnote: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

2016

The Complete Picture

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Preach, TeachLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Contemporary English Version – 2 Timothy 4:1-4): When Christ Jesus comes as king, he will be the judge of everyone, whether they are living or dead. So with God and Christ as witnesses, I command you 2 to preach God’s message. Do it willingly, even if it isn’t the popular thing to do. You must correct people and point out their sins. But also cheer them up, and when you instruct them, always be patient. 3 The time is coming when people won’t listen to good teaching. Instead, they will look for teachers who will please them by telling them only what they are itching to hear. 4 They will turn from the truth and eagerly listen to senseless stories.

THOUGHTS: Paul offered a warning and a strong word of advice to Timothy about the urgency of preaching the Word of God, and to do it in spite of opposition or disinterest of the people to whom he would preach. He not only indicated the disinterest of the people, but also went on to say why they would appear to be like that. Friends, I believe that God got my attention to this and caused me to apply this to my life today. So I want to share my thoughts with you. I believe that we have some excellent pastors/shepherds today and I am convinced that we have some excellent teachers of the Word. I believe that some of these preach and teach from the depths of their heart as touched by God while in His Word. However, these men are mere humans and they will be tempted to please the crowds, and this may even extend to the pulpit where they might try to be politically correct in order to soften the impact of the Word of God to those who are living in opposition to Its teaching. There are some who preach only the good, the positive, the uplifting parts of the Bible, and this pleases the people, but it is NOT the whole teaching of the Word of God. From personal experience I can tell you that there was a time in my life where I just couldn’t see the importance of the Old Testament because of all the gory war and slaughter that is told in many of Its pages. However, today my study time involves time in both Testaments, and while I am still amazed at how fortunate we are compared to the strong actions by God in the Old Testament, yet I realize that lessons are taught throughout, and often meld with teachings by Jesus in the New Testament. I believe that the very portions that pastors refuse to teach on, could often be the portions needed by the church, but could perhaps ‘sting’ a lot because of the present spiritual condition of many in the church. Pastors are blessed with an awesome responsibility ordained by God to shepherd His flock. Being disobedient to any part of His commands are as bad as disobeying the whole. I pray that none will be guilty of this when they stand before Christ. Now for the flip side of this, vs 3 indicates that people will naturally resort to listening to a pastor or teacher who tells them what they want to hear. The good stuff, the encouraging words, the positive things, and one who never ‘beats up on them’ by pointing out their disobedience to God’s Word. I believe you might agree that these types of pastors are filling stadiums with people who could ‘put up’ with that type of teaching, right? Friends, please be aware of this when trying to decide on a church home. Please be sure that the ‘whole’ Word of God is taught. God speaks to us through the teaching/preaching /words of His Book of Instructions. When we don’t hear all of it, we are incomplete in our full understanding of the Word. Pray for your pastors and teachers that they would not feel pressured in any way to not disclose the full Word of God.

PRAYER: Thank You for Your inspired Word dear God. Thank You for all the reasons You wanted us to learn about the ups and downs of our ancestors, as well as the wonderful message of Your resurrection from the dead and the beauty of our future home, Heaven! I realize that our lives are much like this, where there are pieces that we would just rather not talk about, but things that are so uplifting and glorious, especially after we allowed You into our lives. However, to know us today without getting an appreciation for our past is not portraying the full picture of who we really are. Please help us to never be ashamed of any piece of Your message in the Bible, for I believe that it was placed there for our edification and understanding of the good things that followed. Our pastors and teachers are really pressured by us to ‘dance around’ certain teachings, but Father, we want to be complete in our understanding of Your Word and the intentions of Your heart for us. Please vitalize our pastors and teachers with an encouraging word today so that they may be reenergized and encouraged to teach and preach the whole, unadulterated Word of God for truth and good works. Because Your Word is a light unto my path, I must know the right path and the wrong path, so please continue to point out my wrongs and my incorrect path when I stray. Please bless us with good church leaders who serve You and teach Your principles. We continue to need You each and every day Lord, so I am asking again today for Your ongoing love and direction, for I ask all this in the name of Jesus, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com 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!