Category: Thankful

Ungrateful Hearts Complain

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Thankful, Thankfulness, Thanksgiving, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Sunday, 2022-06-12
WRITTEN AT: Jensen Beach, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Numbers 21:4-5
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 4 Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey, 5 and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!”

APPLICATION: Unless with a grateful heart you concentrate on the awesome blessings of God in your life each day, you might instead very easily get caught up in the idea that you only enjoy each day what is expected for each person, each day. In other words, you may take for granted all that you enjoy – more than you could every have done for yourself with the hand of God being involved, for your good. Unfortunately, when you complain, you become depressed and despondent, like the Israelites did, when things were not going the way that they expected. In spite of all God had done for them, and all that He continued to do each day for them, yet the Israelites were ready to complain/criticize God and His servant Moses. These ungrateful people looked at and complained about there not being enough variety in their meals; and not enough water; and because of their long walk, there would probably not be enough to last. But aren’t we just as ungrateful? Perhaps we should really meditate on this picture painted for us by God. Remember the morning you woke up to thunder, lightening and rain – on a day that you had other plans, and how you whined and complained about yet another day of rain, even though your neighbor had been crying for more rain to help his garden grow better? And don’t forget about the aches and pains that we complain about to all of our friends, or the quality of the food that was provided for us out of the goodness of our neighbors last night, or perhaps the diminishing eyesight as you grow older, etc, etc, etc! Friends, if we look at life as a blessing from God, which it truly is, and if we accept all aspects of life as God-directed, God-blessed, God-ordained and God’s perfect will for our lives, then we should automatically explode in awesome praise when we awake to raindrops on our window, for God must have something awesome in mind for us! Reflect on the car that won’t start for you on that morning when you had so much planned? But isn’t it praise-worthy when you later learned of an awful wreck on the same route you would have taken that day. Was God not merciful to you and protected your path? Let us always remember, friends, our God has a plan for us and He wants to protect us and bless us beyond our ability to understand or appreciate. So let us be deliberate in praising our Master every day for all things, for He truly loves us and, I believe that, He truly wants us to flourish in His many blessings that He careful pours out on us every day. Let’s learn to live with God’s perfect plan, and not mess things up by adding in too much of our wants and wishes. God is in control, and He promised to care for our every need, if only we will let Him.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for Your loving kindness to the Israelites, in spite of their ungratefulness. Having recognized that we have not learned any good lessons from the Israelites, we must ask Your forgiveness and plead with You for Your ongoing patience with us as we learn to recognize Your goodness and Your mercy towards us. You are an awesome God, and I am thankful for Jesus and the forgiveness of my sins, so that I may call You ‘Father’. Oh how I long for my readers and I to one day look full into Your wonderful face and sing endless praises to our King! In the meantime, please help us to accept Your loving provision, direction and ultimate will for our life. You’ve got this, if only we will allow You to do Your work! 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!

Taken God For Granted?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Thank You Jesus, Thankful, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Tuesday, 2021-08-17
WRITTEN AT: Hattiesburg, MS

SCRIPTURE FROM: Deuteronomy 32:3-6
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 3 I will proclaim the name of the Lord; how glorious is our God! 4 He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!
5 “But they have acted corruptly toward him; when they act so perversely,
are they really his children? They are a deceitful and twisted generation.
6 Is this the way you repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Isn’t he your Father who created you? Has he not made you and established you?

APPLICATION: Although it might be extremely challenging for us to admit that we are just as ungrateful as the Israelites were, I believe that we should always look for ways to show appreciation to our Master. Here are some ways that I believe will help us to show our appreciation to our faithful God:
– -> Speak to Him at least daily – prayer;
– -> Listen to Him at least daily – Bible reading;
– -> Obey His commandments – not just the 10 given in the Old Testaments, but all the comands given by God for our good;
– -> Love God – you know how to show love to your parents, siblings, spouse, children and others, so show love to the God who created you and watches over you each and every day;
– -> Love your neighbor – Love God and love your neighbor are listed as the two most important commandments, and around which all the others are built. Your neighbor is someone that you cross paths with who has a need. Love them, by meeting their need;
– -> Worship the Lord your God – For those whom you love, respect and adore, you tend to worship. Make it dileberate to worship God, personally. You don’t need church services to worship God. In fact, if you worship God personally on a regular basis, you will be more apt to join other believers in worshipping God corporately. God is looking for our worship, not just the worship by other believers who may be near you;
– -> Obedience and unselfishness – Ask God to teach you to do the things that please Him most. We tend to always default to the things that come easy to us and that makes us feel good about ourselves. In showing appreciation to God, you should take your eyes off self, and look for ways to please and honor God. Remember, God knows your heart and He knows your very thoughts, so you fool yourself when you think you could fool God. Be honest with Him and give Him your heart;
We could never ‘repay’ God for all that He has done for us, but we can show our appreciation for all that He has done, and continues to do in blessing us every day! Please strive to never take for granted the God who gave up His only Son for your eternal benefit. He is worthy of our everlasting praise and honor!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Show appreciation to God for His unending blessings towards us!

PRAYER: Lord, I am thankful that You are so gracious to us, even though our praise in return may appear weak and almost non-existent at times. Thank You Lord for all Your mercies and for all that You have done for us. Please forgive us for our ungratefulness and, make us ever so aware of your goodness. Thank You for Jesus and thank You for eternal life, that is only possible because of Jesus. You blessed the Israelites and we tend to jump on their case for being so ungrateful, but Lord, I need to ask You to touch our hearts so that we would never be found guilty of being ungrateful. You are our King, and we adore You Lord Jesus. Please forgive us of our sins and fill us with grateful hearts to always praise and worship You oh Savior divine. 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!

Give To The Poor And Be Blessed

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Thankful, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Friday, 2021-07-30
WRITTEN AT: Hattiesburg, MS

SCRIPTURE FROM: Deuteronomy 15:10-11
TRANSLATION: The Message (MSG)

BIBLE TEXT: 10-11 Give freely and spontaneously. Don’t have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers God, your God’s, blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures. There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbors in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbors.

APPLICATION: I’m sure that all readers and/or listeners will agree with me in saying that we are always thankful for what others give to us. Hopefully most of you can say as I can, thank God that I have never been ‘needy or poor’. I believe this may challenge many of us, because it becomes very challenging to truly empathize with the poor and needy, if you can’t identify with them. But God, in His infinite mercy has blessed us with good health, good jobs and a regular income. Additionally, He has blessed us with good minds to properly budget our income so that we could pay our bills as they come due. Sure, we mess up at times and get ourselves way overloaded in debt and that makes it way more challenging to satisfy our budget than what God expects of us. However, from the very beginning of our receiving a paycheck, we make decisions on how that money will be spent. I had a prospective pastor ask our search committee for a copy of the church budget. He said that he could tell from that where the heart of the church leadership stood. That’s the same with our personal budgets, review it and determine where your heart is. If you’re a child of the King, then I believe that you look at only 90% of your paycheck to establish your budget, for you practice what God has ordained through His Word, that you should give the first 10% of your income to God’s work through your local church. What was that, you can’t afford to tithe? I beg your pardon, because Gods said that if we obey Him He will bless us. Don’t you know that God will help you meet so much more in your expenses with the remaining 90% than you could ever accomplish on your own with 100%? But challenging the use of your income even more, God said through Moses in our Scripture that when we help the poor and needy, He will bless us richly in everything we do. So are you feeling victorious today? Could it be that you are helping others, but with a resentful attitude? Could it be that you often tell God to not bless you as much so that you don’t have to help the poor? I know you have lots of tips to help that poor person, but God said in this same chapter that you are not to give grudgingly, but with a spirit of the One who blessed you in the first place. Think about it, what have we done to deserve the love of the God who created us and looks out for us each day? Just do what He says, and know that He will always keep His promises. Bless someone today and be ready for a blessing from God!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Bless others, and prepare for a blessing from God!

PRAYER: I may not be as rich as my neighbor, as handsome as the successful businessman, or as blessed as my pastor, but oh Lord, You have blessed me with more than I could ever desire or ask for, and I thank You from the bottom of my heart. Please continue Your work in my readers/listeners and myself so that we may see the needs of others, and feel compassionate enough to help them because of Your love and Your commands. Lord, may You be blessed today because we helped someone in need. 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!

Think About His Goodness

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, God's Goodness, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Thankful, Thanksgiving, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Thursday, 2021-05-06
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Psalm 104:7-12 (TLB)

SCRIPTURE TEXT: 7-8 You spoke, and at the sound of your shout the water collected into its vast ocean beds, and mountains rose and valleys sank to the levels you decreed. 9 And then you set a boundary for the seas so that they would never again cover the earth. 10 He placed springs in the valleys and streams that gush from the mountains. 11 They give water for all the animals to drink. There the wild donkeys quench their thirst, 12 and the birds nest beside the streams and sing among the branches of the trees.

APPLICATION: I sometimes wonder if we truly ever slow down enough to reflect on the ways that God blesses us each and every day. For I believe that if we did, there would not be enough hours in the day for us to sing out praises and thanksgiving our Creator for all He does for us. You think about your typical day and I will share a few things that immediately comes to my mind about my typical day: 
-> I am able to rise from my warm bed each day – compared to some who sleep in the cold, on a piece of cardboard under a bridge, with or without a blanket;
-> I was blessed with air to breathe on my own;
-> I was blessed with strength and mobility to actually get out of bed;
-> I had an inside bathroom to use and didn’t have to go to an outhouse or a nearby tree!
-> I was able to put on a different set of clothes than I’ve been wearing all week, and they have been washed and prepared;
->I have a wonderful wife who prepares my meals. Yes, there was food to prepare;
-> I have been blessed with a great place to work and retire from, as opposed to those who wait on long lines at the unemployment agency;
-> I am blessed to have transportation, and not have to walk, wait for a bus service, or wait by the roadside for a ride with a friend;
-> I am thankful for the wisdom God gave to His children to make automobiles and other conveniences that we tend to take for granted;
Friends, don’t you see that we can go on and on praising teh Lord for His blessings on us? I could easily have gone on to speak about the wild life, animals and trees that I enjoy seeing every day, and the beautiful landscapes God designed and created for our benefit. Yep, He did all of this for us, plus a whole lot more, and I believe that we would have done this if we were the only ones that He wanted to bless! In our Scripture today, imagine God creating the beautiful oceans, then creating land in such a way that those waters would not rise up over it and destroy life! Only God can perform such wonders! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Our God is an awesome God! How Great Thou Art! How Great is our God! These are just a quick reminder of songs of praise we can offer up to God, and yes, He loves your singing voice just the way it is, for He never made any junk! Take time to look around and then look to God from a heart filled with thanksgiving and praise.

PRAYER: Thank You Lord for Your mercies on me! Lord, You are so good and so merciful to me, and I’m sure that as my readers meditate on this devotional today, they too will realize that even when things appear to be going sideways for them, yet they can still find so many ways that You are blessing them. Please help us to keep our minds so fixed on You and the many wonderful blessings that You bestow on us that the minor issues that we face each day would seem immaterial. Lord I know that You bless us, please help us to recognize those blessings more vividly each day, and pour out our thanksgiving 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 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!

Your Song Of Praise

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Thankful, Thankfulness, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Thursday, 2021-03-25
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: Exodus 15:2, 11
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: 2 The Lord is my strength,
the reason for my song,
    because he has saved me.
I praise and honor the Lord—
he is my God and the God of my ancestors.
11 Our Lord, no other gods
compare with you—
    Majestic and holy! Fearsome and glorious!
    Miracle worker!

OBSERVATION: Included in our Scripture today is two verses of a song that originated in the heart of Moses and his people after they witnessed God’s miraculous, saving power from the Egyptian army. What might your song look like? It doesn’t matter if you could sing, or not, but how is your heart impacted after seeing God at work? First of all, sing it out to the Lord from a sincere heart, and secondly let me suggest that you write it down so you could later reflect on His blessings to you at this point in your life!

APPLICATION: I’m sure that when you fell in love, there were words of affirmation and praise that easily flowed from your heart for the most beautiful/handsome person that you had ever laid eyes on, right? That’s a pretty natural reaction from men and women whose heart has been moved by a wonderful person of the opposite sex. Moses and his people, the Israelites, had just encountered the greatest scare of their lives, when an army of trained men on horses moving at highest speeds, headed their way with swords drawn, and determined in their minds to change the direction of the multitude following Moses and Aaron. Moses was convinced that the same God who carefully engineered a plan to get them out of Egypt, would again take care of this oncoming army. However, God chose to do this while the Israelites looked back and watched in amazement. Imagine how their hearts sang for joy as they watched the impossible (at least in man’s eyes) transpire, and the battle being won for them as they simply stood still and watched the miraculous hand of God! This whole episode created a song in their hearts that had to come out as they sang praises to the Most Holy God. Now stop for a moment and bring this message home, as you apply this to your own life. You’ve read about how God has worked miracle after miracle in the lives of His people. You’ve sat and heard saints of God talk about how God miraculously protected them and cared for them. You may have stopped one day and realized that it was because of your prayers that God protected your spouse, healed your child, or restored your parent’s life to full health, so you too have become exposed to the miracles of a God that listens to the cry of His children. Would you share with the world what words sprang forth from your heart as you watched in amazement? As you felt healing in your body? As you saw that sick child or hurting parent jump to their feet without pain, and with limbs that moved as good as yours? I believe that God made our hearts to feel compassion, and appreciate His wondrous works. If only we will seek His face and ask Him to give us a clear view of Himself so that we might fight off the hindrances of Satan that causes us to muffle His praises and restrain our love for the Almighty.

PRAYER: Lord, we know you’re in and around us. Please humble our hearts to see Your face and to watch Your hand move in marvelous ways among our family and for our good. Moses and his people could never have thought to demand that You work against the Egyptian army as You did, so I am convinced that we are to simply place our burdens and our concerns at Your feet and ask for a miracle. Oh that we would be amazed in all that You do, and may our song of praise and thanksgiving be a natural reaction to Your works, without restraint of any kind by us or the advisory. Lord, we believe in the power of our awesome God. Please renew our strength when we grow weak in unbelief and unconcern. You are our Mighty God, and we praise You with all of our heart, soul and mind. 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!

May We Realize To Whom Thanksgiving Is Due

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Thankful, Thankfulness, Thanksgiving, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Wednesday, 2020-11-25
WRITTEN AT: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

BIBLE REFERENCE: Hosea 2:8
TRANSLATION: New English Translation (NET)

BIBLE TEXT: 8 “Yet[y] until now[z] she has refused to acknowledge[aa] that I[ab] was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil; and that it was I who[ac] lavished on her the silver and gold — that they[ad] used in worshiping Baal![ae]

OBSERVATION: Through many miracles, God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, fed them and provided for them during their journey, and had a new country prepared for them to live – filled with milk and honey. One would imagine that everyday was a day of Thanksgiving for the Israelites, but the biblical account is quite different. In our Scripture today God lashed out at the lack of appreciation, and in the verses that follow this, God threatened all that He would withdraw from the Israelites. Meditating with me today may help us to better prepare for Thanksgiving Day this year, for I fear that we are very similar to our ancestors.

APPLICATION: I believe parents will agree that in the very early stages of child rearing, we tend to teach the idea of our kids saying thank you to anyone who gives them something. We have very special days of the year set aside to celebrate gifts given to us: 1). Christmas – gifts under the tree, and Christians also choose to give specials thanks to God for sending His one and only Son, born in deepest humility; 2). Easter – a special opportunity to thank God for raising His Son from the dead so that we may always know that we serve a risen and Savior who is alive! 3). Thanksgiving – although set aside as a time to celebrate our founding fathers who stopped and gave thanks for the new world and for God who directed their path and kept them safe, yet this has become a natural time of thanksgiving by Christians who recognize that it is only because of Jesus that we could celebrate our freedom to worship, live in prosperity and peace here on earth, and worship without government interference each Sunday. Unfortunately this has also become known as ‘Turkey Day’ because of the number of turkeys eaten by families on this day, but I pray that we will never forget to give thanks on Thanksgiving Day! So might we be drifting into being anything like the Israelites? Might God feel in the slightest that we are ungrateful, or that we worship other gods before Him? I believe that these are questions that each reader should strive to answer personally on the days above. What do you do on those days? How often each day do you strive to lift up holy hands and thank God for all that He has done, and is doing in your life? In Hosea 2:9 and following, God said that He would withdraw the things that He gave; He would put an end to the vain celebrations and that He would bring His people to their knees. Might He also do the same to us? Could God already be talking to us? I would suggest that you ponder the following events and see if you think God might be talking to us already in very bold ways: The 9-11 bombing; COVID-19; The increase of earthquakes (some in very strange and unbelievable places); The increase in hurricanes this year, etc, etc. There was a dad who once told his disobedient son ‘I brought you into the world, and I could easily take you out’! I’ve always heard people kid around about that, but don’t you know that statement applies to the God of this universe better than any man? We see story after story in the Old Testament where thousands of inhabitants were taken out by God, for various sins committed. We must be reminded that this is the same God that we serve today, so there is no question about whether He could follow through with what He says He will do. Friends, look up, for your redemption draweth nigh. Give thanks with a grateful heart this Thanksgiving Day!

PRAYER: With a heart of thanksgiving I come to You Lord Jesus and acknowledge all that You have blessed me with. Lord You are good and Your mercies are from everlasting to everlasting. Please forgive my readers and I for our bad manners – our ungrateful and unappreciative hearts, for way too often we take for granted how good You have been, and are, to us. Lord, if we will ever influence our circle of friends and family for the kingdom, we must learn to be a people who recognize You, Your awesome gifts to us, and Your promise of life eternally in heaven with You and the Father. May we be found faithful dear Lord. 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!

Savor The Goodness of God

On By Ed AlgreenIn God's Goodness, ThankfulLeave a comment

Thursday, 2019-01-31

Bible Reference: Psalm 73:1-5
Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Bible Text:  No doubt about it! God is good – good to good people, good to the good-hearted. But I nearly missed it, missed seeing his goodness. I was looking the other way, looking up to the people at the top, envying the wicked who have it made, Who have nothing to worry about, not a care in the whole wide world.

OBSERVATION: I’m sure it happens all too often, that we fall into the trap of David, where we are so caught up in coveting what the neighbor, or coworker, or friend, or employer has, that we totally miss the simple, but profound blessings that God showers on each of us every day. Shouldn’t God look at us with disappointment over the fact that we easily overlooked our customized blessings, that He specifically designed for, and deliberately delivered to us?

APPLICATION:  I find life so interesting sometimes, for those who have – wish they had more, and they may even say that THEN they would be happier. For those who don’t have, they may look at those who seem to have material things as ones who are ‘blessed of God’. We have to be careful that we don’t get hung up on this friends, because when we do, we may very easily overlook what God has truly blessed us with. The Psalmist was caught in this trap, for he was looking at the blessings of others and feeling sorry for himself, like he was not blessed at all, just because he didn’t have what they had. It is truly amazing how spoiled we have become! If it rains, we have fewer people in church. Can you think about how blessed we are to have an automobile that can take us to church – dry from the outdoor weather! Can you imagine what our ancestors did who either walked or rode a horse to church, if they were blessed enough to have a horse? Think about us cancelling a church service because the air-conditioning may not be working! Would anyone show up if we planned a tent meeting? Friends, we must never place ourselves in the shoes of another man or woman, for we are rich in God’s blessings just as we are. Unless we center our thoughts on God, and recognize Him as the author of all things around us, we could very easily walk around in this world feeling deprived of God’s goodness – His blessings. Consider the air that you breathed in this morning, the ability to stand up and walk, the ability to see what you are doing, the love of family and friends that surround you, the comfort of your home – even if it is not as palatial as the mansion bragged about by a friend at work. Friends, without any worldly belongings, still we are blessed of God. Can we learn to praise Him for His awesome goodness to us, no matter what state we may find ourselves in? Let’s not overlook the goodness of God to us individually – in spite of what we see going on around us. Let’s remember that God’s customized blessings for us, would not fit the neighbor, and vice versa. So let’s learn to praise God even in our challenging times, for He is preparing us for eternity with He and His Father! If you have accepted Jesus as Lord of your life, then because He is King of all kings and Lord of all lords, that makes you an heir to His throne – you are a prince or princess – royalty! It just don’t get any better than that, and it all happens without even qualifying for a bank account!! Trust in the Lord friend, with all your heart, soul and mind, and prepare yourselves for the royal treatment! Read my ‘Footnote’ below if you have yet to surrender your life to Jesus. He is waiting and longing to hear from you!

Prayer: Lord, You are good and Your mercy endureth forever! How can we say thanks in enough ways to show our appreciation and gratitude to You for all that You do everyday for us? Please forgive those that You have created, those that You have blessed, those that You watch over and provide for everyday, for the times that we whine and complain because it may appear to us that a Brother or a Sister may show evidence of being blessed more than us. Wow, what an ungrateful bunch we are oh God. Please be patient with us while we come to our senses and recognize all of Your goodness towards us. May we seek and find reasons to praise You everyday for Your goodness oh Lord. May we truly recognize the Potter and how good You are to those You have molded in Your image. With a grateful heart, I give You thanks dear God. May You be praised today by a multitude of thankful people who recognize your goodness, 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

Our Response To Miracles

On By Ed AlgreenIn Give thanks, Miracles, Power of Prayer, Prayer, Thank You Jesus, Thankful, Thankfulness, ThanksgivingLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE  FROM:   Psalm 79:13 (MSG)

TEXT:   Then we, your people, the ones you love and care for, will thank you over and over and over.
We’ll tell everyone we meet how wonderful you are, how praiseworthy you are!

OBSERVATION:   In this Psalm by Asaph, he and his people had pleaded with God for several things that they felt very strongly about. These things were mostly in regards to abuse of the temple, so they felt really bad about the disrespect being shown towards God and His holy temple. However, after going through all this, and in confidence of God’s mighty hand, they immediately started praising the Lord! I wonder, does the church of God (that’s you and I) here on earth remember to return thanks?

APPLICATION:   At one time I was a part of Wednesday Night Prayer meetings, where the very first thing that we did was to celebrate things for which we should praise God. It was interesting in that we could verbalize the items fairly good, however when it came time to praise God for them in prayer, it became very challenging to just praise God, celebrate and rejoice in our gifts without slipping in our petitions. Mind you, there was always time later to take our petitions before the Lord! It was very challenging to JUST praise the Lord and give thanks. You know, in corporate prayer, some of our challenge today might be because we rush into our prayers, say very quickly what we feel others want to hear, then we finish so that others might have time. This verse that we are meditating on today seems like it may be showing us that we should savor our time with the Lord. Can you imagine sitting around in a circle, knowing that God is in our midst, and start with the words of this verse before naming a few of the things that each of us are thankful for? Imagine if we could do that without watching our clocks and feeling the need to rush through our time with the Lord. Wow, I could see us turning that time together into a great time of praise and thanksgiving, in the very presence of our Lord and Savior. Furthermore, I believe that by the time we have finished praising God for His gifts and blessings to us, our needs that we felt so burdened with when we first came into that Prayer Meeting would be minimized and not worth mentioning anymore. Friends, those of us that have an awesome relationship with our Savior already take advantage of these times with Jesus. Attending corporate prayer meetings allow us to share that celebration with others who may be slipping in their relationship with their Lord. Together, we could help each other draw closer to God. Are you attending your church prayer meetings? Others need you, and you may need strength from the experiences of others. Check out the designated time for your church Prayer Meetings, and be there!

PRAYER:   Lord Jesus, for those who have accepted You as Lord, we thank You for accepting us as Your precious children, and Your blessings in so many ways. How could I but praise you, my Savior and my Lord? Thank You for reminding us of this area of our lives that we are probably the weakest in. Please help us to always remember the source of our help and to always be in a state of Thanksgiving. Lord, we love You and we praise You for being so good to us! 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!

 

What Pleases God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Give thanks, Praise, Thankful, Thankfulness, ThanksgivingLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Monday, 2017-11-06
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Psalm 69:30-31 (GNT)

Text:

 30 I will praise God with a song;
I will proclaim his greatness by giving him thanks.
31 This will please the Lord more than….
OBSERVATION:
Just like everyone else in his day, and in ours, David was having himself a little pity party about the way that he was being treated by everyone. The sad thing about feeling this way is that we tend to also feel like God feels the same way, and that He is causing some of the ill effects to come on us. Fortunately David came to his senses and chose to praise God, in spite of everything that was going on at the time. This is a great lesson for us, so let’s expand on this….
APPLICATION:
When something goes wrong, or does not agree with what we would prefer, we quickly fall into a little pity party of our own and start feeling like everyone is against us. In fact, it seems like the whole world is on a different team than we are. Friends, as Christians, we should be quick to turn to God and seek His encouragement and His help to overcome how we are feeling. Because, let’s never forget that the same God who sent His precious Son to die on a cross for our sins, will not automatically turn His face the moment we make a mistake, or sin against Him. Through His Holy Spirit that dwells inside of us, we should quickly remember that God is on our side, and that He would never harm us. So when things are not going our way, we need to immediately seek God’s face and determine what it is that He is trying to teach us, or grow us through. When you recognize that God is working for you, and not against you, and that He is training you for bigger and better things, let’s do like David did – let’s praise God with a song – I know, many will read this and complain about the singing ability God has given you, but notice that David didn’t cut an album, he merely used the talent that God gave him, to sing praises back to Him. Will God complain about the voice that He has given to you? Never – for His gifts are perfect! David also burst into a time of thanksgiving! Friends, don’t dare think that you have to wait for Thanksgiving Day to praise God and give Him thanks! I believe that we were made to worship God, and I believe that God gave a lot of talent to our parents to teach us how to say ‘Thank You’ when we are given something. Every day God gives us life itself and the beauty of all His precious gifts every way we turn. We should constantly be filled with thanksgiving to the awesome, generous God that we serve. Remember your manners, as my mom taught us every time we left her side, so let’s not stop now!
PRAYER:
Lord, You are merciful and good to us, even when we are complaining that things are not going our way. Correction and discipline is always challenging for us to accept as love, or praise worthy, but ever so often we can reflect back and see Your perfect plan being formed even in those times. Surely there is no doubt that we serve an awesome and loving God. Please help us to take our sights away from self and to seek the purpose in Your perfect plan for us, so that we can follow in obedience without hesitation or regret. You are so worthy of our praise precious Lord, please help us to do that even in the storms of life. 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!

And Why Are You Complaining Again?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Prayer, Thank You Jesus, ThankfulLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Wednesday, 2017-03-15
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Exodus 16:8 (NCV)

Text:

 8 And Moses said, “Each evening the Lord will give you meat to eat, and every morning he will give you all the bread you want, because he has heard you grumble against him. You are not grumbling against Aaron and me, because we are nothing; you are grumbling against the Lord.”
OBSERVATION:
God had brought the Israelites through so much, and He had revealed Himself through miracle and after miracle to them. Yet at every opportunity, they turned their faces on God and complained about their plight. In this particular case it was about food. For those that never complain, I know it will be challenging to try and apply this lesson today, but let’s have a look!!
APPLICATION:
It is unfortunate, but I believe that believers are probably just as bad as non-believers when it comes to complaining and finding fault. Perhaps it’s about the pastor, because he didn’t visit us when we were sick; or he spoke on Hell instead of Heaven; or I just don’t get anything from his sermons; or I just can’t get over how everyone complains about him…. Although I know it would be challenging to admit that you participated in this type of complaining, I’m sure that you’ve heard this and a whole lot more – perhaps about the choir, praise team, elders, deacons, maintenance, janitors, etc. Ever stopped to think about the words of Moses in these verses? You see, the faithful are sincerely praying for the pastor – that he may receive a revelation from God on what his flock needs and how God might choose to meet those needs. May I encourage you to really let the words of Moses penetrate your heart and your soul, and not be guilty of complaining against what God is doing through His servants who stand in front of you each week preaching, teaching or serving in any way? May I suggest that you join those who are praying for more blessings for the same ones that you’ve been complaining about? I believe that like me, you want to hear from God at every opportunity possible, and since He has chosen to speak through His servants to us, then we must earnestly be in prayer for those who serve us, that they can step away from the world and become so entrenched in the presence of God, that they will come before us as vessels filled with a word from God, that will be applicable to us and cause us to grow in our faith and relationship with God. Something I heard a long time ago, that is still applicable today: ‘You will give out of something, as much as you have put into it’. Think about that! If you pray for your pastor and staff, perhaps you will be come away from services and teaching classes filled with the awesome power of God that you prayed down on them. May I suggest that anytime you come away from a service feeling empty and unfulfilled, ask God to reveal where you went wrong in your praying for that service? Like Moses, our pastors are nothing more than us – human beings, however the God that we pray they will be filled with, He is everything!
PRAYER:
Father, please forgive us for whining and complaining so much, when in fact we have so much to be extremely thankful for and blessed through and through about. We really should be spending our time lifting up holy hands and singing praises to You at every opportunity. Lord may we endeavor to praise and thank You more than we have ever done before. May we learn to pray for the very folk that we tend to complain about and find fault with. Lord, be glorified in our lives today, is my humble prayer, 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!