Category: Thankfulness

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!

You Are The Messiah!

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

DATE POSTED Sunday, 2021-09-18
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Luke 17:12-16
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT:  12 …. ten men approached him, but they kept their distance, for they were lepers. 13 They shouted to him, “Mighty Lord, our wonderful Master! Won’t you have mercy on us and heal us?”
14 When Jesus stopped to look at them, he spoke these words: “Go to be examined by the Jewish priests.”
They set off, and they were healed while walking along the way. 15 One of them, a Samaritan, when he discovered that he was completely healed, turned back to find Jesus, shouting out joyous praises and glorifying God. 16 When he found Jesus, he fell down at his feet and thanked him over and over, saying to him, “You are the Messiah.”

APPLICATION: Often after we have exhausted every manmade remedy to heal our diseases, or empower our weaknesses, we will call on the pastor of our church, or perhaps an Elder or Deacon, as we suddenly become convinced that if all else fails, surely Jesus can heal us, or at least ease the pain we are encountering. Notice in the story that these men were not all Jews, so because of their disease and their nationality, they were probably outcasts. I believe that this was evident to the crowd that accompanied Jesus, but I know for certain that Jesus knew exactly who they were. With such a disease as leproacy, they definitely practiced social distancing, because the story tells us that they stood at a distance! Interesting that the lepers had faith to believe that Jesus didn’t have to touch them in order to heal them! Also interesting that the lepers obeyed the command of Jesus to go and show themselves to the local priests, even though they saw no outward sign of their healing. How many of us would start packing up our clothes in preparation for leaving the hospital, if we heard such a command from Jesus? Friends, the faith of these men became evident when they heard that Jesus was coming to town, and that He could probably heal them. It continued and became more evident when they made their first step towards moving near the path that Jesus would travel. They put their lives on the line by shouting above the noise of the crowd watching Jesus come through their town. They demonstrated their faith by asking Jesus to heal them at a distance, and then following His command to go to the priest. But the highlight of their faith was when they turned to go, even though they saw no evidence of their sickly skin being healed – yet. It is evident that at least one of the men was a person of good upbringing, because immediately upon seeing that his skin was healed, he aborted their mission and returned to say thanks, again. In fact, he suddenly realized that this was no ordinary man who healed him, but instead it was the Messiah whose presence they had encountered, and He thought enough of even Samaritans to heal their dreaded diseases. Friends, I believe that God is telling us through His Word that He is still God, and that He is Lord over all the earth – regardless of our religious persuasion, nationality, skin color, or anything else. If we have faith to call on His Son, Jesus, He will bring salvation to our soul. If we have faith to call on Jesus for healing, He still has the power to heal us from our diseases, yes even those for which mankind is still exploring resolution. I wish that as we meet for worship services this week, you will be asked to celebrate all that God has done for you this week. Yes, the worship music is always exciting and we each have perfect worship teams that share the music with us, but it’s the God who healed us, the God who is all-powerful, the God who created us – He’s the one that we want to recognize and worship from the depths of our heart. Please be reminded that Jesus is still Messiah, and He is anxiously awaiting our return to thank Him and worship Him for who He is and all that He has done for us.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Praise God for sending His Son, the Messiah, so that we might have new life – salvation in and thru Him, and that we may call on Him for all of life’s concerns!

PRAYER: Thank You Lord for healing the 10 lepers, in spite of their nationality, but merely because of their faith and the condition of their heart. I have no reason to believe You have changed, so I also have faith to believe that You are still our great Healer. Please Lord, help us not to wait for the music to start at church, or depend on the tempo of the music to stir our hearts into worship to our awesome God, but to freely celebrate the awesome and miraculous work of our God among even us. Thank You Lord for being our awesome Messiah! 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!

Thanks For Watching Over Us

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Give thanks, Needs, Praise, Protection, Protector, Recognize God, Thank You Jesus, Thankfulness, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Thursday, 2021-07-08
WRITTEN AT: Williams, AZ

SCRIPTURE FROM: Numbers 31:48-50
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: 48 The army commanders went to Moses 49 and said, “Sir, we have counted our troops, and not one soldier is missing. 50 So we want to give the Lord all the gold jewelry we took from the Midianites. It’s our gift to him for watching over us and our troops.”

APPLICATION: In this very old story, God is bringing His people, a group who was generally ungrateful for all that God did for them, from a land of slavery and ill-treatment to a land of ‘Milk and Honey’ – the Promised Land. We read about all the ways that they turned their backs on God, and how they failed to recognize His awesome provisions and His love towards them. Yet on this particular occasion the Israelites were used of God to eliminate the Midianites from a land they were to assume ownership. It seems like for the commanders of each part of the Israelite army that went to battle, their eyes were opened to the glory of God and His protective hand over their people. They showed their appreciation by giving back to God one hundred percent more than than they were asked to give, as their way of saying ‘thank you’ for watching over them. Friends, this opened my eyes as I meditated on this. We thank God for our food and our health, but most often it seems like we just follow an habitual routine, or a tradition, of thanking Him for these very obvious things. Think about this: What if you or I won a large sum of money, or inherited a large estate. Knowing how comfortable we are already, and how we are meeting all of our bills already, what would we do differently if we were gifted this large estate? I know: you would tithe to your church; you might pay off any mortgages outstanding so that you would end up debt free for once in your life; you might use a chunk of the money to take care of your parents for the rest of their lives; and you may even create an endowment fund so that the orphanage supported by your church will be funded properly. But what if you felt a tug on your heart to give to God’s church for the ongoing ministry in your community? Isn’t it strange how we then become experts on how the church misappropriates it’s money; how the leaders favor one family over another to help when in need; how their budget is a joke; etc, etc? Please dear believer in Christ, notice that there is nothing said about how the Israelites may have felt about misuse of power or provisions by Moses and his leaders. They realized that God Almighty was their guide into the battle; their strength during the battle; their protector that brought them safely out of the battle; and their everlasting hope in every circumstance of life. Notice that the commanders didn’t say that their gifts were for Moses, but they were for God. Notice that they didn’t insist on how their gifts must be used, they just wanted to give unto God for all that He had given to them and protected them from. In God’s Word, He demands that we give to the Lord God. We are given direction on how much to give, based on what is taught in the Word. I believe that God is holding our church leaders accountable for the jobs they are given in leading us, and they are all answerable to God. Let’s learn to do our part, and allow our church leaders to do theirs. God watches over each of us in His own special way, and we each are accountable to God for what He has entrusted to us. God being our helper, may we all thank Him, and give to His work, as we feel in our heart that He commands us to do.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: In a battle where all the men of the opposing army was killed, the Israelites realized that not one of their men was lost. They gave, thanked God, and worshipped Him, for protecting them. So should we when we see our God watching over us like He does each day!

PRAYER: Thank You dear Lord for protecting our ancestors and taking such good care of them. You do the same for us each and every day! So Lord, we just want to say ‘Thank You’ from the bottom of our heart. You are so good to us! Please forgive us when we whine and complain, for Your love is always with us, even when life don’t seem to be going our way. May our lives be an example to those searching for You, or just simply don’t believe in You. May they see Jesus in action through the normal course of our lives, and may they realize that You are alive and well, ready to listen to their cry for forgiveness of their sin. 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!

God Cares About, and For You

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

DATE WRITTEN: Sunday, 2020-12-06
WRITTEN AT: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

BIBLE REFERENCE: Psalm 144:1-3
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: 1 I praise you, Lord! You are my mighty rock,[a] and you teach me how to fight my battles. 2 You are my friend, and you are my fortress where I am safe. You are my shield, and you made me the ruler of our people.[b] 3 Why do we humans mean anything to you, our Lord? Why do you care about us?

OBSERVATION: Many will identify with the idea of marrying someone because you noticed that they cared about you. David’s heart was filled to overflowing because of the love and care of the God that He placed his faith and trust in. What do you do when you’ve witnessed God’s protective, caring and loving hand upon you? I’m afraid that way too often we do a great job in asking God for help, but not necessarily acknowledge His goodness in responding to our prayers. Stay with me as we look into this Scripture today!

APPLICATION: David was just a young man, sent out to the battle field to deliver food for his older brothers who were a part of the local military. Upon arrival at the battlefield he became confused, as the Israelites stood back while a Philistine giant stood forefront with a challenge for any one brave enough to fight with him personally. Everyone else felt like pions compared to this extremely large man, so they merely stood back in fear. Although nowhere as tall or big as a giant, yet David had dealt with impossibilities of his own while defending his sheep from attack, and he often felt like the lions and other large beasts were ‘giants’ to him. So with God’s prodding David, just a young man, volunteered to fight the giant Philistine. The words of these verses are taken from the song that David sent up to God as he prepared for battle. I don’t believe that David fell short in recognizing any of the attributes proven to him by Almighty God, just look at the worshipful words of recognition offered up by David: Mighty Rock; Teacher; Military Leader; Friend; Fortress; Shield; and other versions add: Deliverer; and Caretaker who offers unconditional love and care for him. It is easy to see that David searched his heart for more and more descriptions of this awesome God who was in charge of his life. In fact, so much so, that David wondered before God, why then would you care so much for mankind who seems to have negligible amounts of these attributes? But my dear friends, I believe wholeheartedly that David couldn’t begin to imagine the love that God has for His children – His creation. Imagine for just a moment, mankind arrested Jesus, God’s only Son, beat Him, spit upon Him, falsely accused and convicted Him and crucified Him. Yet God permitted this, because this was fulfillment of His perfect will, and it was out of pure love for His creation – His children – you and I. How then can we praise and thank and worship Him? Can you find the words to describe your appreciation? Remember, He is our Creator, our Sustainer, our Provider, our Protector, our Guide, our Giver of Eternal Life, our Eternal and awesome God, just to name a few to help you get started! Praise our living God forever and for ever, AMEN!

PRAYER: Lord, we are ever so grateful for Your love and Your protection over us, expressed in so many wonderful and miraculous ways. Thank You, dear Jesus. Please forgive us for the times that we experience answers to our prayers, yet we neglect to return thanks to You. We would never think of being ungrateful, so we humbly ask that You might prod us in our forgetfulness and neglect. Thank you for the example that David showed so vividly to us in today’s Scripture. May we learn to seek Your face more, instead of always seeking what we might receive from Your hand. And Lord, I pray that as we are blessed, thru grateful hearts we will pass along those blessings to touch the heart of those who may not already know You. 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!

Appreciate The Good Things of God

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

Saturday, 2019-06-01

Bible Reference: Numbers 14:21-23
Translation: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

Bible Text: 21 But I tell you the truth. As surely as I live and as surely as the Glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, I make you this promise: 22 None of the people I led out of Egypt will ever see the land of Canaan. They saw my glory and the great signs that I did in Egypt and in the desert. But they disobeyed me and tested me ten times. 23 I promised their ancestors that I would give them that land. But none of those people who turned against me will ever enter that land!

OBSERVATION: It is so easy to read about the ungratefulness of others, especially in response to miraculous works by a leader that constantly shows their appreciation, love and direction to them. That’s the story of the Israelites as they traveled through the Wilderness under the watchful eye and protective hand of the Master. But what have we really learned from that story? Are we in constant awe and full of appreciation for what God does for us? Let’s stop to ponder that for a few minutes today.

APPLICATION: It is so easy to read about the rescue of the Israelites from slavery at the hands of the Egyptians, and to see the miraculous works of God as He led them through years and years of travel through the wilderness. There He saved them from slaughter by approaching armys; provided food for over 1,000,000 people; gave direction and protection to them as they traveled, and held a token out in front of them by their ultimate destination being a land of milk and honey. Isn’t it extremely upsetting to think of them grumbling in the midst of all the awesome things that surrounds this story? Isn’t it good to know that we are so much better at that than they were? BUT wait, are we?? I tried to place a positive spin on the title of today’s devotion, instead of what I was really feeling like God might say to us at times – ‘Just quit the griping and complaining’!! Just in case you are blinded to really see how little we have changed, let me suggest that not a whole lot has changed. Friends, using the backdrop of the awful complaining by the Israelites in response to all the good that God was doing for them, I want us to turn our eyes to our own lives and our challenges that we deal with each day. From the time that we awaken each day, from our comfortable beds in super cool air-conditioning, we may start by complaining that it’s so warm outside, and furthermore I have to get off to work. Let’s stop right there for a moment and remind ourselves that many have no choice but to endure that warm/hot air 24 hours per day; Some are currently out of their homes because of flooding, tornadoes or simply due to financial problems, and many of these may not be able to return to their homes. So do we have something to be thankful for? Then of course our complaining continues into the choice of food we have for breakfast, or the broken down vehicle that we drive to work, or the time of day that we have to report to work. While many others could only wish that they had each of the above. Friends, may I suggest to you that we should learn from the Israelites to appreciate all that God provides for us each and every day. Yes, our greed and our selfish desires always tend to want something different and superior to what we have, but as we look into the eyes of our Master, what can we truly say? Thank You, thank you, thank You Lord for Your mercy and Your kindness to Your humble servant. Who am I to deserve such grace, and such love from such an awesome God? Please forgive us for our ungratefulness Lord. Please help us to always look at all You endured so that we might have eternal life, and a home in glory with You. Your love for us, and Your daily gifts to us are beyond anything we could measure, so may we always find room in our hearts to praise You and rejoice in all Your tender mercies, for You alone are God!

PRAYER: Precious Lord, You are so good! We are such a needy people and we cannot do this thing called ‘life’ here on this earth without You. There are so many things that we take for granted, but that we know you have provided for our good. Thank You Lord for Your mercies on us. Mercies that will endure day after day! We really have no room to complain, for Your goodness deserves our praise and our daily echo of thanksgiving. We worship You oh Lord, and we long to see You face-to-face in heaven one day. Until that time, please give us grateful hearts that will express your praise at every opportunity. 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!

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!

A Faith That Heals and Saves

On By Ed AlgreenIn Evidence of Faith, Faith, Faith in Action, Genuine Faith, Healing, ThankfulnessLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Monday, 2017-08-21
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Luke 17:14-19 (MSG)

Text:

  14-16 Taking a good look at them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan.

17-19 Jesus said, “Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?” Then he said to him, “Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.”
OBSERVATION:
This is known as the story of the Ten Lepers. Leprosy is a dreaded decease where those afflicted were placed outside the city gates in order not to infect others. However these 10 lepers had heard about Jesus, and had some hope that He would heal them, if only they could get close enough to let Jesus know their heart’s cry. This happened as they had hoped and wished for, but the healing demanded a lot of faith from the lepers. Let’s examine this closer and see what God might say to us through His Word….
APPLICATION:
For every person that passed within eye-shod  of these lepers, I’m sure that 99.99% of them turned their heads and went on their way to avoid any type of contact with this dreaded decease. However, just as He does when He looks at the sinner today, Jesus looked beyond the physical needs of these lepers and saw the cry of their hearts; their desperate need; and their sincere need of salvation and healing. For the lepers, I could only imagine that the words of an old gospel hymn may have been written based on their mindset: ‘Where could I go but to the Lord’. I want us to look very carefully at the way this healing was performed. Without anything changing in their lives, the lepers were told by Jesus to go and show themselves to the priests. To humanly look at their skin, nothing had changed, yet they obeyed Jesus by going to the priests, as demanded. How many of you would be prepared to do that? Imagine that in one of your church services, one comes forward for prayer with obvious signs of an incurable skin decease, and I have researched and found that in spite of today’s excellent research and medical advancements, there are still incurable skin deceases. So after much prayer by your pastor, elders and leaders of your church, the pastor jumps up and demands that the afflicted ones leave at once and confirm with their doctors that they have been completely healed. As the afflicted look at their skin and notice that nothing has changed, what do you suppose they will do? As the congregation looks on, do you suppose they will stop praying and start celebrating? The Bible says that nothing occurred until the lepers started their journey towards the priests to whom they were sent, but the important lesson is that they acted on their faith in the healing process. If they had not, they would have gone back to their caves and brushed aside all they had heard about Jesus as a farce. Friends, if we believe on the One who died for our sin, then we must be willing to act on our faith. When we do, we will earnestly pray for those in need of healing, and when we ourselves are pressed with hardship and affliction, we will quickly follow the Master’s commands, in faith, knowing that only Jesus can heal, and only He can love the vilest sinner as His very own righteous son/daughter. Do you know this Jesus of whom I have spoken in this blog, friend? If you don’t, or are unsure, please click on the link in my Footnote entitled ‘To Know Jesus’, otherwise follow the other tips noted in my Footnote. Jesus loves you friend, and He want’s You to place your trust in Him. Whether you have never accepted Jesus as Lord, or if you are facing leprosy, cancer or some other decease, Jesus loves you and would like to see you surrender your life and your circumstances to Him. May I encourage you to seek the face of Jesus today for whatever you may be facing? 
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, thank You for loving us in spite of who we are and all that we may have done in our lifetime. You cared about the lepers who cried out to You, and I am convinced that You care for each of Your children who call on You today. Thank You for loving us unconditionally. Please guide us to a love like that, so that we may not only love You in the same way, but also our fellow man. Your willingness to heal men who were rejected by society, is yet one more reminder that You also love each of us today, and would be willing to heal us if we call on You. Oh that we will show our appreciation by allowing You control of our lives. 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!