Reflections For Praise

On 2018-05-052018-05-05 By Ed AlgreenIn Appreciation, Praise, ThanksgivingLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE FROM: Psalm 104:7-12 (TLB)

TEXT: ^7-8You 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. ⁹And then you set a boundary for the seas so that they would never again cover the earth. ¹⁰He placed springs in the valleys and streams that gush from the mountains. ¹¹They give water for all the animals to drink. There the wild donkeys quench their thirst, ¹²and the birds nest beside the streams and sing among the branches of the trees.

OBSERVATION: The Psalmist saw beyond answered prayer in his own life, or blessings showered on him personally, to also recognizing that the same God who does all of that, is also the God who created everything around us with such purpose and creativeness in mind. Our God is indeed an Awesome God and Creator!

APPLICATION: I sometimes wonder if we truly ever slow down enough to reflect on the ways that God blesses each and every day. For I believe that if we did, there would not be enough hours in the day for us to thank our Creator for doing all of this just for us. You think about your typical day and I will share a few things that I can think of right from the start of my typical day:

I am able to rise from my warm bed each day – so I can praise God that I didn’t have to 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 will sacrifice her morning sleep-in to get up and prepare lunch for me. Yes there was food to prepare.
I have a job to go to, and had no reason to wait on long lines at the unemployment agency;
I am blessed to have a car to drive to work in, and not have to wait for a bus service or wait by the roadside for a ride with a friend; Thankful for the wisdom God gave to His children to make automobiles and especially hybrid powered cars;

Friends, can you see how much we overlook praising God for before we even begin our trek to work? I could easily have gone on to speak about the wild life, animals and trees that I enjoy seeing as I travel, and multiple other things that we would ordinarily pass by every day without thinking of praising God for His blessings on us. Remember, 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! 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!

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 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!

Overwhelmed by God!

On 2018-02-032018-02-03 By Ed AlgreenIn Heaven, Praise, Praise-worthy, Thanksgiving, WorshipLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE FROM: 1 Chronicles 17:16-18 (CEV)

TEXT: ¹⁶David went into the tent he had set up for the sacred chest. He sat there and prayed: Lord God, my family and I don’t deserve what you have already done for us, ¹⁷and yet you have promised to do even more for my descendants. You are treating me as if I am a very important person. ¹⁸I am your servant, and you know my thoughts. What else can I say, except that you have honored me?

OBSERVATION: In response to David’s idea of building a house for the Ark of God to permanently reside in, God shared with him some of the things that He had in store for David and his family in the future, and part of that plan included one of David’s sons building a temple. Hearing what God had in store for his family, combined with all that God had already done for, and through David, just took him ‘over the top’ in being reminded once again how awesome his God truly was. This forced David into the presence of God, where He shared the excitement of his heart and the thanksgiving of a grateful, but undeserving man.

APPLICATION: I once attended a prayer meeting, where the first thing the pastor asked us to do was to pray offering up praise and thanksgiving to God. It was amazing how quickly our prayers turned into asking, complaining, or griping about health issues. It was much harder than I would ever have imagined to just humble ourselves before an overwhelmingly awesome God, recognize His blessings on us and thank Him for those blessings. Some of this may have resulted from the habits learned and practiced, where we bring our petitions before God. But I truly feel like for every answer to prayer, we should return to the Father and give Him praise and thanksgiving. The other thing that I have learned from corporate prayer times, is that, when we seek God’s face, recognize Him for who He is and thank Him for all that He has provided for us, then we realize that we have no where near as much to ask Him for. Think about yourself with a broken finger. If you concentrate on the nine healthy fingers in your time of thanksgiving, and the importance of each one to your daily needs, plus you remember the young man that you saw in the grocery store that had lost his hand, I wonder how much you will labor in prayer when it comes time to pray for that one broken finger you have? Friends, we have much to praise God for, and we could very easily become overwhelmed in our praises as we recognize our many blessings before the God who showered them upon us. Just learn to praise Him, instead of building a wish list to present every time you bend the knee in prayer. We serve an awesome God, and there’s no need to act like beggars every time we speak to Him. Try instead to concentrate on these keywords: praise; thanksgiving; worship; recognition; blessings; rejoice; miracles; healing; omnipotent Father; Holiness; protection; unconditional love; etc.

PRAYER: Precious Lord, You are so awesome in all that You have done for us, all that You have prepared for us; and all that You proactively do for us each day. How can we but praise You loving, and all-sufficient Lord! You often make a way for us, when the path seems so impossible, based on our abilities, means and insight. Thank You Jesus, thank You Holy Spirit and thank You Father God. From the very beginning of time, You were. Today You opened my eyes, blessed me with strength to stand up and realize how blessed I am to have a roof over my head and a comfortable bed to lie in. This tells me that You are still God and still blessing, even me. In accepting Jesus as my Savior, I am assured of a glorious place, called heaven, where I will live forever and ever at the feet of my Savior and our Father, God, singing praises for all eternity. This reminds me that You are also God of an eternal future, praise the loving name of Jesus! You deserve our praise oh God, and I lift up Your name on high today – praise the wonderful God that I love and adore! Bless my readers with honor and praise for their God today. AMEN!

Our Response To Miracles

On 2018-01-122018-01-12 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!

What Pleases God

On 2017-11-062017-11-06 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!

Where The Power Comes From!

On 2017-03-16 By Ed AlgreenIn All-powerful, God's Power, Healing, Power of God, Power of Prayer, Thanksgiving, The power of GodLeave a comment

Post Date:	Thursday, 2017-03-16
SCRIPTURE
From:	Exodus 17:9-13 (NCV)
Text:	⁹So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men and go and fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill, holding the walking stick of God in my hands.”¹⁰Joshua obeyed Moses and went to fight the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. ¹¹As long as Moses held his hands up, the Israelites would win the fight, but when Moses put his hands down, the Amalekites would win. ¹²Later, when Moses’ arms became tired, the men put a large rock under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands—Aaron on one side and Hur on the other. They kept his hands steady until the sun went down. ¹³So Joshua defeated the Amalekites in this battle.
OBSERVATION:
Moses had been given the ‘Staff of God’ while dealing with the Egyptian king and he saw God perform miracle after miracle to change a stubborn man’s heart. He had also used the staff on many occasions in the wilderness to do such miracles as parting the Red Sea, bringing forth water from a rock, etc. Then, of course, we are told in this passage how Moses also used the Staff to deliver Joshua and his men who protected the Israelites from the onslaught of the Amalekites. The source of the power to win this battle is evident!
APPLICATION:
I find it so interesting that we seek God in earnest prayer when we are sick or when something serious is going on in our life. However, when God answers our prayers and delivers us from, what seemed to be a very critical situation, we resort to giving praises to the handiwork of the doctors; the great care by the nurses; the love and concern of our family; etc, but often we move on with life instead of recognizing that it was the power of the Almighty, merciful Father that brought us through. In reading this biblical story today, it is very evident where the power came from for Joshua and his men to ‘overwhelm the Amalekites’, as one translation puts it, for as long as Moses held up the ‘Staff of God’, Joshua and his army would win, but when he became tired and the Staff of God dropped, Joshua and his men would suffer under the Amalekites. Could it be that it is the ‘power of God’ that: heals the sick and afflicted today; or comforts the broken hearted; or saves the unlikely neighbor or enemy of yours when you pray? Friends, I believe that when we recognize God in response to our prayers, we must not ‘beat around the bush’ about any worldly influence in that situation, instead we must use that as a praiseworthy situation to which God deserves our praise and thanksgiving. Those are especially times of witnessing for the awesome work of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the sweet Holy Spirit that prompts us to pray for power from on high. There just isn’t any other name or no other power like that of Jesus. As you acknowledge the power of our God, the unsaved will stop and begin to understand through real life situations how truly awesome our God is. May I suggest that you continue to pray with all your heart, soul and mind, but never forget to follow through in praise and honor to the God who can do all things, especially miracles where there is no other explanation for the outcome. Lift up the banner of God friend, so that the world might know and believe in the one true God and His precious Son, Jesus our Lord!
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, we are often so ungrateful for all that You do in answering our prayer (lifting our ‘Staff of God’ before You), yet we are so quick to follow the crowd in giving others praise for accomplishing the very work that we prayer to You for. Shameful, shameful on our part. Please forgive us. I believe it is evident that You perform these miracles so that You might be lifted up, not that we might be satisfied that we have access to the Father anytime we need Him. You are not our ‘Santa Claus’, but rather, You are the God who created us; the God who saved us; the God who hears the heart cry of a sinner who had turned their back on You, yet You are willing to forgive and receive us as holy and acceptable to You. You are the same God that hears our prayer for circumstances that seem impossible to us, and You are not only attentive to our prayer, but You answer our prayers in the only way that is perfect. Lord, I have no understanding why we would not be in a mode of continuous praise and adoration of such an awesome Father, but You do, and so I plead with You to touch the hearts of Your children once again and teach us to recognize Your power and never be ashamed of giving You praise and glory for Your mighty works. Thank You Heavenly Father, 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!

The God Who Protects Us!

On 2017-02-25 By Ed AlgreenIn Appreciation, Give thanks, Protection, Protector, Thankful, Thankfulness, ThanksgivingLeave a comment

Post Date:	Saturday, 2017-02-25
SCRIPTURE
From:	Psalm 18:1-3 (TLB)
Text:	¹Lord, how I love you! For you have done such tremendous things for me.²The Lord is my fort where I can enter and be safe; no one can follow me in and slay me. He is a rugged mountain where I hide; he is my Savior, a rock where none can reach me, and a tower of safety. He is my shield. He is like the strong horn of a mighty fighting bull. ³All I need to do is cry to him—oh, praise the Lord—and I am saved from all my enemies!
OBSERVATION:
David had been rescued from battle after battle, and he sat down and considered the source of his protection, support and wisdom, and exploded with a sacrifice of praise to the only God, the One who was so gracious to him. He acknowledged that God stepped in and saved him from his enemies whenever he cried out to Him, and now his heart was so filled with thanksgiving and praise that it appears like there may not be enough descriptive words to serve the purpose! How are we doing in this area of life?
APPLICATION:
We hear about folk traveling hundreds of miles to be touched by a TV evangelist who has been known to heal attendees of crippling deceases, and we hear of prayer meetings where we are encouraged to bring our petitions and our needs before the Lord, but how often do we remember to return to the altar and lay our hearts out before God in awesome praise and adoration, having recognized Him as the Healer, or Provider, or Miracle Worker in our personal situation that we had laid before Him in prayer? As a kid, we were taught that it is good and proper to say ‘thank you’ after being blessed with a gift from someone. But how often do we return to God to acknowledge His holiness and His awesome blessings to us? Friends, may I encourage you to acknowledge God for His mighty works, and stop attributing your successes, recoveries and wins over serious deceases to ‘good luck’ or ‘your special moment’ or any other avoidance of praising God? If you took time to pray for God’s intervention in your serious situation, and you see a breakthrough in that situation, please acknowledge the One that you asked to help in the first place. I believe that each day results in multiple ways that we can stop and praise the Lord – protection while traveling the road of life; the doctors who helped us overcome serious illness; loved ones who encourage and bless us every day; food to eat and the comfort of our homes. Let’s not take those things for granted. God blessed us with then, and He knows what we need and when we need them. Let’s acknowledge Him in all things each and every day, and let’s not forget to thank those that God has placed in our path, so that they also might be blessed and appreciated by us. God is so good, and in so many ways. Let’s praise Him for who He is and for all that He does!
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, You are so good to us and so often we neglect in returning thanks and appreciation for all that You do. Please forgive us for our ungratefulness. Lord, may we learn from David and be more moved by Your Spirit to return to the throne of grace and offer up our praises to You on a regular basis. As recognized in my ‘Application’ above, You look out for us each and every day, and You bless us more than we could possibly deserve every day. Thank You Father for Your awesome love for us and for all that You do for us. May we be more like David in an example of a grateful and appreciative child of the King. AMEN!
FOOTNOTE:
There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Life Overflowing With Joy and Thanksgiving

On 2016-09-26 By Ed AlgreenIn Joy, Leadership of the Holy Spirit, ThanksgivingLeave a comment

Monday, 2016-09-26

Scripture

Bible Reference: Colossians 2:6-7

Bible Text: ⁶And now just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust him, too, for each day’s problems; live in vital union with him. ⁷Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him. See that you go on growing in the Lord, and become strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with joy and thanksgiving for all he has done.

Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take

Paul was ministering to people very similar in nature to what we still see today – yes, even Christian people. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if some folk look at Christians and become deeply concerned about the hope that supposedly lies within them, as they whine and complain as much as the rest of the world, and they are just as timid and concerned about the future as just about anyone else in the world. Friends, God has placed these verses strategically in place for us/Christians today, because He wants to remind us that when we live in vital union with Him, we can trust Him for every day’s problems. Now that little word ‘vital’ has a very BIG meaning for us, for it tells us that we should have the type relationship, or union, with Christ as if our lives depend on it. That’s why Paul goes on to say that yes, we must have accepted Jesus as our Savior, trust daily in Him and live in vital union with Him, but we must also seek daily to let our very beings become deeply rooted in Him. Let’s consider a plant as we think of this act of growth. If you purchase a beautiful plant from the nursery and plant it in mere sand, it will soon wither and die, because there is nothing nourishing or substantial for the roots to gain and support the plant. But if you take that same plant and place it in the same hole with a base of about 12-20 inches of enriched potting soil and some type of fertilizer, you will see a much better result with that plant. Similarly, when we plant our roots in the Lord Jesus Christ and depend on His strength, His wisdom and His guidance, our lives will flourish with His great love! This will further result in lives that overflow in joy and thanksgiving! Lives that look to the Creator of this world, and the Master of our lives for all things, so that we may live according to His awesome plan and for His ultimate glory. Living like this helps us to look on challenges with a new perspective – another opportunity to see God’s hand at work for His dear children, for we know who wins, so we prepare for the joy and thanksgiving that awaits us. Please remember dear friends, that these ‘opportunities’ by God are not directed by us, nor might they come with the same results that we request. Thank God for that, because we are limited in our foresight, but He knows all things, and that all things work together for good when we trust in His power and His answers!

Prayer

Dear God, please forgive us for always looking at our circumstances though the darkened eyes of failure and on life’s challenges through the sad and weak eyes of this world filled with impossibilities. Our hope is in You Lord, and should therefore be filled with the powerful and awesome expectations of a Savior who was victorious over death and the grave! Please continue to work on us Lord, for our doubt and fear comes from the evil one, in his effort to distract us and divide us in our relationship with You. In You, we have nothing to fear, but we need Your strength to keep us focused on our true source of hope – on You, in every turn of life. May we grow deep into all that You have to offer us as Lord, so that You may be evident to all those we come into contact with. May You be glorified though our actions and our character every day, 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!

Bursting Into Songs of Thanksgiving!

On 2015-12-102015-12-10 By Ed AlgreenIn Praise, Prayer, ThanksgivingLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – ⁷The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. ~ Psalm 28:7 ~ _{New Living Translation (NLT)}

THOUGHTS: David, the Psalmist, had such great results in his prayer life that he would often break into outbursts of praise, such as seen in this verse from Psalm 28. Was he always this pumped up about his prayer life? No, David was very much human, as we are, so he often became impatient, despondent and felt abandoned by God, especially when God’s timing and David’s immediacy was at odds. Friends, as we build solid relationships with God, perhaps we too may one day identify with the Psalmist in saying, Oh Lord…:

You are my strength – because so often I am overwhelmed by life and the circumstances that result from my being here. You help me to overcome and You give me strength to carry on;
You are my shield – for in every circumstance of life I am protected from the evil one, and you shield me from the wicked that would otherwise pull me down and destroy my witness;
I have learned to trust You – for you are my only constant in life. You are always there for me, and You love me enough to not answer all of my prayers in the manner in which I selfishly and ignorantly ask without any vision of tomorrow;
You help me – especially when I am weak, down and out. You have restored my faith in You and assured me of Your awesome power. You along are God!
I am so overwhelmed with Your goodness that – I can barely contain myself. My soul rejoices in the awesome God that I adore and serve, for You are God, and besides You, there is no other. I burst into thanksgiving right now as I reflect on Your goodness. Please help me to consistently thank and worship You, because even when I am weak, distraught and feel so far away from You, yet You are always there for me. Thank You Father! Thank You Lord Jesus for being my awesome and loving God!

Lord, may we daily burst into songs of thanksgiving as we recognize Your awesome power and love in our lives and through our walk with You. Lord, You are good and Your mercies endures forever!

PRAYER: Lord, may we daily burst into songs of thanksgiving as we recognize Your awesome power and love in our lives and through our walk with You. Lord, You are good, and Your mercies endures forever! You are so worthy of our praise, and we are so needy of our awesome, powerful, loving God. Thank You Lord Jesus! We are Your humble servants, so I ask these things in the name of our loving Savior and Lord, AMEN!

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

Live In Constant Joy!

On 2015-02-112015-02-11 By Ed AlgreenIn Joy, Thanksgiving2 Comments

The Holy Bible (The Message – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22): ^16–18Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. ^19–22Don’t suppress the Spirit, and don’t stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don’t be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what’s good. Throw out anything tainted with evil.

Thoughts: I know that the subject sounds inviting, but I want us to be reminded that ‘Joy’ results from a happy heart – a heart filled with love for the Lord and from a heart stayed on constant prayer before the Master of this universe. This scripture reminds us to thank God in ALL things, I believe that this will result in an everlasting ‘Joy’ to bless us every day. Friends, I want to encourage you to always find something to thank God for. You may have a broken arm, but praise to the Almighty, you have a healthy arm to enjoy and help you through your day! Just last night I heard a brother praise God for allowing him to serve in the military many years ago. In spite of many who may have been hurt through their service, he was able to find reasons to praise God for his time in the service. May I encourage you to find reasons to praise God every day? Please let there be a word of praise always present on your lips and in your heart, that you are ready to praise God for, and bless another person with! I found it interesting to also note Paul’s explanation that showing a heart of thanksgiving is actually a responsibility of the Christian, in other words, it pleases God! Paul went on to remind us that we are not to quench, or suppress the Holy Spirit. Friends let’s think of the Holy Spirit as being a fire that burns. Paul is telling us to be careful not to throw cold water on that fire. The work of God, and His Holy Spirit is of utmost importance in the life of a Christian. When we feel Him tugging at us to do a certain work, or teach a certain class, or give witness to a certain work that the Spirit has performed in our lives, we wind up quenching the Spirit if we don’t follow through with what we felt He was leading us to do. Now for those of us who are very gullible, Paul teaches that we test and examine what we believe that the Spirit is instructing us to do. My advice is to: 1). Test it against the Word of God. For if it is Biblical, then you can be assured that it is God’s will; 2). If another believer (proven to be genuine over time) shares with you something similar to what you felt God leading you to do, then I believe that God is reaffirming His word to you; and 3). If confirmation comes through a sermon, or a Bible reading, then I believe that this is another indicator from God to reaffirm His word to you. Paul teaches that we are to act on the proven, and throw out the rest. Friends, as we witness God at work in our lives, we can be filled with the joy of the Lord to a degree that others will also be blessed by our words and by our actions, all for the glory of the only Master – Jesus our Lord!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, our eternal Joy and Peace, my heart is filled to overflowing, knowing that in spite of my inadequacies and failures, yet the King of all kings loves me enough to bless me with pure, unadulterated love and joy! I am eternally thankful for this! I pray that as You bless me with these qualities, that I will be a conduit for others to receive that same joy, and that they will search for a closer walk with You. For my family and friends that do not know You, I pray that this everlasting joy in me will be so evident to them that they will have a deep desire to know my Savior. Please use this devotional to bless the hearts of those who struggle to find joy every day, for I believe that it becomes extremely challenging for a non-believer to see Jesus in the life of one who claims Him, but displays no evidence of the joy that relationship brings. Bless us today in ways that will force us to rejoice in You, and express that joy to others who need it! I ask all this in the precious and holy name of Jesus, my Lord, with thanksgiving, AMEN!

How to Live in Harmony

On 2015-01-262015-01-26 By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Harmony, Thanksgiving, UnityLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (Contemporary English Version – Colossians 3:15-17): ¹⁵ Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful. ¹⁶ Let the message about Christ completely fill your lives, while you use all your wisdom to teach and instruct each other. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. ¹⁷ Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him.

Thoughts: Many marriages survive because spouses allow God to keep control and help them to live together in harmony. However it is extremely challenging when other family members try to live in the same house, or even worse, when others try to make a relationship mature in amicable ways without the help and leadership of Jesus. We often see these unfortunate mishaps in places such as work and church, and these will often result in splits by the parties involved. Jesus knew this, because He saw it happening in the early church, therefore He spoke through Paul to show the church at Colossae, and also our church of today, how such a feat is possible. First of all He made it very clear that we were chosen to be His children, and in having the same Father, and in seeking His control, we were chosen to be able to live together. So right off the top, we have a few checkpoints when we see a deterioration in relationships. Back up, check the list and ask God to mend the broken pieces that we have allowed to come undone. I also believe that Jesus is telling us to celebrate in thanksgiving when we see relationships blessed with oneness! This is most often aided by the help and direction of the Holy Spirit dwelling among believers, and depending on Him to teach and instruct each other. When this is achieved, vs 16 reminds us that we are to worship God with thankful hearts, recognizing that He has been at work in and around us, and deserves our eternal praise. In fact, our very lives should reflect the glory and praise of our good Lord who blesses us. Lord, You are Good and Your mercies endureth forever!

Prayer: Lord, You made us to love, worship and adore You, our heavenly Father. Thank you! For all that have chosen to follow Your plan, You have filled them (us) with Your Holy Spirit and blessed with Your awesome presence and power to overcome life’s obstacles. Lord, You are Good and Your Mercies Endureth Forever! Thank You! Father, I am convinced that this old world badly needs You, so I ask today that You might touch the hearts of Your children – those who have chosen You as their Savior, to live in harmony with each other. I believe it is only when the unsaved see results of Christ living in us, that they will be convinced that indeed there is a Savior who is actively at work among His people, whom they should consider. Lord, may we be good representatives of Yours and fulfill Your design for the local church and the harmony You designed in us. May the unsaved see the need for a Savior and readily accept Him today, is my humble prayer that I ask in the name of Jesus, my Lord, with thanksgiving! AMEN!

Nuggets From God's Word

Category: Thanksgiving