Category: Understanding

For A Heart Of Understanding and Wisdom

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

DATE POSTED Saturday, 2022-10-01
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 1 Kings 3:7-9
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 7 “Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. 8 And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! 9 Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”

OBSERVATION: I believe that God might speak to you about several things in today’s Scripture, much like He did with me. In the New Testament, Jesus taught that ‘unless you come to me as a child….’. When we enter into a new challenge of leadership or management, wouldn’t it be better if we sought wisdom and understanding from God, rather than jumping in like a bull in a china shop? King Solomon acknowledged he needed help. Oh that we would do this more frequently, rather than forcing our personal ideas on a global situation that would affect so many.

APPLICATION: Here’s a man who sat under the teaching and experienced the successful traits of one of the greatest kings ever lived – David. Yet when he was anointed king by Almighty God, he saw that the world around him was so large, so varied, so complex and so needy, that he quickly crawled back into reality and acknowledged that without God, nothing would be possible. In fact, Solomon felt like a small flea in a whole big world. Of course, he had another choice – he could have faked it until he made it through these complexities and experiences through trial and error. But when it comes to the lives of precious individuals, Solomon knew that, albeit his young age, and in spite of his youth and inexperience, he could not experiment with these people. Solomon could have gone to his top officials in his government, and perhaps he would have received good advice. But Solomon knew of One who would stick closer than a brother, One who knew the hearts and minds of the people, One who had a plan for his nation and who would ensure his success as their leader, if he surrendered his will to the tender hand and leadership of his Master and Lord. Notice that Solomon didn’t pray for help in being the best king, or to be the richest king ever lived, or to win over ever country around him, but it was his deep and sincere desire to grow in knowledge and understanding so that he could be a fair, honest, and great leader to his people. Friends, submitting yourself to the ways and means of those around you will lead to more of the same. Submitting yourself to the will and commands of Almighty God, allows you to walk uprightly in His way and with His leadership, so that you may win the battles of temptation, backbiting, hatred, murder and discouragement. God breathes new life into those who seek Him and surrender their will to His, for He has a plan and a purpose for them and will lead them to succeed in their personal and work relationships so that He might be glorified. Do you feel unfilled and unsuccessful in life, my friend? Look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Be God’s humble servant today, and submit your all to Him, so that He may work out His plan in your life. As He does, you will use that renewed spirit to lead others in a way that is pleasing to God and your leadership over others will meet with His approval. As others around you are blessed because of your leadership, you will be acknowledged by Almighty God for making the most of everything that He gives to you to bless others.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Feeling as a little child, allowed Solomon the humbleness of heart to place God on the throne of his life and be led by Him so that He would be glorified in every decision of leadership! Let’s be careful to pass the praises on to God for anything we might receive accolades on.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I am reminded that as Your children, we must come to the Fountain of Life as empty vessels willing to be filled by Your awesome power, knowledge, wisdom, love, and indeed all traits of Jesus that are so badly needed in our interactions with others. Solomon needed these things to be a great king. I believe that my readers, listeners and I need this for our everyday imprint on the lives of those we come into contact with. As one faithful pastor reminded himself on a sticker every time he stood in the pulpit to preach – he had written ‘Let Them See Jesus’. Oh, if that would be the heart-cry of every believer each and every day we rise up from our pillows until the time we go to bed – Let them see Jesus, both in words and in my actions. Perhaps then, more will believe in the existence, power, love and awesome impact that our God has in the lives of His children. 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!

Simple Words Powered By The Holy Spirit

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Spiritual Gifts, Understanding, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Wednesday, 2022-04-27
WRITTEN AT: Citra, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT: 1 Dear brothers, even when I first came to you I didn’t use lofty words and brilliant ideas to tell you God’s message. 2 For I decided that I would speak only of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. 3 I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my preaching was very plain, not with a lot of oratory and human wisdom, but the Holy Spirit’s power was in my words, proving to those who heard them that the message was from God. 5 I did this because I wanted your faith to stand firmly upon God, not on man’s great ideas.

APPLICATION: Praise God for those who have been persistent and successful throughout their years of education, and have shown initiative to excel and learn even more about a particular trade. Often we might step back and congratulate them, for their gifts help them excel in their jobs. In our biblical account of Paul, we must realize that He had just come from Corinth where we see him going to Mars Hill in the city of Athens, gathering with the intelligent students of the day to discuss with one another about the happenings of their day and place, and as in Paul’s case, to teach and preach the Word of God. Often this discussion and philosophy would serve only to help the very top students of the day, because the success of his sermon was very minimal in reaching the actual hearts of the lost and uneducated. Commentaries believe that this intellectual time by Paul failed in his mission to teach and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Coming now to Corinth, Paul was touched by God to speak the truth of the Word to the common person, and not be so concerned about impressing just the highly educated. This helps to explain why Paul placed aside his oratory skills and instead sought the help of the Holy Spirit and the heart of God for His people. I believe it is evident that God uses hearts to touch hearts, for eloquent words often fall by the wayside. Does this still happen in our churches today? Of course this continues. I sincerely believe that it is often not intentional, as we all tend to speak at the level that we would normally communicate in life. So I believe that it takes the power of God to actually help a teacher or preacher to simplify his message so that those in attendance would understand and apply the message to their lives. After all, why study and labor over a lesson or a sermon, if it will fall on deaf ears, or is not understood by those listening. Friends, that could also happen in any of our lives. For those who have attended church and been under the listening of thousands of sermons or Bible studies, we have learned a language that only fellow Christians truly understand. How then can we speak to an unchurched, unbeliever, who knows nothing about our special language? The important thing that comes out in this lesson today is that Paul sought the help and power of the Holy Spirit, and I am convinced that the Holy Spirit not only knows what we need to simplify, but He also knows the level at which the hearer needs to understand. Begging God for the wisdom on what to say to those who need to hear, is only one part of the equation. We should also ask God to bless us with an understanding heart – one that will identify with our audience and help us to become one with them. God’s messenger who could teach His Word is a unique and amazing thing, but to also find one who could simplify it so that even the uneducated, unsaved, needy person who might be weak in their faith, is nothing less that miraculous. May God bless the messenger who is attentive to the Holy Spirit in teaching and preaching the Word of God in simplicity and clarity!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: To understand God’s Word is far more beneficial than to listen to many eloquent words that do not clearly teach us the picture that God wants painted in our hearts and minds.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for leaving us Your Word, and also the Holy Spirit to bless us in our understanding of it. Please help us to always be mindful of the hearer when we try to witness, teach and preach, so that the world will know about You and their need for salvation, and not just be impressed with our level of education. Thank You for our educators, and for where they have brought us to scholastically. Please help us to reach family and friends from all walks of life and varied levels of education. Holy Spirit, please help us to always understand what our audience knows about our Father, so that our teaching and our witness will result in the unsaved receiving Jesus, spiritual growth and in productive fruit. Please open the heart of our hearers so that they will desire to know more about the Jesus we love, adore and serve. 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!

The Incomprehensible Love of God!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Love, Salvation, UnderstandingLeave a comment

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

Today’s Bible Reference: Psalm 103:8-16
Today’s Bible Text: 8 He is merciful and tender toward those who don’t deserve it; he is slow to get angry and full of kindness and love. 9 He never bears a grudge, nor remains angry forever. 10 He has not punished us as we deserve for all our sins, 11 for his mercy toward those who fear and honor him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. 12 He has removed our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west. 13 He is like a father to us, tender and sympathetic to those who reverence him. 14 For he knows we are but dust 15 and that our days are few and brief, like grass, like flowers, 16 blown by the wind and gone forever.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: Because of the larger than normal chunk of verses, I won’t comment a lot in this devotional, but I just had to share with you how awesome the love of our God is! Notice that the Psalmist is awestruck by the incomprehensible love of the God of this universe. Notice that God is actively loving His children, even though He has to deal daily with the mess-ups and the tendency of His children to run from Him in spite of His great love. In fact, think about the cruel people, and the soldiers who beat Him, led Him up to the hill of Golgotha and hung Him on a wooden cross, like we would do to an animal we are about to slaughter. Yet Jesus loved those same soldiers enough that He never petitioned to His Father to strike them down or eliminate them, but He suffered and died for even their salvation. Friends, we have never seen love like this before! And this is not just a story from the greatest book ever written, for He loved even me and welcomed me into His family when I sought His forgiveness. He will do the same for you friend, no matter what you may be guilty of here in this life so far, connecting with our Savior and asking for His forgiveness will create in you a change that could only compare to the difference of darkness and light. Total transformation, but a very bright and promising one! Do you know this Savior of which I speak friend? Will you surrender to Him today, please? Read through my ‘Footnote’ for help and direct you in this very critical decision. Failing to do this, and remaining in your life of sin, will result in eternal damnation in the pits of Hell. This is all in the Book friend. The choice is yours, but the differences in your decision is eternal and totally opposite. I pray that you will make the wise and proper decision today, God being your helper and guide.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for Your perfect, sacrificial, eternal love for even me. Thank you for one day having prompted me with a message similar to the one presented here today. Please tender the hearts of those that I love and respect today, and the hearts of those reading this devotional. May they make a wise and permanent decision to accept Your offer of salvation today, for this is my humble prayer that I ask with thanksgiving, AMEN!

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

2016

We Have An Advocate

On By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Surrender, UnderstandingLeave a comment

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

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

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

 

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

Nothing is Too Difficult for You, Lord

On By Ed AlgreenIn Faithfulness, Humility, UnderstandingLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Good News Translation – Jeremiah 32:16-18): 16 ….. I prayed, 17“Sovereign Lord, you made the earth and the sky by your great power and might; nothing is too difficult for you. 18You have shown constant love to thousands, but you also punish people for the sins of their parents. You are a great and powerful God; you are the Lord Almighty.

THOUGHTS: Jeremiah had been faithful to God and followed every command and word given to him by God. In fact he was imprisoned because of obediently delivering a word from God to the king. However, Jeremiah was still human, and as such had to depend on God and His providence, even though His actions perplexed Jeremiah. I believe that can, and does, happen to us quite frequently, for we glory in the power and majesty of God, and for all that He delivers us from, yet we see where good faithful followers are shot in their homes, crash in car accidents on the roads, lose very young loved ones, and agonize over fatal illnesses of family members. How do we possibly explain that God loves them? How can we possibly understand the love of God in such horrific situations? I love what Matthew Henry says in his commentary about this prayer of Jeremiah, and I will quote it for you: “Jeremiah adores the Lord and his infinite perfections. When at any time we are perplexed about the methods of Providence, it is good for us to look to first principles. Let us consider that God is the fountain of all being, power, and life; that with him no difficulty is such as cannot be overcome; that he is a God of boundless mercy; that he is a God of strict justice; and that he directs every thing for the best. Jeremiah owns that God was righteous in causing evil to come upon them. Whatever trouble we are in, personal or public, we may comfort ourselves that the Lord sees it, and knows how to remedy it. We must not dispute God’s will, but we may seek to know what it means.” This spoke volumes to me, because I believe that we must often return to the cross when we don’t have all of the answers. God showed His love boldly at the cross – yes, through the suffering, crucifixion and death of His very own Son. So let us return to the Word when in question about why God is doing something that we don’t understand. Let’s go back to the basics and first Biblical principles. We KNOW that He loves us, so we KNOW He would do nothing to harm us, therefore let us give thanks for His mysterious work and depend on the outcome bringing glory to Him. This is difficult friends, but just remember to trust in God, no matter what we see, feel or witness occurring around us. This may often be a point at which an unrelated Brother or Sister might step alongside, encouraging you to keep the faith, so be prepared to also do that when you see difficult situations arise in the life of someone else.

PRAYER: Dear God, I am reminded that You are sovereign and that You created this earth and all that is in it. You were pleased with all that You created, so I can’t imagine why one of your small pieces of clay could find room to complain or find fault in what You did, or what You might currently do in managing all that You have made. Your servant Jeremiah has reminded me that nothing is too difficult for you, so once again I am reminded that even in those times when I don’t see the reasoning for something happening, to know and understand that You are still in control. Please touch the lives of Your people once again today with the sobering reminder that You are God, and we are not, therefore we must trust You to do what You know to be the best for us, and that will bring glory to You. I know that we would really screw things up in a hurry if You left it all up to us, so please have Your perfect will and way in my life today. Please be especially near and dear to those who are hurting today and wondering if You are still there. Draw them close to You and comfort them with Your love and reassurance. I ask this in the precious name of Jesus, my King, in all humility, 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!