Category: Worship

Try Starting Your Day Like This!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Faith, God Cares For Us, Praise, WorshipLeave a comment

The Bible – New Living Translation

Psalm 59:16-17

 16 But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress.

17 O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.

Thoughts:

I’ve seen many challenges lately, for example a challenge to find 5 things you are thankful for, or some might challenge friends and themselves to walk for a number of minutes each morning. I believe that God challenged me through these verses, to imitate His servant David and find things to praise God for each morning, and to do it with joy! What type of day do you suppose we would have if we challenged ourselves to do this each morning? Would our churches be stronger if it was made up of more praising Christians? I make every effort to attend church prayer meetings each week, and it is amazing the number of prayer needs that we have to pray about. Now please don’t misunderstand, there is no better place to bring our needs, than to a place of worship where believers have gathered to pray for one another. However, I recall in one prayer meeting we had a visitor who was bubbling over with a praise item, however after hearing all of the needs, our leader was ready to move into prayer. The visitor finally spoke up and asked if there was room for praise items, as she wanted to share an item with the group. Oh my, what an important aspect of prayer we almost ignored that night. Friends, even under extreme circumstances: when we are hurting; or perhaps sad; or perhaps facing extreme challenges; God is still God and throughout all that we feel overwhelmed about, He has blessed us beyond all measure. There is a powerful song out by a popular group call “I will praise You in my storm”, can you do this friend? Can you praise God even in the middle of the storms of your life? How about committing to praise Him in every circumstance, knowing that God has a purpose for your life and that He will not do anything to harm you. It was God that gave you the healthy body to sleep well the previous night, and to awaken with another opportunity to shine for Him. Praise Him friend! Of course He will also hear your prayer for healing, hurt, job search and all other needs, but that will become very evident and easy to ask, after you have thought about and praised God for His wonderful blessings!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I’m sure it must seem like we are an ungrateful bunch of children, because of our lack of praise. You bless us so much that praise should be very prominent in our lives and on our lips. I pray that I may be so filled with thankfulness and praise that as my lips are opened, I may voice Your praises. I can’t think of anything more powerful to an unbeliever than for them to see a thankful, praising child of God. Please give me the strength and the boldness to represent You well, especially in my constant praise for the mighty God that You are. Thank You Lord, for blessing me in such wonderful ways. Please touch Your children that may meditate on this devotional and need to work on this aspect of their Christian walk also. Please use the praises of Your kids to touch the hearts of those that need to know You today so that they may want to know the awesome God that we serve. All this I ask humbly in the precious name of my Savior and Lord, Jesus, AMEN!

 

NOTE: 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.

Too Busy

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Imitator of Christ, Praise, Reaching the Lost, Works, WorshipLeave a comment

The Bible – The Message

 Romans 9:30-32

 …. All those people who didn’t seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing as he straightened out their lives. And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing, missed it. How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their “God projects” that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road. And so they stumbled into him and went sprawling.

 Thoughts:

Friends I know that we have our secular jobs, and many of us also have volunteered for jobs in the church, but are we capable of knowing when we are too busy to really see God at work in and around us? Paul, in addressing his fellow Jews, tried to bring to their attention that in his ministry to the gentiles (those who were despised by the Jews), he had discovered such an appreciation for God and His wonderful work/miracles, compared to what he saw in his own people, who appeared sold out to God. This sounds so much like us sometimes. It is known around churches that if you need someone to do something, ask a busy person. And although this means that you can often trust them to get the job done, what it also means is that you are giving them yet another ‘job’, and before you realize it, that person is coming to church thinking of it as just another job, like they are obligated to all other days of the week. Friends, I realize that it takes people to get the total job done around church, but when we lose sight of the reason for us going to church, to offer up praise and worship to our heavenly Father, then we have just personally taken on too much. We must find time in our busy lives for personal worship – time alone with God, and for corporate worship – time corporately with God and others of like faith. I believe that I coined a phrase that I encourage all those that I have opportunity to mentor, to use: instead of ever saying that you didn’t have time for something, always say it was not a priority! I especially encourage you to use this when you have neglected your time alone with God or your corporate worship time. In fact I encourage you to use this phrase in your conversation (prayer) with God as you talk to him about missed opportunities. It will help you to regain the priorities in your life! Keeping busy will keep us out of trouble, but if we are not careful, it could also keep us out of a sweet relationship with our heavenly Father. Why not step back and honestly evaluate your life today? Are you too busy?

Prayer:

Thank You Father for blessing us with talents that we may use for You in and around the local church. Please help us to know when we have enough to do, and especially when church work is preventing us from spending the time with You that we so badly need for our spiritual enrichment. Without You in the forefront of our day, we will reflect too much of this world to those who especially need to know You and see Your qualities in us. We were created to glorify You dear God. When we fail to do that because we are too busy, especially with ‘church jobs’ or as Paul said, “God projects”, then we ask that You please get our attention and pull us back to You. Most of us have family and loved ones who need the Lord, Father I pray that they may first of all see Jesus in everything that we do or say so that we may influence them to seek You and the wonder of Your grace, mercy and love. I ask all this in the wonderful name of Your Son, Jesus the Christ, my Lord and Savior, AMEN!

 

 NOTE: 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.

The Purpose of Church

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Giving, Reflecting Christ, Tithing, Truthful, Witnessing, WorshipLeave a comment

The Bible – Good News Translation

 Psalm 8:9-11

 9           Inside your Temple, O God, we think of your constant love.

10          You are praised by people everywhere, and your fame extends over all the earth.

You rule with justice; 11   let the people of Zion be glad!

 Thoughts:

Many people dress and head out to church on Saturday or Sunday. I wonder what some of the responses would be, if a news reporter stood on a street corner and interviewed folk as they were on their way to church! I bet there would be some interesting responses! In the Bible we read a lot about people going up to the temple to pray, or to offer up sacrifices. In our day, I believe the number one response would be that people go to church to worship God. The challenge is that most church goers feel like ‘worship’ is the worship and praise (singing) part of the service. What about the aspect of giving and Bible teaching and/or preaching? Also, is this ‘worship’ only once per week for no more than an hour? Is this commitment you have made to ‘worship’ strictly led by a praise and worship team for your entertainment, and a preacher who shouts at you for about 30 minutes to challenge you in your wrong doings? Friends, without the appearance of judging, I see these things that I questioned you on, as a description of our churches today. On the contrary, I love the description given by the Psalmist! Wouldn’t it be neat for us to awaken about an hour earlier before rushing out to weekend services, and instead of turning the television on, or getting on to Facebook to catch up on the gossip, if we gathered around the table over a cup of coffee and reflected back over the blessings of the week, brought back to reflection the highlights of our Bible studies (devotionals) from the week and said a prayer for the preacher and other worship leaders before we head out the door to go and worship God? Don’t you suppose that we would position ourselves for, and find reason to, truly worship God and to truly open our hearts to the spoken Word so that we might be filled with the Spirit and His reinforcing power for the week ahead? Can you see where we may then feel more like the Psalmist reflected on in vs 9, where we would then open our minds to think about God’s love and His wonderful power in our heart over the past week? I truly believe that we could then open our hearts in worship and be so filled with God’s wonder and His love that His fame would be evident in and through us wherever we went after that, in similar ways to what the Psalmist described in vs 10 & 11. We serve an awesome God, who is so good to us. Let’s not hold back the praises, and let’s be very open to instruction from His Word so that our lives might be guided accordingly.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You made us so that we may worship you. I’m sorry for the poor excuses we give for not attending worship services, and even when we do – the little input that You receive from us. Our minds wonder, and we depend so heavily on the Praise and Worship team, that it is probably very obvious to You that we enjoy the entertainment more than the opportunity to lift up our praises and words of affirmation to You. We listen to Your Word read and expounded on, and it is often the only time that week that our Bibles have been opened. Oh how You must shake Your head in dismay and question why You ever made us. Thankfully, I know You are a God of love, and in looking at our hearts You know what we really are and what we would really like to be. I pray for mercy and Your continued grace dear Lord, because although You know our inward beings, how will the world know about You if they can’t see You reflected in and through our lives? Please don’t give up on me, and on us – Your servants. We need You more today than we ever did before. We need Your power and the extreme boldness to be Your witnesses. Touch me Lord and work with my friends and I so that we may be more like You in every way. My humble prayer I am asking in the Your holy name, dear Jesus, AMEN

 

NOTE: 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.

The Goodness of the Lord!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Celebrate God, Our Help comes from God, Power of Prayer, Praise, WorshipLeave a comment

The Bible –Good News Translation

 Psalm 36:5-9

 5           Lord, your constant love reaches the heavens; your faithfulness extends to the skies.

6           Your righteousness is towering like the mountains; your justice is like the depths of the sea. People and animals are in your care.

7           How precious, O God, is your constant love! We find protection under the shadow of your wings.

8           We feast on the abundant food you provide; you let us drink from the river of your goodness.

9           You are the source of all life, and because of your light we see the light.

Thoughts:

I believe that I can just leave the actual Bible verses above for you to meditate on today and you will soon agree with me that we serve such an awesome God! I love the way that David was blessed with adding his thoughts to paper, because his songs of praise is a constant reminder to us that we should look for opportunities to worship, praise and thank our God for His unlimited mercies. Recently a ministry that I subscribe to, Daily Audio Bible, was led into a special day set aside to connect with God. It was called ‘Long Walk’, in which subscribers were asked to take that day away from life’s normal routine and just talk with God, perhaps while on a long walk, and listen intently to His voice. Although I was not in a position to do this, I was blessed by the idea, because we often take so little time to really connect with God outside of our busy, daily chores. Although participants had the opportunity to voice their special times on a Facebook page designed for that purpose, I could only imagine how meaningful that would really be, and the many things we would find to share with God that we ordinarily would not find time for as we rush around each day. These words from David makes me feel like he really had some quality time with God, and that he chose to commit to print the conversations he had with God, so that we may follow in his writings and be reminded of how blessed we really are. Friend, let me encourage you to take time today and bask in the goodness of our God, and while you are soaking it up, please remember to talk to God about what you are feeling, and plan to share that with a friend. Yes, the blessings are coming at you, but by sharing that with someone, they will be encouraged to know that God is still actively working in and among us, amen?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, how can I ever thank You enough for Your tender mercies, Your gracious and undeserving love, Your watchful eye over me so that I may be kept safe and especially encouraged by Your presence. Your goodness is everlasting, and You have chosen to bless even me. Thank You fairest Lord Jesus! No doubt there will be a friend meditating on this devotional today that may not recognize Your love, because their hearts have been hardened by the sin of this world. Please tender their hearts and help them to recognize that Your love extends to even them, if only they would open their hearts and lives to accept Your free gift of eternal life. Lord, I pray that I and Your people will be a praising people and a thankful people who look for reasons to recognize Your goodness. Your love never fails, dear God, and I thanks You and praise You for that! For it is in Your wonderful and matchless name that I pray, AMEN!

 

Note: 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.

Reasons To Praise God!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, God Cares For Us, Our Help comes from God, Praise, WorshipLeave a comment

God’s Word Says….

Psalm 30:11-12 (NCV)

11 You changed my sorrow into dancing. You took away my clothes of sadness, and clothed me in happiness. 12 I will sing to you and not be silent. Lord, my God, I will praise you forever.

My Thoughts…..

I find it amazing how easy it is to pray in times of need or difficulty, for we can quickly drop to our knees pleading our case. However, I have to frequently remind myself to return to my prayer and say thank You, as I receive answers to my prayers. I am also amazed by the beauty of God’s creation, yet we gloat over it like it was something we had anything to do with, or that God had to provide it for us. Friends, I’m sure that you are like me in that we feel good inside when we hear our children say how thankful they are for something we may have done for them, or provided for them. Well, David has shown us in the Psalms that there are so many things that we can be thankful for, and that we should praise God for. Imagine for a moment being in a hospital bed in lots of pain, with a badly broken leg. What then can you praise God for, especially when you see everyone around you walking around on two healthy legs? Perhaps seeing a man pass by without any legs might open your eyes to some praise opportunities? I believe when we truly say like David that God has clothed us in happiness, and that we WILL praise Him forever – without any restrictions, then friend, I believe we will look for ways to praise God and worship Him!

 

Challenge……

Instead of being a needy people, let’s aim to be a praising people. Yes, we will always be a needy people, because we know that God can and will provide our needs, but please join me in always making ‘praise’ our priority. To take this one step further, let’s be a people of ‘praise’ even when our world around us seem to be collapsing upon us. Let’s commit ourselves to always praise God for the things that we know exists only because of His love and His power, and never feel forced into giving credit to ‘mother nature’ or the ‘man upstairs’. Remember, these are terms used by folk not wanting to ruffle the feathers of those that don’t believe in God. We believe in God, so let’s give credit where it belongs and let the chips fall where they may. God designed and made us; He controls the weather; He blesses us with jobs; He’s the One who blessed us with knowledge, so learn to praise Him, praise Him, and praise Him even more!

Prayer……

Lord Jesus, I’m sorry if I appear ungrateful at times, because I may not have found reason enough to praise You. I am so aware that it is You who made me and You who provide the ability for me to arise and enjoy each beautiful day. When You find reason to give us rain, who am I question or complain? When things seem so out of hand here on this earth, please help me to always look to You as the creator and designer of it all, therefore very capable of handling all that mere man may attempt to interfere in, or try to destroy. Lord, I praise You for just being my divine Savior and Lord, for being my God, my resurrected King and my Deliverer. I pray like David, that I will always find reasons to praise You forever! Please remind folk that may meditate on this devotional today the importance of praising You, even in their storms of life! I praise You and yet ask all this in Your most praise-worthy name, Jesus, my Lord, AMEN!

Action…..

In response to God leading You through this devotional today, please get with a Bible teaching Pastor you may know and allow him to guide you. Otherwise feel free to reply to my post online, or you may email me directly at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. I will gladly add you to my prayer list, and/or respond to your request(s) ASAP

Ready Your Heart for Worship!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Allegiance to the Lamb, Bible Believing, Born Again, Celebrate God, Christian, Follow Jesus, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Love God, WorshipLeave a comment

God’s Word Says….

Psalm 24:3-6 (NCV)

3 Who may go up on the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy Temple? 4 Only those with clean hands and pure hearts, who have not worshiped idols, who have not made promises in the name of a false god. 5 They will receive a blessing from the Lord; the God who saves them will declare them right. 6 They try to follow God; they look to the God of Jacob for help.

My Thoughts…..

Praise God, His Word is filled with little ‘Nuggets’ that will bless our souls each time that we meditate on it. It is our source document for everything in this life. As we read it, there are certain things that God allows to just stand off the pages and ‘light us up’! Here’s what I got from this ‘Nugget’ referenced above: The question is being asked about who may approach God in His holy place – in His temple. The answer to this is no mystery. Our God is holy, long-suffering, loving and merciful. So who are we to approach Him in any other manner? Think about our worship services. The idea is that God’s people gather to praise Him for all that He has done for us during the past week; petition Him for needs that exist in our lives that, we feel, needs His powerful touch; and to learn from His Word in order that we may portray Him better and to gain strength and direction for the week ahead of us. The verses highlighted today explains how some people walk away from a church service just as empty as they walked in, and yet why some leave overwhelmed with God’s blessing in and through that service. Friends, it’s a matter of where our hearts are. In verse 6, we are told that the blessings were received because they ‘tried to follow God’!

Challenge……

Friends, in our marriages, in our homes, in our work and in our friendships, what we get back is often impacted by what we put into these things. The Psalmist helped me to see that I will be blessed when I ‘Try to follow God’. A doctor or an attorney who wants to be the best at their jobs will find themselves constantly in their books trying to keep up with latest laws or the latest developments in medical science. If we are truly trying to follow God, would it not appear that we should be students of THE Book in order to discern the heart and will of God? Would it not appear that we need to do more than just show up for a worship service, if we truly want to follow God and His teachings? I would dare say friend that we should be doing more than just showing up waiting for a bucket of blessings to be poured on us. I believe God would easily discern those of us that show up with: the Spirit of God very fresh in our spiritual lives; with thankful hearts ready to explode in worship and thanksgiving to God; and like a baby bird waiting for the return of the mother bird with food, God would also discern those of us that show up with a deep hunger to learn more of, and get a better understanding of, His precious Word. Perhaps then, we might approach His holy throne somewhat worthily and ready to worship Him and receive His blessing. Where’s your heart friend? Do you have a heart yearning for more of Jesus, so that you may become more like Him? Do you put effort into following God?

Prayer……

Heavenly Father, You made us to worship You and to be little ‘Christ’s’ so that we may win the world through our love and expression of faith in, and forgiveness by, Your Son Jesus. Lord, we take so much for granted and, many times many of us will just flippantly show up for a worship service assuming that the worship band might stir up a feeling in us, or the preacher might say something magnificent that might stir up something in us. Please forgive me for the times that I have been guilty of this. Unfortunately I received everything from that service that I put into it – nothing. Please give me an urgency and a desire to follow You, and to worship You, and to want to be in Your presence. To portray You in my life, I must be filled with Your Holy Spirit, please guide me in the way of Truth and give me a deeper desire to follow You in every walk of my life. I strongly feel like my friends will need something similar to this today also, please tender their hearts to Your Word so that It may do a powerful work in their lives and better prepare them for Your work. For I ask all this in the name of, and in respect and admiration of You, Oh Lord, my Rock and my redeemer, AMEN!

Action…..

In response to God leading You through this devotional today, please get with a Bible teaching Pastor you may know and allow him to guide you. Otherwise feel free to reply to my post online, or you may email me directly at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. I will gladly add you to my prayer list, and/or respond to your request(s) ASAP.

Busy Work?

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Imitator of Christ, Reflecting Christ, WorshipLeave a comment

Scripture: Luke 10.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Luke 10:38-42 (NLT)

38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed them into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” 41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

There is such a fine line between not doing enough for the kingdom, and on the flip side, doing so much that we don’t have time to really concentrate on worship or time alone with God or slowing down enough to let God minister to us. Many of us are like Martha, where it is our nature to serve, and unless we are serving/working/slaving over all the things that must be done, then we are not happy with ourselves or feel like we have accomplished anything for the Lord. I believe that the difference here is that anytime we are doing things to make ourselves feel better, look better, because no one else will do the work, or feel like what we do is to impress God or others, then we are doing too much, because we are doing busy work. When we truly make time to be with the Lord in prayer and in His Word and in worship to Him, then we will see needs like He saw and we will work like He teaches us – to be a loving servant, because we represent the greatest servant of all times, we will do it because of the needs of others and not for any self-fulfillment. I believe that anytime we get to the stage that we look around us and feel like we are the only one doing anything, then we should stop and ponder why are we doing it – why are we alone? Let us never neglect our time with the Lord. Let us never neglect the time to look at the needs of others and ponder what would Jesus do to help them, and what could we then do to help them. Sometimes it is merely listening to them, while sometimes it is just showing them that we care, or sometimes just a visit to lift them up. The very one that we sit at their feet and spend time with, might be like Jesus where Mary just sat at His feet and just listened. Taking time to listen to someone shows that there is nothing more important to you at the time, than what they have to say. That makes them feel pretty important! Let’s be busy about the work that Jesus would do, not what we feel we must do for recognition, or obligated to do. As we look deep into His wonderful face, the things of this earth will grow strangely dim.

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, this passage has ministered to me in an awesome way this morning, because I often make myself so busy that I don’t know that I truly take time to stop and listen, or worship You from the stillness of my heart, and be quiet enough to truly listen to Your voice and learn Your will for my life. I seem to have a lot of ‘busy-work’. Please forgive me, and show me daily what to do where I might best represent You, and how to do things so that I might not only show my love and devotion to You, but that I may reflect Your love to others in all that I do or say. It’s all about You, Lord. Please help me to never lose sight of that.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Be Holy, Even as God is Holy

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Christian, Humility, Obedience, Things that make God angry, WorshipLeave a comment

Scripture: Leviticus 9-11.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Leviticus 11:45 (NLT)

45 For I, the Lord, am the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. Therefore, you must be holy because I am holy.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

Most of these 3 chapters are about how God ordered Moses, Aaron and His people to prepare the temple and themselves so that as they come into His holy place/temple they might come as a prepared people showing respect for the Master of this universe and the One who saved them from many things as they traveled through the wilderness for 40 years. In 10:2 it was sad to note that even in the days of which this scripture is based, people tried to cut corners and do what they thought was right, not what God was so careful in detailing to them, and the consequences led to death. However, it was exciting to note in 9:23 that as God’s commands were carried out, God showed Himself to the people – through a consuming fire from heaven. It really concerns me today how casually we come into God’s house and how little respect we show for His holy place. If we knew that we were going to be in the presence of an earthly ‘king’ or president, we would probably seek professional help to make sure that we dress properly for the occasion and that we follow the right etiquette. Yet, the King of all kings, the master of ourselves and our earth, the Savior of this world, the One who sacrificed Himself for our sin and our benefit, and we show little to no respect for walking into His holy temple. Instead of sacrificing, we reluctantly give of our tithes and offering, we can’t find time to give of ourselves to His service. We are quick to ask and beg of Him, but yet we are too proud to lay ourselves at His feet and truly let go and worship Him. Can someone remind me again why God owes us a blessing under such circumstances? I’m surprised that He hasn’t done something terrible to us like He did to Aaron’s sons when they did their own thing. In the verse I am using here, God reminds us that we are to be holy, just as He is holy. I don’t think this means that we are to be like the world so that they might think we are cool and they will feel comfortable worshipping with us. As the world sees God at work in our midst, they will flock in to worship with us, because they want to see the mighty hand of God, not the proof that we can be just as ‘cool’ as them.

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, over in the New Testament You became so angry about what was happening in Your holy temple that You lost Your cool and disrupted the party. This is yet another reminder that You house is to be a place of prayer, a place of worship, a place where You are the focus of our attention and a place where Your Holy Spirit can manifest Himself to us. I’m so afraid that we have come a long ways from where You expect us to be, and therefore tons of reasons why You have refused to move in our midst like You would really like to. Lord, I need to be sure that You are first in my life, and that my heart is prepared and ready to worship You when I enter into Your sanctuary. As a church leader, I need to be sure that ample opportunity is given for Your people to get their hearts right and aligned with You as they come for worship. May I stop spinning the wheels, doing the usual, and following what has become the worldly expectation of church. May I be so prepared in my heart to worship You in Your temple, that everything else will be oblivious to me and may I therefore see Your glory shine all around me. May You resume control of Your temple and Your people who have come to worship You in Your temple.

What an Awesome God We Serve

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Christian, Faith, Follow Jesus, God Reigns, Love God, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Pleasing to God, Reflecting Christ, Surrender, WorshipLeave a comment

Scripture: Exodus 23-24.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

25 “You must serve only the Lord your God. If you do, I will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness.” Ex 23:25 (NLT)

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

In the chapters around this verse God had been dealing with the Israelites in their exile to the Promised Land. In all that God was doing for them, and in all the miracles He performed in helping them reach the point where they were at, yet He had to warn them about their temptation to worship other gods. Unfortunately I don’t see any difference in our walk today and in the way that God must deal in our lives. We read from God’s Word how awesome He is in all that He did for our ancestors; we celebrate almost daily over the way that God answers prayer and walks with us each day, yet we have such difficulty in giving Him our total commitment and undivided attention and worship. We may say that we worship no other gods. Friend, if you agree with my statement that we don’t give our undivided attention and worship to God, then we must ask ourselves where does the divided part of our attention and worship go? I would dare say that we are distracted by our other ‘gods’, such as work, worldly entertainment, etc. Oh how I realized, and was reminded how awesome my God is and how He alone deserves my praise, my obedience and my total dedication.

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Lord, please so fill my heart with You that I will not have time to be distracted by other gods. Please allow me to display Your love in all that I say and do so that others will know that You live fulltime in my heart and rule my life in every way. May You always be prominent in my life.

In Preparation for Worship

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Humility, Love God, Love your Neighbor, Pleasing to God, Praise, Purity, Righteousness, WorshipLeave a comment

Scripture: Exodus 19.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

10 Then the Lord told Moses, “Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing. 11 Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch. Ex 19:10-11 (NLT)

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

I wonder what our charge would be today if God was to send instructions for us to properly prepare ourselves for worship? It seems like some of us go to corporate worship with sour attitudes, some with the weight of the world on our minds, some with hatred in our hearts, some with pride in our hearts about how good we are or how much better we are than many around us, some with deliberate sin towards a brother/sister in our hearts and many with no respect for the royalty whom we are about to worship. I’m ashamed of how God must look down in disgust at us and become so distraught over our unthankful hearts for all that He did for us on Calvary and all that He does in love for us each and every day. We have no room to feel in our hearts and act in the ways I just described. We may often look at the Israelites in disgust over how they acted, but the truth is that we are probably worse than them in many ways today. We may sing the words, we may raise our hands, we may clap to the beat of the music and we may even give the occasional ‘Amen’ in response to what the preacher is sharing with us, but let’s remember that God knows our heart and our inmost feelings. He is looking for a humble, forgiving, dedicated heart to bless and in turn, use for His glory. Friends, let us spend time readying ourselves for worship. Let us give the deserved respect to our Master, our Lord, our Savior and our soon coming King. He knows our heart, we can’t fool Him. Let’s clean up our act and be ready to truly worship in His presence when we think about going to corporate worship. We must be pure, even as He is pure and holy.

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, I am guilty of doing the traditional thing of going to church at the appropriate time; singing the hymn/songs when announced; listening to Your Word preached and in my mind thinking of all the people that it applies to. The bottom line is that You are speaking to me. It is I that Your Word applies to. It is I that You long to speak with and sanctify so that I may be the ambassador for You to others that I come in contact with. Please help me to keep the fingers pointed at self, and allow You to do the finger pointing at anyone else that also needs a touch from You. Please help me to seek Your face daily, so that I may come boldly and uprightly before You in worship. You deserve my undivided attention and respect as I come before You. Please consecrate me, wash me clean and set my mind on You so that I may truly worship You.