Keep Looking Up!

On 2020-03-11 By Ed AlgreenIn Listen, Listen to the Word of God, Warning, Warning SignsLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Wednesday, 2020-03-11
WRITTEN AT: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

Bible Reference: Acts 27:21-22
Translation: The Message (MSG)

Bible Text: With our appetite for both food and life long gone, Paul took his place in our midst and said, “Friends, you really should have listened to me back in Crete. We could have avoided all this trouble and trial. But there’s no need to dwell on that now. From now on, things are looking up! I can assure you that there’ll not be a single drowning among us, although I can’t say as much for the ship—the ship itself is doomed.

OBSERVATION: Many of us face challenges in this life, either personally or through the lives of family and/or friends very near and dear to us. We sometimes worry about whether there is any hope or good expectation that might come out of the situations that concern us. Until we open the Word of God and are suddenly reminded that things are looking up for the child of God who places his/her faith in the Creator of this universe. He’s still in charge and because He owns it all, He knows exactly what will occur next. That’s our God!

APPLICATION: Paul and his friends faced a very serious scenario out on the ship on which they were traveling. Their ship had traveled that course many times in the past, but they never faced the challenges like they faced on that fateful night detailed in our Scripture. However, one other thing was different also, they had a passenger who knew the Master of the sea and of the wind and the waves. In fact, he stepped forward to encourage the sailors with a word that he received from an angel during the night. Now I want you to stop and compare this story with the challenges that you face. You too will also face challenges that are unheard of, and you also receive warnings, that also compare to those that Paul offered the boat captain before they set sail. Think about it, we are challenged by our pastor, Sunday School teacher, Christian friends, and even family members, to set aside our life of sin and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the only One who could rescue us from the trenches of everyday sin, and keep us safe through the toils of life and the temptations of this world. But what do we do with these challenges? Way too often we continue our independence, our selfish and often obnoxious attitudes, and we snarl at anything shared with us to the contrary. This is precisely what the ship’s crew did, they had no desire to change their plans because of one man’s warnings. Unfortunately, we often face obstacles along the way, much like Paul’s hardened audience faced, and unfortunately these obstacles can sometimes be catastrophic. Sometime we may survive the catastrophes and are able to hear the warnings once again, as we are given a second chance. Notice how Paul finally got the attention of the boat crew after they had tried everything they knew to do? It is so unfortunate that some folk are only open to God after they have tried everything else. Too often our idea of having time to try ‘one more thing’ has very little surety, just as the ship could have easily been destroyed prior to Paul having another opportunity to speak with the sailors. Our take away on this story is that we should never delay responding to God. I have had young friends who have been called from this life very unexpectedly – in the prime of their lives, where it was really important for them to properly raise their young families. I’m sure they never dreamed that they would not have time for one more prayer before their lives were taken. Not all of us can count on the second chance that these sailors were blessed with. Are you ready to meet Your Maker? How will you answer the question “Why should you be accepted into God’s heaven”? Because you are reading this devotional, it means that you have been given another opportunity to surrender your life to Jesus and give Him control of your life. But friend, the warning is clear throughout God’s Word that you have no assurance of your next minute or hour. Therefore, I am very motivated to encourage you into making a decision to invite Jesus into your life, right now. Today is the day of salvation, friend. The sailors paid no attention to Paul’s warnings and almost lost their lives without Christ. Please learn a lesson from this story and delay your decision no longer.

PRAYER: Dear God, I am so thankful that You send messengers into our lives, like You did with Paul to those sailors. This story is a warning to those of us who read it, that we must listen and obey the warnings You send our way. Please help us to see the need to open our hearts and allow You to govern our lives, our desires, our wants and our future. You loved us enough to sacrifice Your very own Son so that we might enjoy eternal life with You. Lord, may we love You enough to live our lives in obedience to Your commands. I pray that my unsaved/uncommitted friends that may meditate on this devotional, may catch a glimpse of Your love and subsequently make a decision to invite You as Lord and Savior of their lives this very day. Jesus, this is an awesome task that can only be accomplished by You, so I ask this in Your most worthy, and all powerful name, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Our Relationship With God Leads To Our Success/Impact

On 2020-03-10 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Honest Relationship, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Relationships, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Tuesday, 2020-03-10
WRITTEN AT: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

BIBLE REFERENCE: 2 Chronicles 26:5
TRANSLATION: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

BIBLE TEXT: ⁵Uzziah followed God in the time of Zechariah’s life. Zechariah taught Uzziah how to respect and obey God. When Uzziah was obeying the Lord, God gave him success.

OBSERVATION: In Exodus 17 Joshua saw success for the Israelites in battle as long as Moses’ arms were raised in prayer to the Almighty. A great British pastor saw souls saved when his prayer warriors prayed in the church basement during his sermons. Uzziah was given success as a young King, as long as he submitted his life to the authority of the Almighty. We know that God will bring enormous results when He’s allowed to have His way, but do we submit to His will and His way? Think about this as we submit to the Word of God today, will you?

APPLICATION: No sooner do we walk out of church, when we hear the whining and complaining about the singing/music; or the preaching or the temperature in the church building. But to these very precious souls, I wonder how many of them prayed for the service prior to arriving at church, or even during the service. If God still works like He did with king Uzziah, and I have every reason to believe He does, then wouldn’t we see things move along perfectly and for His glory, in response to our prayers? Can city government, or state officials, or congress, or our president ever do anything right? Isn’t that what we often complain about? But what about a 16-year old king, how did he manage to do anything right? Our Scripture verse above is clear in saying that the success of this king was proportionate to his relationship with God Almighty! So I want us to look at a few things that I believe God led me to share with you today: (1) Choose you this day whom you will serve. That’s a quote from Joshua 24, but still very applicable to us today. For if we choose to serve God – truly serve Him, trust in Him and allow Him to have His way in our life, then we will be serious about Him not only guiding us, but also guiding those who impact us – such as those mentioned above that serve us, lead us and/or impact us; (2) Aim at being a ‘Zechariah’. We could just trust the man called by God to lead our church, but we know full well that he must be very dependent on God for our church to be blessed and used of God. So pray for your pastor at home, or whenever you pray, but also pull him aside and ask God’s blessing over him before he stands before your congregation to allow God to speak through him. We vote for the smartest of people to lead our local and national government, but do they know everything about all things? Of course not, so let’s be constant in lifting them up before the King who is over them, the King of all kings, and ask God to direct them. This is nothing to do with politics friends, for in John 13, Jesus tells us that our leaders are ordained by Him for such a time as this, and we should therefore pray for His leaders. So let’s learn to obey the Word and put personal feelings aside; and (3) Let us learn to be more like Zechariah in pulling up alongside our leaders and helping them stay accountable to God. I’m sure that God can work today just as He did with Uzziah – He will bring success as long as our leaders keep trusting in Him. I believe that often they need our help to hold their arms up during the daily battles they face with our churches, and in our governments.

PRAYER: Thank You Lord for drawing my attention to areas of my life where I need to be bold in helping others – like my pastor; my church leaders; my city, state and national leaders; and my president. Way too often my friends and I feel like we have hired the best people for the job and we leave them to do the job. But just like Your servant Zechariah was persistent in helping his king, I pray that we might become faithful servants of our King and be a godly influence to our leaders as well. I believe that still today You will bring success to our leaders who place their faith and trust in You, just like You did with young Uzziah, thanks to your servant Zechariah. Lord, please remind us often that we are here for much more than our own selfish needs. Keep us close to You so that You may use us for Your glory. AMEN!

What If God Abandon’s You?

On 2020-03-092020-03-18 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Monday, 2020-03-09
WRITTEN AT: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

BIBLE REFERENCE: 2 Chronicles 24:18-20
TRANSLATION: The Voice (VOICE)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹⁸ Joash, in the absence of Jehoiada, then led the nation to abandon God. God was infuriated with Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁹In spite of His anger, the Eternal sent prophets to tell the people how they had sinned and that they should repent. But they did not listen.
²⁰Then the Spirit of the True God possessed Zechariah, Jehoiada the priest’s son, giving him a message for the people.
Zechariah (standing above the people): The True God has a message for you: “Why do you disobey the Eternal’s commands? You will not have prosperous lives as long as you continue this. Since you have abandoned Him, He has abandoned you.”

OBSERVATION: For the Christian, there is nothing quite so awful as to imagine that God is not there for us. But to ever imagine that God is not there because of something that we have done, that must leave us with a feeling of regret that is hard to imagine. In our Scripture today, we can read where Zechariah received a word from God, that because the people had abandoned God, He has also abandoned them. During our meditation let us think about various scenarios where God is not available to us. I believe this will be a real eye-opener for us.

APPLICATION: Let’s think about critical times that we look forward to God being by our side, and how He intervenes on our behalf; then let us consider what we would do if He was not available to us:
a) When we are sick or injured and doctors don’t seem to know where to turn for answers – Christians turn to God in prayer, knowing that the same power He used to heal the blind man and to cleanse the leper, He could also make that healing available to us. But if God was not available to us we might become disheartened and disillusioned as the pain or discomfort from our illness worsens;
b) When we lose our job and the bills keep pouring in – Christians look to God for His invincible hand and ask Him to open doors to help us with our finances, just like He provided for the widow with just a morsel left in a jar. But if He no longer available, we may be forced into begging on the street, or perhaps selling what little we might own in material possessions in order to buy food;
c) When our kids are in trouble – either financially, health issues or losing a child – Christians turn to God in prayers of desperation, for if we were able, we would give up our last penny or our best shirt, if we thought it would provide their need, or answer their dilemma. But we pray because we know that ALL things are possible to the God that we love, know and adore. What if God was not available to the cry of His children, I can’t imagine what we would do.
Lest we take for granted the power of our God, and the presence of our God, and the love of our God for His precious children, we might assume that this was a non-event for the audience of Zechariah. However, in spite of their persistent disobedience, even after being forewarned by God, they continued along the evil path they were traveling. Friends, our pastors stand in our church pulpits each and every week, and they warn us of what lies ahead for those who reject Jesus, and for those who have hardened their hearts to His instructions. Are you paying attention? Are you following through in obedience to the commands of God? I trust that you will connect with God and begin by readying your heart for a holy God; then I pray that you will join me as we seek His guidance, wisdom and power to overcome the temptations of this world and to be obedient children of the King.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, I am thankful for You providing a way for us, even when we are traveling down a dark world of sin and disobedience. While still here in this world we struggle to separate ourselves and live according to Your Word. Please give us determined minds, and strengthen us to follow Your commands that You have put in place to help us live according to Your will and example. Thank You Jesus for accepting us as we are, and presenting us to the Father cleansed by Your precious blood. We need You every hour of every Day Lord. May Your will be done as we await Your kingdom some day soon! AMEN!

Commissioned As God’s Assistant

On 2020-03-072020-03-09 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Saturday, 2020-03-07
WRITTEN AT: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

BIBLE REFERENCE: Acts 26:15-18
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹⁵“I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus,^[h] the one you are persecuting. ¹⁶Get up and stand to your feet, for I have appeared to you to reveal your destiny and to commission you as my assistant.^[i] You will be a witness to what you have seen and to the things I will reveal whenever I appear to you.^[j] ¹⁷I will rescue you from the persecution of your own people and from the hostility of the other nations that I will send you to. ¹⁸And you will open their eyes to their true condition, so that they may turn from darkness to the Light^[k] and from the power^[l] of Satan to the power of God. By placing their faith in me they will receive the total forgiveness^[m] of sins and be made holy, taking hold of the inheritance that I give to my children!’

OBSERVATION: Imagine a pastor who you remember as the sidewalk drunk from your small town. Imagine the murderer, who finally got out of prison, coming to your door to tell you about Jesus. Imagine the baddest kid on your block during middle school, now in high school and telling everyone that he wants to be a pastor. As you meditate with me on this Scripture today, use these examples to understand why it was so challenging for Paul to convince King Agrippa of his current status as a minister of the Gospel. Read on in the Application to understand how this applies to you and I!

APPLICATION: Christians might tend to think that they will have a hard time convincing God that they are not the person they used to be. However, that’s the easy part, as God was the one who called you from that life of sin, into His wonderful kingdom of light! The challenge comes when we stand before an earthly person, such as the king before whom Paul stood. Today we tend to remember our high school friends, just like they were the last time we saw them in person – perhaps at graduation 20 years ago! A prosecutor will introduce you to the judge by reflecting on the worst years of your life, not for the good things you may have done. So Paul had quite a challenge on his hands, to convince King Agrippa that his life was changed by a man named ‘Jesus’. While you might easily identify with much of the above, I believe you might just as easily identify what Paul must have faced, and felt, when struck by the Light on the Damascus road. Because when we are filthy in sin, we tend to feel distant from God and unreachable by God. But notice what God did with Paul, He not only saved him from the life of persecution against God and His people, but He commissioned him to come and be actively involved in the work of God! Wow! I’ve heard people referred to as ‘bums’; ‘murderers’; ‘criminals’; ‘pedophiles’; ‘trash’; ‘no-goods’; etc, etc. What do you suppose God looks at people called by either of these names? They were created by God, so they are not throw-aways or junk. In fact, they were made in His likeness. If God is Father of all, then each of these types would be considered ‘His children’. Friends, Jesus went willingly to the cross of Calvary and was crucified, so that we, and each of these types, could be rescued from our life of sin, and go on to enjoy life eternally in heaven with He and His Father. Please remember today, that God rescued/saved Paul in spite of his misgivings and in spite of how others looked on him. When you feel the tug of God on your heart, please don’t brush Him off because of your condition at the time. He knows you, He knows about your sin, He knows about your need for salvation, and He will be quick to remind you that He died because He knew that you would have such a need. Surrender to Him today dear Friend, He is ready to commission you into His service just like He did for Paul, and all other sinners after Him. There is only one place to run when we acknowledge that we are mere sinners – to the ONLY One who is not a sinner, the ONLY One who can save – Jesus. Please read my Footnote for Biblical help on how to surrender your life to Jesus. A local Bible teaching pastor would be happy to speak with you, and I would love to hear from you also. You may not see a bright light quite like Paul, nor a calling of your name like Samuel, but it mat be a still small voice getting your attention, or a devotional similar to this one where God might call you away from persecuting Him, and to serve Him instead. Hearken to His call today my friend, while there is time.

PRAYER: Too often we think that we are way too evil to ever be considered by You, or used in Your service, oh Lord. But in our Scripture today You reminded us through Your call on Saul/Paul that You have a work for us to do and You are ready to commission us into Your service. Oh that each one reading this devotional today may be convinced of Your call on their life. Perhaps one might be deep in sin and feel so inadequate or ‘dirty’ to ever serve the King of all kings. Lord please touch the heart of each child that will read this blog today. Call them into service into whatever capacity You have set aside for them. There are many who need You, precious Lord, please use us to reach one in our circle of friends and family, so that Your kingdom might be enriched with more workers, more servants and more assistants today, for this is my humble prayer, with hopes that You would begin with me. AMEN!

As We Seek Your Face, Lord

On 2020-03-06 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Seek God's Face, Seeking God, Worship2 Comments

DATE WRITTEN: Friday, 2020-03-06
WRITTEN AT: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

BIBLE REFERENCE: Psalm 90:12
TRANSLATION: Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹²Teach us to number our days carefully
so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.

OBSERVATION: There are seasons in our lives that draw us into reality, and really causes us to focus on what’s important, or what should be important to us. In this prayer of Moses, we are reminded that God has full control of every aspect of our lives, and we should therefore seek His guidance on what might be important to us while still here on earth. Do you know what is most important for you to do/see/cover today? As we meditate, I pray that God will direct us to see and understand what should be our primary focus in life today, this week, this month and throughout the year.

APPLICATION: When I am around fellow work associates, I feel like there are lots of training I should undertake so that I might be the best employee possible. When I am around church friends, I feel like molding my life into Christ’s image, is top priority for me. When around friends who love to dance, I feel like I should take dance lessons so that I could be the best dancer possible. But we face all sorts of different people in a day, and each of them have their own priorities in life, so which of them do I listen to, or try to emulate? If I awoke this morning, having a very strong feeling like this is my last day on earth, I believe that I would quickly call for those that I have wanted to see for months. I would probably ask for a meal that has been on my taste buds for weeks, and I would probably make calls to relatives and friends that I have procrastinated on for a long time. I believe that it is evident that I would look for the things that are really important to me, but have been neglected or ‘pushed back’ for uncaring reasons. While there is a lot of speculation, or ‘what-ifs’ in the aforesaid, I believe that we could see from the heart-cry of Moses, that he saw where our negligence becomes critical, since we don’t know what today, or tomorrow holds for us. Perhaps today I might be in conversation with someone that I feel needs Jesus, but I might feel like inviting them to church with me on Sunday might help satisfy our heart’s concern for them. Moses asked that God help us to realize the brevity of time. If I knew that same friend that I met today, may not survive another day here on earth, would my conversation have gone any different with them? Think about what a successful day looks like to you. Probably one where you have a sense of accomplishment, right? What if there were missed opportunities, would it have felt quite as successful? I pray that the heart’s desire of each reader today will be similar to that of Moses: please God, show me the brevity of my time remaining so that I may interact with others wisely – as if this is my last opportunity to help them, or allow them to help me.

PRAYER: Please Lord, help us today to seek wisdom as if this was my last day on earth. May I say the things, and do the things that You desire, knowing that I may not have a second chance at doing any of these things, because of the limited stay of those that I come into contact with, or even the shortness of my time here. You’re in total control dear God, please help me to honor that and to seek Your face and direction for all that You wish to accomplish through me today. Speak intently to my readers and I about accomplishing all that You would have us to do today. AMEN!

The Battle’s Not Yours, But God’s

On 2020-03-052020-03-09 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Obedience, Praise, Recognize God, Surrender, Worship2 Comments

DATE WRITTEN: Thursday, 2020-03-05
WRITTEN AT: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

Bible Reference: 2 Chronicles 20:15
Translation: Living Bible (TLB)

Bible Text: ¹⁵“Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem, and you, O king Jehoshaphat!” he exclaimed. “The Lord says, ‘Don’t be afraid! Don’t be paralyzed by this mighty army! For the battle is not yours, but God’s!

OBSERVATION: Today we may be facing many battles. For some it might be a debilitating decease, for some it may be losing a loved one, while others may be facing the battle of divorce or separation. I believe that our leaders may be facing the battle of serious viruses, such as the coronavirus now rampant in many countries throughout the world. What shall we do? King Jehoshaphat was faced with an enormous battle and had a deep concern for the people that he ruled. Throughout this chapter from which our verse is taken, we could see how this King went boldly before the only One who has power over our battles – Almighty God. Perhaps you’re at a point where you need direction, let’s learn together from King Jehoshaphat how we must surrender our battles to the only One with perfect answers.

APPLICATION: I found several lessons in this story of king Jehoshaphat that spoke to me and opened my eyes to better ways of handling my battles. I believe that you, my readers, are no different to me, so I encourage you to read the whole chapter of 2 Chronicles 20 by clicking on the Bible reference link above. Here are some things that God drew to my attention:
~ The king acknowledged that he had a problem that was way over his head and beyond his capability;
~ The king was not ashamed of his inabilities. He not only went before God personally, but he called his people together and ordered a fast, so that together they might seek God’s face over this problem. The problem was bigger than the king, and he was prepared to seek someone greater who could help;
~ The king’s meeting with his people was not a time to plan their attack, but to humble themselves before Almighty God, seek His face, and ask for His direction and His powerful hand of protection;
~ In spite of the king being the main character in this story, God chose to respond through ‘just a man standing in the crowd’ as described by some commentaries. The king didn’t just pick up his toys and run on home with a disgruntled attitude about God not reporting back to him for his guided fast and prayer. A good reminder that we don’t control God, and that He uses the simple to confound the proud and the intelligent. It is always obvious that a response came from God, and not from our knowledge, abilities or self-worth;
~ There was no response back to the orders from God, other than full obedience! There was no need for the king to feel like he needed to have the last word. This was a ‘God’ thing, and nothing at all for which the king needed recognition from his people.

King Jehoshaphat was faced with a battle of proportions greater than anything he could handle. What kind of battles are you facing in your life dear friend? Do you know the God of king Jehoshaphat intimately? Are you at a place in your life where you could simply bow at His feet and lay your battles, or burdens there, and leave them there, being confident that He is still Lord of all and Master over all things that might impact us? Are you strong enough to ask of God, knowing that His response may not be your first choice? By asking, we know that there could be positive answers, in our sight, or perhaps answers that we were not expecting. Be willing to add to your prayer requests today: ‘Not my will, but Yours oh Lord – so that You may be glorified’.

PRAYER: Oh Lord, You are well aware of the battles we take on, that we should totally surrender to You. We make ourselves sick mentally, and otherwise, because we assume lordship over these personal issues. Please forgive us Lord, and strengthen us daily so that we may surrender our all to You and allow You to continue as God – the One in charge of all creation and the events surrounding every aspect of Your creation. Thank You for creating us to care about those that we connect with, but we need daily power to place them at Your feet and allow You to be God in them, through them and over them. I praise You God for who You are, I surrender my all to You knowing that Your love will sustain me as You work out every material indifference I may see all around me. Have Your will oh Lord, my King, my Redeemer and Savior. AMEN!

The Heart In Which To Perform Your Job

On 2020-03-04 By Ed AlgreenIn Christian love, Clean Heart, Know God's Heart, Love of God, Love others, The Father's Love, The love of God, Things God loves, Unconditional loveLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Wednesday, 2020-03-04
WRITTEN AT: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

Bible Reference: 2 Chronicles 19:9
Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

Bible Text: ⁹These were his instructions to them: “You must always act in the fear of the Lord, with faithfulness and an undivided heart.

OBSERVATION: In our Scripture today we read, with keen interest, the instructions that King Jehoshaphat gave to the judges that he appointed. I wonder if similar words are found in today’s induction ceremonies of our judges? But more than this, my heart was touched to think about those who serve in places of leadership in our churches. What about you fellow believer and leader in your own church, do you, or would you take an oath to serve under similar instruction to that offered by King Jehoshaphat? Take time to meditate on this today dear friends.

APPLICATION: I often print out the content of verses where God speaks to my soul, and I would pin those verses at places where I’m bound to look on them several times a day. This is one of those verses that would be an ideal to have stuck to your home PC monitor and/or at work, as a constant reminder from God about how to best complete your job, while honoring Him in the process. Friends, with God directing us and leading the way for us, how can we go wrong? How can we not be in His perfect will? Will this always be easy? No, but in verse 11 the king instructed the Levites to ‘Take courage as you fulfill your duties, and may the Lord be with those who do what is right.’ I am convinced that when we do right and always seek God’s direction for our decisions, we can know that God is by our side, giving us full support, encouragement and ultimate confidence. My greatest desire is to see our church leaders always look to God, and seek His heart for the ministry to which He has called them. I believe that when church leaders make their decisions and perform their responsibilities, they will have a greater desire to do God’s work without hesitation, knowing that they are pleasing Him, and that they are in the center of His perfect will for His church. When we do that, I believe that individually we will be blessed beyond comprehension or anything we could imagine. Let’s always remember, it’s God’s work; it’s His kingdom that we aim to attain; and it’s His blessings that we desire more than anything else. So let us learn to seek Him, obey Him and always praise Him for His love and His perfect will for our lives and the life of His church. God being my helper, I will always do the best job that I can do in everything assigned or attempted, for His ultimate glory, honor and praise! Consider joining me in this vow, so the world can see what its like to have ‘real’ Christian leaders in authority over them, and consequently find every reason to praise God for it!

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for Your precious Word. Our world is so filled with hatred, greed and selfishness, that I believe Your followers want to see in their church leaders, those who are chosen by You, ordained by You and blessed by You to fulfill the honest work of Your kingdom, in the fear of the Lord. Oh that Your church might become the place where troubled souls run to for refuge, and where leaders are wholeheartedly seeking and following Your will. Please protect Your church from the harm of being a stumbling block to those feeling led to be Your follower. May it always be obvious that Your house is a place of prayer, a place of worship, and a place where love abounds. May this encourage attendees to want this type of characteristic in their own homes and families. AMEN!

Where Wisdom Comes From

On 2020-03-03 By Ed AlgreenIn Let go and let God, Listen, Listen to the Word of God, WisdomLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Tuesday, 2020-03-03
WRITTEN AT: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

Bible Reference: 2 Chronicles 18:12–13
Translation: Good News Translation (GNT)

Bible Text: Meanwhile, the official who had gone to fetch Micaiah said to him, “All the other prophets have prophesied success for the king, and you had better do the same.” But Micaiah answered, “By the living LORD, I will say what my God tells me to!”

OBSERVATION: As we meditate on this Scripture today, let me encourage you to click on the Scripture reference above and read the whole chapter, for you will not only see where Micaiah listened intently to God for his direction, but also we see the same with king Jehoshaphat. The facing challenge for us today is to determine if we are a ‘crowd pleaser’, or a true servant of God seeking to obey Him in every way that He ordains. I believe that way too often we tend to be the former, instead of the latter. Is that pleasing to God?

APPLICATION: Hopefully we will see from our Scripture today that King Ahab had a lot to learn from God’s servants, and I hope that we too will take serious note of these men of integrity. Way too often we respond to people the way that we feel they want to hear, not the way that we feel prompted of God to speak. Notice in verse 6 that King Jehoshaphat did not give the automatic response that King Ahab expected of his friend. Notice in verses 12-13 that Micaiah was known for being the type person who would be obedient to God in spite of what the king or anyone else wanted to hear. This was so common for Micaiah that in vs 7 the king shared that he would just as soon not even have Micaiah come to prophesy for him, because he was known to say unexpected things. Often this strong minded, honest, dedicated type individual would meet with opposition from his peers, as seen in vs 12. But imagine the peace that Micaiah must have felt when he laid his head down at night, knowing that he laid truth on the line and allowed the chips to fall where they may. Imagine the alternative and how ineffective the prophet would have been if he merely spoke the popular word and then saw disaster follow. He could have gone into depression knowing that his faithfulness could have prevented a disaster. Friend, it is way more important to seek God’s face, listen to His voice and obey Him, in spite of possible breaks in friendships, popularity or even lack of promotion. We should strive to be popular in God’s sight, regardless of man’s opinion or desire. Our obedience to God supersedes everything else. So teachers, teach what the Word says, in spite of what might be going on in the lives of your class members. Pastors/Evangelists – preach what God lays on your heart, and especially what the Word declares. Let God speak to His people. He really don’t need you to sugar-coat things for Him. Sometimes saying it the way that it is written is far more effective, and will have more of an impact, than anything we can add to it. Let God be God and speak to, and through us as He speaks from a loving heart to His people!

PRAYER: Precious Lord, thank You for speaking so boldly to our hearts today through this Scripture and through the actions of King Jehoshaphat and through your servant, Micaiah. Ashamedly, I must acknowledge that I am often swayed by popular vote rather than always begging Your wisdom and Your direction. Please forgive me, and if there are others who read this devotional and acknowledge a similar trend in their life, please also speak to their heart about this matter today. You are Master over everything here on earth, and only You are wise enough to know what tomorrow brings. So as Your servants, please instill a sense of obedience and dependence on You, so that our decisions will make a difference for You, and remain in line with Your will. From a ‘self’ perspective, we tend to think way too much of self and our own gain. What this world needs now, is more of You and to be led in Your way through every decision and in every walk of life. Oh that Your servants may be the catalyst of seeing Your will revealed in every aspect of life in which we are involved. All for Your honor and Your glory, oh Lord. AMEN!

There’s Always A Cost For Delays

On 2020-03-022020-03-09 By Ed AlgreenIn Know Jesus, Knowing Christ, SalvationLeave a comment

Monday, 2020-03-02
Written at: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

Bible Reference: Acts 24:24-25
Translation: Good News Translation (GNT)

Bible Text: 24 After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he talked about faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ But as Paul went on discussing about goodness, self-control, and the coming Day of Judgment, Felix was afraid and said, “You may leave now. I will call you again when I get the chance.”

OBSERVATION: Delays are often very frustrating, and often cause us to lose our patience! However, yesterday there were thousands of self induced delays that members of our churches made, when presented with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Meditate with me on what happened in your respective church services over the weekend. Most attendees heard the Word of God, but they delayed their decision to act on the invitation given at the time. The big question is, what might this delay have cost them? Perhaps they said like Felix did, “I will deal with this another time”. Will there be ‘another time’ for them?

APPLICATION: When travelling to another state or country by plane or train, there is often the chance of delays, for one reason or another. If the fault is attributed to the airline, then they will often provide vouchers to the stranded passengers for food, and sometimes even for hotel, if the delay will prevent travelling the same day. Can you begin to imagine the costs paid by carriers for these delays? Yesterday the message of the Gospel was presented, and thousands of attendees at thousands of churches were given the opportunity to surrender their lives to Jesus as their Lord and Savior. No doubt your church, like mine, saw folk leave without accepting the invitation of the pastor, and the Holy Spirit that tugged on their hearts. I’m sure that there were many excuses for the decisions to delay following Christ. Why some left during the singing of the last hymn, because it was more important to be the first out of the busy church parking lot, or to be the first at the popular restaurants. Priorities of the individuals! But we are reminded through God’s Word, that He is in full control of their time here on earth. Will they have another opportunity quite like they had yesterday? Thankfully, I made it all the way home safely yesterday. Did everyone else from our church services have that same good fortune? Perhaps they did, or perhaps they didn’t. God’s Word has very clear advice for us when it tells us that “now is the accepted time”, the only moment promised to us. Think about this friends: at our borders all those arriving with proper authentication (passports and appropriate visas) are allowed in, while others are rejected and expatriated back to their home country. This will be no different at the entrance to Heaven’s portals, because the rules are similar to those followed by our immigration officers. For entrance into heaven, only those who have personally accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior (that’s their passport and visa) will be accepted into God’s eternal home, others will be returned to their home of choice with Satan and his band of demons. Friends, please don’t delay, it could cost you eternal life with the God of this universe. The creator, Savior and King, who loved you enough to die on a cruel cross, so that you might receive forgiveness of your sin, when you invite Him in. Your delay could cost you big time. Please let me encourage you to not even wait for the next service time, contact a pastor or Christian leader of a local church, or contact me so that I may help you, but PLEASE, don’t delay, make a decision today.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, many of us just attended church yesterday and here you are beating up on us again today through this illustration with Felix delaying his decision to hear more from Paul. The delays brought on by Felix cost him. I pray that my readers, and all those that we love and pray for, will accept You at Your Word, while there is time to do so. Thank You for loving us enough to have given us multiple opportunities do this. And while we have no control over whether there will be another opportunity, I pray that many will STOP and cry out to You even now. I praise You for not giving up on me. Today I humbly plead with You to melt the hearts of those that meditated on this devotional with me today, as they were given another opportunity to call on You for salvation. Please bring them to their senses and embolden them to make this vital decision. Without further delays, may today be the day of salvation for all who might meditate on this devotional with me. For this is my humble and earnest prayer, in the name of Jesus alone, and for His glory alone. AMEN!

Obedience – Even In Light Of Opposition

On 2020-03-01 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Obedience, Obedient, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

Saturday, 2020-02-29
Written while at: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS, USA

Bible Reference: 2 Chronicles 14:2-6
Translation: The Message (MSG)

Bible Text: ^2-6Asa was a good king. He did things right in God’s eyes. He cleaned house: got rid of the pagan altars and shrines, smashed the sacred stone pillars, and chopped down the sex-and-religion groves (Asherim). He told Judah to center their lives in God, the God of their fathers, to do what the law said, and to follow the commandments. Because he got rid of all the pagan shrines and altars in the cities of Judah, his kingdom was at peace. Because the land was quiet and there was no war, he was able to build up a good defense system in Judah. God kept the peace.

OBSERVATION: I often wonder when we are so determined to please everyone around us, whether we are really capable of standing firm in our commitment to serve God alone. Asa showed us in today’s Scripture that one could serve God, whether no one else around you did. How do you do under pressure? Are you strong enough to hold strong to your own belief system, even when among strong opposition? Let’s see how Asa made out with this, and how we might apply this to our own lives.

APPLICATION: In the words of a former boss: it would have been ‘easy-peasy’ for Asa to come into his position as king, and do the same ole, same ole. It would have been smoother for him to do what the people were doing and just continue to worship the same old idols. But we could see from our Scripture today that Asa had a relationship with the Creator of this world, and he chose to worship and obey only God. He wasn’t about to have a meltdown and soften his stance, for He knew in whom He believed, and that He would keep him secure right to the very end. Furthermore looking at Asa’s story many years after the fact, we could see that because Asa obeyed what God led him to do, he was actually preparing himself for a day when God would actually save he and his people from total destruction. I believe that Asa decided in his heart that he would serve God, and God alone, and that he would not only listen to God from a personal perspective, but that He would depend solely on God for the decisions involving the country he was assigned to lead. Friends, I don’t know about you, but when we are hired on by a company to lead a team of workers, the challenge is not merely to understand the work, although that is very important, but more so, there is an enormous task to lead the team in working together to produce the best results for the employer. This is a much deeper challenge, for there will be staff who are like you, and wanting to do the best job possible, while working harmoniously together with other team members. However, there are some who are out for selfish gain and out to tear others down so they could get ahead. Throughout your day, you have absolutely no idea what will transpire between those team members, nor how your day may be totally disrupted by the personal issues impacting your team. If you knew what to expect, then you could pray especially for those individuals and their challenges, but more often than not, you have no idea. Over my 47 years in the workforce, I found that there was One who knew all about the things that I thought was impossible. So with my hand in the hand of the Master, I asked God to help me through each day and to give me direction, strength and wisdom to handle every circumstance in a way pleasing to Him. I remember days when I would simply sit back and say silently to God, ‘OK, what’s next God, because I have no idea where to go from here!’. I remember many days when I would reflect back on my day and simply give God praise for His handiwork, because it was evident that He gave me the words to respond in the activities of that day, and He gave me the peace to know that every little thing would be OK. You see, in our story today we could see that Asa was strengthened to do the things that he knew needed to be done. Later in this same chapter, Asa found out that the same God that helped him through the decisions included in today’s verses, He was the same God that Asa would call on when his limited sized army was challenged with the approaching army of over one million soldiers. I hope that we might be reminded today that our God is not just able to handle the smaller things that tend to get in our way, or may cause us to stumble, but He is also the God who could move mountains, raise the dead from the grave, heal the sick and cause the blind to see. There is absolutely no other, like our God my dear friend. Seeing your way through circumstances that appear impossible to you, is but a very simple resolution for our Creator! Have you placed your faith and trust in Him yet? May I please encourage you to read my Footnote and the pages that are linked in that Footnote, so that God may show you, through His Word, that He not only created you, and not only prepared a place for you after life on this old sinful earth, but He is also able, willing and ready to help you through every circumstance of life while here on earth, if you accept Him as Lord and Savior. Do this today dear friend. Jesus is waiting for your call on Him today!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, although I can thank You for life itself, there are so many times here on earth that my readers and I are so overwhelmed that we have no idea where we will turn next. Thank You for using this story of Asa to show us that the same God who defended Asa and his country from the onslaught of a huge army, is also the same God that we can place our faith and trust in for our everyday concerns. Often our concerns may seem just as large as the overwhelming army that was approaching Judah, but praise be to the One true God, we have every confidence that You can win our battles also. Please help us to stand firm in our beliefs, and to act like children of the King in every circumstance of life. May Your name be honored, lifted up and praised today by Your people, in whom You have already done an awesome work, so that we may stand in awe of the One in whom we have believed. AMEN!