God’s Word Says….

Acts 21:4 (NCV)

⁴ We found some followers in Tyre and stayed with them for seven days. Through the Holy Spirit they warned Paul not to go to Jerusalem.

My Thoughts…..

“We’ve come a long way, baby” is the first thought that hit me as God caught my attention on this verse this morning. Imagine with me for a moment that we were on a trip from south Florida to north Georgia, and instead of sitting down and mapping out the best restaurants, or the motels that we prefer staying at, that we actually mapped out family and friends who lived within close proximity to our route! Especially Christian friends that we met at some point in our lives while visiting their church! Imagine the closeness that would reignite in our relationships! Paul and his entourage was forced to stop into the port at Tyre because they were traveling on a ship that had cargo for that port. They didn’t stay on the ship, nor did they look for a local establishment, but instead they searched for and found believers in that city that they could stay with. Now I know, you don’t want to be the local Holiday Inn bothered by folk always stopping in to stay with you, but friends we really need to do a better job of spending time with one another and enriching our family and friend relationships. Based on the verses that follows, I get the distinct impression that the lives of Paul and his team, as well as the families they stayed with, were enriched by this short stay. In fact, God even worked through one of the host members to share concern with Paul about his next visit to Jerusalem. Imagine that in today’s environment. You stop over for the night with a cousin, and the next morning they advise you to go west through Alabama instead of going straight north to north Georgia, as God shared with them there is trouble ahead for you! What on earth would our reaction be to that?

Challenge……

We have become so independent and want to do things on our own without any bother to anyone. Unfortunately, this has crossed the line in two ways:

1. We have become distanced from our family and friends;
2. We have distanced ourselves from God, because we refuse to allow Him to speak to us directly, or through other believers.

Friends, we must do a better job of “Leaning on the everlasting arms” of God, and “Trusting Him what‘er betide”, because “Trusting Jesus, that is all” – our only hope. Let’s draw nearer to God and to each other as we struggle along this cruel pathway of life.

Prayer……

Dear God, please continue to work on us and make us humble, obedient servants of Yours. We absolutely cannot do this thing called ‘life’ all by ourselves. We especially need You, Your wisdom and Your direction, but we also need our family and friends, for we are support for each other. Please help us to look for ways to spend time with family, and not the opposite. Please help us to look for ways to show servant-hood to others. Please speak to us on behalf of our loved ones so that our relationships would become more cemented, and ultimately centered on You. Please help us to never think that we can do this ‘life’ thing alone. I don’t believe that You intended it to be that way, instead I believe that You want us to reflect Your love towards others, and that can only come through us getting involved in their lives. Please help us to daily walk and talk more like You, because we want others to see You as they interact with us. Lord, this can only be done with Your power and in Your name, so I ask it in the almighty name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, 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.

God’s Word Says….

Acts 20:31-33 (NCV)

³¹ So be careful! Always remember that for three years, day and night, I never stopped warning each of you, and I often cried over you. ³² “Now I am putting you in the care of God and the message about his grace. It is able to give you strength, and it will give you the blessings God has for all his holy people.

My Thoughts…..

I am reminded of program implementations at my workplace. When we purchase a new program, we are given an implementation team to work with us to insure that everything works flawlessly on the actual day of implementation. This often involves long tiring days by this team to insure success. A few days after implementation and the program is working flawlessly, we are then turned over to the regular support team so the implementation team could give their full attention to the next customer who is ready for the program. Paul had spent about three years ministering with this church at Ephesus, and we know that his work was heartfelt and sincere because he shared how he often prayed and ministered both day and night through hours of tears, concern and love for the people. Friends, I believe that many of our pastors today have this same genuine concern for our spiritual wellbeing. I hear words from my pastor often that tells me that his heart is burdened for the flock God has given him charge of. No doubt our pastors that decide, like Paul, to move on to another church or area of ministry, must really have a heart-to-heart session with God and ask for His ongoing tender loving care over the flock being left behind. From previous moves to different locations, I know how hard it is to leave dear friends behind, hoping that their success will continue even without you in their lives.

Challenge……

Friends, this passage was not placed in the Bible just for pastors, although I feel it is very applicable to them. But how is your concern level for the salvation of family members, friends or other church members? When last have you gone to bed praying for them, awaken the next morning with a burden to pray for them again, or shared with them about the love of Jesus and His desire to see them surrender their lives to Him? Do they see enough evidence (gifts of the Spirit) in your life that they would respect hearing your concern for their salvation? Are you ever burdened to the point of tears? How serious are you, really, about the salvation of those in your realm of influence? This chapter shows us that Paul labored without pay from the church, but with such passion that he was often brought to tears and endless hours praying and/or ministering to the people. I believe that God can use more folk like that today – you and I!

Prayer……

Dear Lord, in Your powerful name, I want to ask that You work on the hearts of Christians – my friends and I, that we may be more concerned/burdened for the souls of those that we know and love. Our family and friends are dying all around us and we are missing opportunities to show them the way to salvation. I thank You Lord for saving my soul, please help me now to use this enriched life to minister to my family, friends, coworkers and acquaintances, so that they too might accept You as Lord and therefore ready themselves for our hallelujah meeting in the air with You one day. Oh, what a day that will be! Lord, we Your soldiers are living under the radar, and friends are not seeing enough evidence in our lives for them to want any part of what we may boast of at times. Please forgive us, but do strengthen us with the boldness and heart of Paul, so that we will not rest until we see results in the lives of those that we are praying to accept You as Lord. I humbly ask all this in your matchless and wonderful name, the name above all names, JESUS. 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.

God’s Word Says….

Acts 20:26-27 (NCV)

²⁶ So today I tell you that if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible, ²⁷ because I have told you everything God wants you to know.

My Thoughts…..

I don’t know about you, but I have had situations where I beat up on myself pretty good for not sharing more of the gospel than I did with certain individuals. I often wish that I might be bold enough to share God’s love for each person with them in such a bold, yet humble and vivid way that they might be truly impacted and see the need of my Savior. In reflection, did I say as much as God wanted me to say to that lost person? I believe that because I prayed God’s will on my visit, that perhaps I did say all that He wanted me to share. But reflecting back on the fact that my visit was the last opportunity to truly witness to the individual, I can’t help but have regrets. Paul has set a good example for us in the Scriptures, for he was bold, forthright and unapologetic. He knew that he would probably be arrested and imprisoned, but he knew more so that he had the gospel of Jesus Christ to declare to the lost and dying of the communities that he visited. The latter always took precedence in his life. Can we say the same? In these two verses Paul declares that he had a clear conscience and that there were no regrets. In fact, he place any regrets on the hearts and minds of his listeners, for they would be held even more accountable after hearing the Word of God but yet rejecting it and not allowing God to have His way in their lives.

Challenge……

God will place someone in our path today that needs to surrender their life to Him and know Him intimately. Paul has reminded us in this passage that he was able to leave his ministry area without regrets. In fact he was so sure that he had shared everything that the folk needed for salvation that he basically told them that their fate is now totally in their hands. Hopefully we can rest our heads tonight with no regrets, knowing that we have been totally obedient to God, and that we showed total love to those that we came in contact with today by sharing with them the only way to live eternally with Jesus in heaven. Will this be easy? Only if we do like Paul and acknowledge that this type work must be done without any thought of danger or worldly distraction, and that God will accomplish His will through the work that we do in His name and for His sake.

Prayer……

Lord Jesus, I believe that only what’s done in Your name, under Your direction and for Your glory, will be of value in eternity. I also acknowledge that there is no power in this human body that can impact the life of an individual enough that they would want to change their whole lifestyle and their allegiance to a life dedicated to, and patterned after, You. Therefore, I pray that my life will be so prayed up and dedicated to You that I would overflow with Your joy and be filled with Your Holy Spirit so that a lost person might actually see You in all Your glory and flawlessness, and not the weakness and ineffectiveness of mere man. Please use me even today, so that You may impact a lost person through me. I also pray that my friends who meditate on this devotional today may also hear from You and realign their lives to be useful by You.

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.

God’s Word Says….

Job 13:5-6 (NCV)

⁵ I wish you would just stop talking; then you would really be wise!

⁶ Listen to my argument, and hear the pleading of my lips.

My Thoughts…..

Ever have someone visit you and they don’t stop talking long enough for you to get a word in about how you are really feeling? Frustrating, isn’t it? I’ve been on both sides, so I believe I can identify with Job’s friends and with Job. As the visitor, we tend to feel like it is our responsibility to visit and make the person feel better. So we gather as much information about the person, then we either build up a wall of defense, just in case they decide to tear us apart, or we load up our minds with what we think they need mentally to help them feel better. As the sick or hurting person, Job in this case, we need someone that we can talk with and possibly identify with us. So if the visitor would just listen and nod their head occasionally to show they are listening or identifying with us, we would feel like we are not alone in our struggle. The last thing we need is a visitor, friend, pastor, elder or deacon, to visit and beat up on us about what we should have done, or how another member never overcame the illness that they had similar to ours. We don’t want false help, because although sick, we can quickly see through lies or false pretenses. Fortunately Job listened to all his friends had to say, but now he is lashing back at them. A visit to the unknown, and this would include a visit to a friend or fellow church member, is like walking into the unknown. Pray and ask God for wisdom, a listening ear and a kind word to encourage the person with. Remember, the sick person has been shut up in a room all day and needs someone to just listen to all they’ve been thinking about. Ask God to take away your desire to make them feel better with unending talk. There may be stuff the sick person would lay on the visitor that they want you to pray for and possibly help them find ways to correct, like family matters or unresolved differences or best of all, to know Jesus personally! If we don’t listen, we will leave without knowing the heart of the one we visited!

Challenge……

For those considering a visit to a sick friend, a shut-in or hospitalized, I would challenge you today with the words of Job, please don’t fill the room with chatter but listen to the person. You are visiting to help them feel better, this might very well be best served by listening to them. They may have had all day, or even several days without a visitor, so they may have lots on their mind to talk about. I’ve heard of scenarios where a visitor went to help someone feel better, but left being uplifted and blessed themselves. This is hard to gain, if you don’t stop and listen! Sure you may leave without saying half of what you wanted to share with the person, but who are you going there to help, them or you? This is very hard for us to do anymore, because we often feel like the room has to be filled with chatter, and that there is so much that we need to get off our chest. Sitting or standing in the room of a person who has been bedridden or home-bound for days is not the place for you to unload! This reminds me of our times with God, is that time spent mostly allowing yourself time to unload, or do you give yourself time to listen to God? Think about it friend!

Prayer……

Lord Jesus, in Your precious and wonderful name, I ask that You humble us to listen more and speak less. You are the designer and maker of each person, so You know how prone we are to build ourselves up and show off our knowledge and our experiences, yet You placed us here on earth to worship and praise You, and to be a blessing to others. Please help us to get off our ‘soap boxes’ and to show humility in all things, like You did, especially in our dealings with others. Yes, we may have something important to add to a conversation, but I know that we need to be more like You and place You at the very top, or leader of all things, then place others before ourselves. No matter how uneducated the other person is, they are a valued child of our King, please help us to always bear that in mind and learn from them and their experiences. As You lead us with the right words to say, may we be obedient and loving in sharing, so that You may ultimately receive honor and praise from all involved. We can only accomplish this with Your guidance and Your help dear Lord, so I ask this in Your powerful, yet loving 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.

God’s Word Says….

Acts 20:7-12 (NCV)

⁷ On the first day of the week, we all met together to break bread, and Paul spoke to the group. Because he was planning to leave the next day, he kept on talking until midnight. ⁸ We were all together in a room upstairs, and there were many lamps in the room. ⁹ A young man named Eutychus was sitting in the window. As Paul continued talking, Eutychus was falling into a deep sleep. Finally, he went sound asleep and fell to the ground from the third floor. When they picked him up, he was dead. ¹⁰ Paul went down to Eutychus, knelt down, and put his arms around him. He said, “Don’t worry. He is alive now.” ¹¹ Then Paul went upstairs again, broke bread, and ate. He spoke to them a long time, until it was early morning, and then he left.

My Thoughts…..

Ever have friends over for a meal, and an evening of board games and fellowship together that might run into the wee hours of the morning? This really helps us to keep our relationships intact and rejuvenates our personal lives, doesn’t it? Ever go to a party that lasts well after midnight? I’m sure that you didn’t even get sleepy because you found ways to keep yourself entertained, right? Isn’t it interesting though, how the least little thing will interfere with us attending a church service or a Bible Study or a Prayer Meeting? Isn’t it just as pitiful when we make the awesome sacrifice and please the preacher by attending a service, only to fall asleep in the service? Isn’t it also just as pitiful that we have plans already lined up for 60 or 70 minutes after the church start time? I believe that we have made a mockery of our time with God for we have placed Him in a box – both as to what He can do, and how much time we will give Him to do it.

Challenge……

Friends, I know that we have become a really busy people, and we just don’t have time for everything in our busy lifestyles, so surely God will understand if we can’t get up early to meditate on His Word, or attend a Wednesday night Prayer and Bible Study service, right? Careful how you answer this friend, for you are not just answering a question for the writer, but you are acknowledging to the Creator of life and this world, the One who knows all things, that you have other priorities that are far more important than your time needed to spend with Him and His people. Now before you turn this Brother off and promise yourself to never meditate on another ‘Nuggets’ devotional, I want you to try an experiment for one week. I want you to make an effort to attend Bible School and at least one weekend service and a midweek service at your church. I also want you to commit 10-15 minutes of private, quiet and undisturbed time with the Lord in prayer and Bible Study each day. Then, should you not make one of those times, I want you to ask God for forgiveness for not making time with Him a priority in your life at that time. Please DO NOT give God the excuse that you didn’t have time. After one week I want you to analyze how you did and whether this is something you can continue. Know that this suggested time with God represents 0.04% of the time God blessed you with during that week! So although it sounds like a lot of time compared to what you are spending with God today, it is minute compared to the time He is blessing you with to do everything else you have to do or want to do. In a good relationship with our spouse or our friends, we don’t place a cap on the time we spend together, please join me in not doing this in our time with God – whether at church or at home. He deserves our best!

Prayer……

Lord Jesus, in Your precious and holy name I ask that you please allow us another opportunity to right our relationship with You. I am ashamed that my friends and I invest so little of the time that You bless us with each week, in actual study of Your Word or in worship services, where we join hearts and souls with other believers to worship You. We are a blessed people, yet we go on with our lives like You owe us these blessings. We take for granted You and Your precious love for us. Please forgive me, and please touch the hearts of my friends meditating on this devotional today so that they may correct their allotted time with You. We are blessed with daily wonders and rich blessings, plus You have even provided means for us to spend eternity with You, please help us to never cheat ourselves of any time that we can spend with You and/or Your people. Thank You for loving us enough to help us draw closer to You, for it is in Your wonderful name that I pray, 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.

God’s Word Says….

Job 11:6-9 (GNT)

⁶ …. God is punishing you less than you deserve. ⁷ Can you discover the limits and bounds of the greatness and power of God? ⁸ The sky is no limit for God, but it lies beyond your reach. God knows the world of the dead, but you do not know it. ⁹ God’s greatness is broader than the earth, wider than the sea.

My Thoughts…..

Job was a man that God trusted enough that He allowed Satan to test him and try him to prove his faithfulness to the Lord. He had already gone through quite a bit dealing with Satan, and his closest friends were now trying to comfort him and offer strength to him to help him overcome the discouragement of feeling like God had abandoned him. Yet, Zophar is telling Job that God is still very merciful to him, and that he would really be in trouble if God had to allow everything on even him (Job) that he deserves. Wow, what a thought!

Challenge……

To the world, it may appear that we are pretty good folk. But how do you suppose we look to God? The One who knows every hair on our heads, and who knows even our inmost thoughts and desires even before we make them public, or perhaps never make them public. This is a frightening and mind-sobering thought friends. This tells me that we have no one to fool but ourselves. We cannot fool God! In spite of this challenging thought, further down in this chapter we are told how we should expect to see live correctly. In verses 13-15 we read: “You must give your whole heart to Him and hold out your hands to Him for help. Put away the sin that is in your hand; let no evil remain in your tent. Then you can lift up your face without shame, and you can stand strong without fear.” These are some power-packed verses friends, and I don’t know about you, but I have actually printed these out to pin up on my wall in front of my study area to remind me of what God expects from me. We must constantly be reminded that this Christian life is not just a one-time decision and then no worries about the relationship between God and us. This type attitude affects marriages, so imagine what it does to our relationship with God. Let’s follow the direction of verses 13-15 so that we can stand strong and without fear before our God.

Prayer……

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your mercy and Your grace. Even while we were still sinners, You went to the cross and sacrificed Your life just to provide eternal life for us. It is very hard for me to imagine that kind of love, yet I believe Your Word that You are that kind of loving God. Thank You! Through all the busyness of this life, may I plead with You to keep me focused on Your love and Your mercy. Would You kindly help me to daily put away the sin in my life and any evil that remains in my home, so that I may lift my face without shame, and stand strong in Your presence without fear? I very badly want this for my Christian brothers and sisters also, because I need that soldier by my side to be equally as strong as we face Satan and his ugly darts in our daily walk. Please keep us humble, but very honest before You. Please keep us pliable so that You can mold us and use us as You have need, in order to reach unsaved family, loved ones, neighbors, friends and coworkers. This all sounds like an enormous request, but I am asking this in the all powerfully name of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, who can do all things! 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.

God’s Word Says….

Acts 19:39-41 (NCV)

³⁹ If there is something else you want to talk about, it can be decided at the regular town meeting of the people. ⁴⁰ I say this because some people might see this trouble today and say that we are rioting. We could not explain this, because there is no real reason for this meeting.” ⁴¹ After the city clerk said these things, he told the people to go home.

 My Thoughts…..

I read through this passage today and thought that there were no takeaways for me. However, as I reflected on what was really taking place in Acts 19 I believe that God made it clear to me that distractions will often disrupt the meat of what God is placing before us to feed our souls. I recently took a trip, and the morning I that I was leaving I awoke early so I could have my time with God. My mind was so diluted and distracted with all of the planning for the day that I just couldn’t settle down to properly study the Word. As part of leadership in a local church, I remember that every time we began preparing our hearts and the church body for revival services, Satan would barge in and disrupt the work of the Holy Spirit with hopes that our people would be so distracted that it would be virtually impossible to receive true revival from God. Based on what the city clerk said to the people in verses 35-41, it is evident that Demetrius and his gang had no real case to present Paul before the people of Ephesus for any type of action, so Satan was using this as a distraction to Paul’s continued efforts to reach the people for Christ.

Challenge……

Friends, we must be constantly on guard for these types of distractions in our personal lives, and in the life of our churches. It would be extremely challenging for us to stand before Jesus with lame excuses about how our opportunities to teach a lesson from the Word, or preach the Gospel was interrupted or distracted by some of the simple things that we allow to occur in our Bible teaching classrooms or our churches. Imagine being questioned by God about a lost one who waited for you to share the love of Christ with them, but instead you were too distracted by the television, or by the gossip that arose. Wouldn’t that be sad? But we must realize that it would then be too late to do anything about the problem. So our challenge, is to stay on target with teaching, preaching and witnessing. Let’s ask God to get our attention when He sees distractions interfering with His mission for us, so that we may stay focused and determined to do God’s work, and that He might be glorified through souls being won to Him. So many of us never find time for study of the Word of God. We must acknowledge that it is not a matter of finding time to be alone with God, but rather the lack of priority on our part. We can do anything we set as a priority in our lives, so it’s up to us!!

 Prayer……

In the name of the one true God, my Lord and Savior, may I please ask that You work in my life to steer me away from distractions that cause me to lose focus on the study of God’s Word. May I also be wise enough and humble to listen to Your voice and bold enough to help stop distractions. It is way too important to stop a soul from going to Hell than any conflict that might cause a distraction. Please speak to the hearts of those who might identify with me and my interpretation of the events in this passage. May we, together, seek to do a better job in our lives today is my humble and respectful prayer to You, My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; for it is in Your name alone that I ask all this, 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.

God’s Word Says….

Acts 19:25-27 (NCV)

²⁵ Demetrius had a meeting with them and some others who did the same kind of work. He told them, “Men, you know that we make a lot of money from our business.

²⁶ But look at what this man Paul is doing. He has convinced and turned away many people in Ephesus and in almost all of Asia! He says the gods made by human hands are not real. ²⁷ There is a danger that our business will lose its good name, but there is also another danger: People will begin to think that the temple of the great goddess Artemis is not important.

My Thoughts…..

When reading and reflecting on this passage of scripture, I was reminded of how little our culture has changed. For even today I believe that the biggest opposition for Christianity would probably come from the business sector that is most affected financially by a growing church. Think about it, when our friends and family come to know Jesus and gain a desire to be obedient to God’s Word, they will quickly recognize that many of their worldly pleasures are unimportant, or just downright wrong. Most of our business people today are just as greedy, aggressive, demanding and threatening as Demetrius and his cohorts were in Paul’s day. Unfortunately, I believe we would quickly see how quickly our ungodly business people will pull in the reigns and react to a decline in their business, if they see their employees and/or customers choosing a better, more honest and godly way to live. In fact, I wonder how this type of expected reaction might be affecting the ministry of our churches already. I truly believe that certain teachings of the Bible are smoothed over by some ministers/teachers to appease certain business owners, so that they would not withdraw their financial support of our churches, or employment of our members. This is a sad statement, but I believe that it might surprise us how accurate this unfortunate statement might be.

 Challenge……

Can you identify with any of the above? Are you praying for your pastor, teachers and leaders that they might stay true to God’s Word and teach/preach the Gospel in and out of season? In other words, that they have the freedom and liberty to teach and preach what God has laid on their hearts? Friends, I feel very strongly that the pulpit or church classrooms must not be used as a place for us to voice our political, or even business views. I believe that God will bless the ministry that is sold out to God and committed to preaching and teaching the Word of God without regard to whose toes might be stepped on. If we can’t receive correction at church, where else will our wicked ways be corrected? The world will only add to, and worsen our evil practices, because that’s all they know. Please pray and support your church leaders. Please encourage them by telling them you are praying for them. Please support your church ministries with your presence, your hard work and your finances. If we the members, would tithe like we are taught Biblically, and give of our time and talents, we wouldn’t have to depend on ungodly businesses. In fact, they might soon find themselves dependent on the churches, and they might therefore correct their ungodly practices in an effort to get our support!! Let’s do our part so that God’s kingdom here on this earth might be realized, and that it might flourish!

 Prayer……

Lord Jesus, it’s in Your most Holy and reverent name that I ask that you forgive us, Your people, yes especially those that have accepted You as Lord, for although we have allowed You to enter our hearts and our lives, yet we still follow way too much of this world’s practices and its evil ways. We support businesses that are unworthy, because of decisions and practices of their ownership and leadership, so they continue to flourish and present even greater challenges to our church ministries. Please create in us a new heart, and a life that is totally dedicated to You. As this develops, may we then change our pattern for life so that You may shine through every aspect of our lives, whether at church or at work or even at play. To truly be ‘Christ-like’ there is much in need of correction in our lives. Please show us these things today Lord, and grant us the strength and fortitude to stay focused on You and less on this old world that only pulls us away from You. Only You can do this Lord Jesus, so it is in Your wonderful and all-powerful name that I ask this, 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.

God’s Word Says….

Acts 19:16-20 (GNT)

¹⁶ The man who had the evil spirit in him attacked them with such violence that he overpowered them all. They ran away from his house, wounded and with their clothes torn off. ¹⁷All the Jews and Gentiles who lived in Ephesus heard about this; they were all filled with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was given greater honor. ¹⁸Many of the believers came, publicly admitting and revealing what they had done. ¹⁹Many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burnt them in public. They added up the price of the books, and the total came to 50,000 silver coins. ²⁰In this powerful way the word of the Lord kept spreading and growing stronger.

 My Thoughts…..

It seems miraculous how God got to the masses at Ephesus! I say ‘masses’ because we are told that many practiced witchcraft and sorcery. I’m sure that God was mightily using His servant Paul, but He also used a situation that actually involved a few of their own wicked bunch to get through to the people. In our highlighted verses we read where God brought great fear among the people by intensifying a situation between the wicked and the pretenders who tried to mimic Paul’s ministry. I find it so amazing, that in spite of all that God did at Calvary for us, yet He will still use scenarios that really touch our lives to get our attention and bring us to our senses. Oh, how He loves us! I know of situations where, through death of a loved one, a relative gave his heart to the Lord. Likewise, you may know of situations where others came to the Lord through war, or automobile accidents, etc. Friends, why do we need tragedy to bring us to our knees? God is still God, whether we are on a mountain top scenario, or whether we are at the very bottom because of a tragedy. What will it take to get your attention friend?

 Challenge……

Jesus showed great love for us on the cross. Let us recognize His goodness daily and allow Him preeminence over every aspect of our lives. When we do this, we prepare our hearts for the tough times, in that we know that our Master will be victorious even through those times. To those meditating on this today that have not yet accepted Jesus as Lord, please make this a day of salvation for yourself. Just as building muscle will help you withstand injury in a fall or other serious impact to the body, knowing Jesus will give you the calm assurance in good and bad times, that regardless of the outcome of a situation, you are assured, and have peace about your eternal destination. Just as we are told in verse 20 that the work of the Lord grew stronger, I want to remind you that when you surrender your life to Jesus, He will find ways to use your witness to also grow His work among your unsaved loved ones, for the ultimate glory of the Almighty God. Please don’t wait for God to use an unfortunate disaster in your life or the life of a loved one, for Him to bring you to your knees. He loves you enough that He would do anything to get through to you, but give your heart to Him willingly and not under due rest, please?

 Prayer……

Dear God, in Your precious name I want to ask that You again tender the hearts of my loved ones that don’t yet know You in a personal and intimate way. Please cause their hearts to look up to You in surrender and then plead forgiveness of their sin. Please may it be enough that they be stirred in their spirit to surrender, without having to use drastic measures to get their attention. Lord, may I have that same urgency today in sharing Your love with someone who needs that final word of encouragement before making this vital decision. Please bless in wonderful ways today, is my humble prayer made in Your most holy name, 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.

God’s Word Says….
Acts 9:13-15 (NCV)

13 But some people also were traveling around and making evil spirits go out of people. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to force the evil spirits out. They would say, “By the same Jesus that Paul talks about, I order you to come out!” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. 15 But one time an evil spirit said to them, “I know Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”

My Thoughts…..

Having just read in the preceding verses how people were healed with the touch of Paul’s handkerchief by his followers, it would almost seem natural for it to flow that these sons of a leading priest, Sceva, would have the same supernatural power to heal, especially if they followed the same method that Paul’s followers used – by using the name of Jesus in their demand for evil spirits to come out of people. However, the evil spirits quickly realized that there was no power in the vain use of Jesus’ name by these individuals. Friends, I believe that there is great power in the name of Jesus, but I also believe that it is Jesus who does the healing, and not individuals. In fact, for those individuals who do not know Jesus personally, and I am of the impression that these sons of Sceva fit this description, they really have no business using Jesus’ name, and they definitely have no authority to act on His behalf. So how does this relate today? While I am not the judge, I believe that way too many folk today lay their hands on people, and make demands in Jesus’ name, claiming a supernatural power because they know Jesus. Friends, I am very comfortable praying and asking Jesus to please heal someone, but I do not believe that Jesus is a puppet that I can demand Him to heal someone. He is the master of all things, so He is fully aware of what will bring Himself glory, and what will serve to meet our selfish needs and desires. I am convinced that I must seek His face and allow His kingdom and His work to be fulfilled, not my selfish desires or the wish of someone who only knows God when there is a need in their life. Does He still give power to folk to heal today, like He did with Paul? Friend, my God is all powerful and He can use a stone to bring forth water, so I know that He is able to use His chosen people to be used as His instrument to lay hands on someone and heal them. My only caution is that God be glorified and that He be the One doing the healing and not for a moment should we get the impression that we can do any of this of our own accord. We can very easily bring condemnation on ourselves if we act like we are messengers of His, but without His divine authority.

Challenge……

We serve an awesome, all powerful God, who has power to heal the sick and give sight to the blind. In fact, He even brought the dead back to life. Wouldn’t it be praise-worthy if we saw healing in our church services, or during our visitation of the sick or shut-ins? Friends, there is only one source for healing – it is through Jesus my Lord! He alone has the power to do all things, for in His Word He declares that ALL things are possible through Him. Does He need help from us? I believe you will quickly agree with me that we have no such power as our Lord, when we attempt anything supernatural of our own accord. So what if we use the powerful name of Jesus to demand the supernatural? Friend, the key here is that Jesus will do the healing, not us. Remember, we must decrease, so that He may increase. He designed us to bring glory to himself and that we represent Him so fully in and through our character, that others will see Jesus. When we do this, we quickly learn from Jesus himself who taught us through His own dependence on His Father (God), that we must also depend on Him and allow Him to do His work, so that His will might be fulfilled in and through us. Never accept praise from someone for any power they may feel that we have, or miracles they may try to give us credit for. This work is completed by God, whether through us or not, so give Him the glory, and teach your friends to do the same.

Prayer……

Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that it feels good to be praised by someone for something I may have done to help them. However, please help me to always correct them and point them to You whenever they are tempted to give me credit, for it is in Your name and for Your glory that my efforts are worthy of praise. I acknowledge that there is great power in Your name, and I thank You for even considering us when You use Your awesome power to reverse certain health or life situations, or to relieve stress and/or pain on us. You went to the cross for us, what more can we possibly ask of You. I thank you for Your love displayed in so many ways for me, and for the many that claim You as Lord today. May we be Your humble servants, always willing to step back and allow You to shine through in all things, especially those things that seem impossible to us. Thank You for accepting me as Your son and allowing me to serve You while here on this earth. To God be all glory, honor and praise for all that is accomplished in Your name, is my humble pray that I ask in Your wonderful and all-powerful name, 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.