In a day when many churches are closing their doors, and many others are struggling to stay opened, if I told you that the answer to the all time problem of giving could be solved through unity in the church that, in turn, increases the joy in the hearts of the people that, in turn, encourages the people to give of a joyful heart and, in turn, allows God’s work to flourish, you would struggle to believe me. However, read these few verses carefully and see if you can conclude with me this exact thing that happened to David and over 200,000 men that joined him to fulfill the will of God. Are willing to chance that this couldn’t work for us and our respective churches? The last part of verse 40 concludes that all this giving was going on because of the joy that was felt among the people. Perhaps we need to concentrate more on unity and the joy of the hearts, then we might see giving maximized, all for the glory of God!

All these soldiers, ready for battle, went to Hebron, determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of the people of Israel were united in the same purpose. They spent three days there with David, feasting on the food and drink which other Israelites had prepared for them. From as far away as the northern tribes of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, people came bringing donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen loaded with food—flour, figs, raisins, wine, and olive oil. They also brought …

1 Chronicles 12:38–40 (GNB)

The Bible (The Good News Translation) – John 18:

¹⁷The girl at the gate said to Peter, “Aren’t you also one of the disciples of that man?”

“No, I am not,” answered Peter.

Thought:

Let me guess, you accepted Jesus as Lord; was ready to evangelize the world on His behalf; told everyone you came into contact with that you were saved and living for the Lord; right? Now, before we criticize Peter in this story for denying Christ, I want you to think about: you are in a business meeting with many of your peers (many of them being non-Christian), and the president of the company shares their pleasure in seeing such a difference in your attitude and work ethics over the past six months, and they ask you to explain what happened in your life to impact this change, as they would like other workers to take note. You know that you surrendered your life to Jesus around that time and through daily prayer and Bible study, you have been truly impacted by Jesus. So what do you respond to your president and peers, knowing that the whole room will go silent – perhaps out of embarrassment, and don’t overlook that you may be jeered at for months? Will you tell the whole truth? Jesus said that if we are ashamed of Him down here, He will be ashamed of us before His Father. Do you suppose He is proud to call you His own?

Faithlife.

The Holy Bible: The Good news Translation

2 Kings 18:22, 28-31 (Key verses)

22 The Assyrian official went on, “Or will you tell me that you are relying on the LORD your God?

28 Then the official stood up and shouted in Hebrew, “Listen to what the emperor of Assyria is telling you! 29 He warns you not to let Hezekiah deceive you. Hezekiah can’t save you. 30 And don’t let him persuade you to rely on the LORD. Don’t think that the LORD will save you, and that he will stop our Assyrian army from capturing your city. 31 Don’t listen to Hezekiah.

My Thoughts:
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my life today?)

I want you to think about church members (faithful members that is) who have seen God’s hand at work; listened to the Word of the Lord every time the church doors opens; gained confidence in their pastor; and have gained, what they believe to be, a solid relationship with the Lord. Now all of a sudden leaders of an invading army comes into town and stands before a gathering of these folk and they hear him asking the pastor if he is ready to renounce the power of his God and concede to the power of the incoming army. See verse 22 for the question posed to Hezekiah. Then the army official turns to the crowd and speaks like was said to the Jews under Hezekiah’s rule, as underlined in verses 28, thru 31. Are you strong enough to take your stand Christian Brother? Will you quickly concede Christian Sister? I want to remind you that we face these challenges every day. It is easy to stand in church and testify to God’s answers to our prayers, but to what do we attribute the sudden healing of our bodies or our marriage relationship, when we are put on the spot by a coworker who might ask of us? Do you really know in whom you believe and are willing to stand firm in your commitment to Him in all circumstances of life? It is very easy to quickly respond how easy this is for you, but I want to encourage you to practice it friend. Don’t use the ‘good luck’ or ‘lucky’ terms in your explanation, if you believe it was God who touched you, then say so – regardless of who you might be responding to, or might be standing nearby. I believe that God provides opportunities such as described, so that we can openly witness to the world that He is Lord, and that His power has touched our lives. Let’s not be ashamed of whose we are, or what He has done for us!

My Prayer
(What I will ask of God, in order for me to properly apply His Word to my life)

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your amazing touch on my life every day. Thank You for loving me enough to die for me; to watch over me; to provide for me; to hear me when I call; to love me unconditionally and to be my very best friend and confidant. Please help me to not be ashamed of You or all that You do for me, but to be an open witness of Your love and Your power. I love You Lord, and I lift my voice, to worship You with all of my heart! Thank You Lord! Please strengthen the lives of my friends today so that they may be bold witnesses in all aspects of their lives.

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

The Holy Bible: The Good news Translation

John 11:33–36 (Key verses)

33 Jesus saw her weeping, and he saw how the people who were with her were weeping also; his heart was touched, and he was deeply moved. 34 “Where have you buried him?” he asked them.

“Come and see, Lord,” they answered.

35 Jesus wept. 36 “See how much he loved him!” the people said.

My Thoughts:
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my life today?)

Earlier in chapter 11, Jesus had told the disciples how important it was that everything transpired as it did with Lazarus, however when Jesus saw Mary weeping and how sad her support team of friends were, He too became overwhelmed with grief. Friends, this is the Master of this universe, who knew what was about to happen in Lazarus coming back to life again, but when He saw His children hurting He was overcome with hurt for them. You know, this reminded me that when things are not going as well as I would like to see them, I need to voice my frustration and my hurt with my Friend, Jesus. I was reminded that He hurts when I hurt. He cares about me, no matter how insignificant I may feel at times. The same applies to you friend! Won’t you trust Him today with all of your concerns? Allow Him to comfort you, and provide for you in every way. You and everyone around you will see just how much He loves you and cares for you. Now be sure that He knows you first as one of His own. If you have not accepted Jesus as Lord of your life, please do that first. Just as you take extra good care of your kids, Jesus is longing to do the same for His kids (us). Please contact me using the email address below if I might pray for you or help you in any way with your decision or your request.

My Prayer
(What I will ask of God, in order for me to properly apply His Word to my life)

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your love. Thank You for caring for even me, especially at times when I feel like I am all alone with no one else who can do anything about the circumstance. Thank You that in spite of You having such a purpose in some of the things that affect us, yet You care about whether we hurt from those incidents. Oh what a love! Thank You Jesus! Please soften the hearts of those that need to make decisions today about their personal relationship with You.

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

The Holy Bible: The Good news Translation

John 11:14–15 (Key verses)

14 So Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 but for your sake I am glad that I was not with him, so that you will believe. Let us go to him.”

My Thoughts:
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my life today?)

So often things will happen in our lives, and we ponder over what we must have done to deserve such a thing. Isn’t it interesting to read this passage of scripture and see our Role Model’s take on what happened in the case of Lazarus’ death? Usually, the death of a loved one or friend is about the worst thing that we could think could ever happen to us. Yet Jesus said that He was glad this happened and that He was not there at the time to prevent it. Imagine the speculation and second-guessing that would have transpired if Jesus was there and prevented the death of His friend. It would have been attributed to luck, or happen-chance, or his body shook off the bad disease, or any number of guesses. However, bringing a dead man back to life was un-heard of. In our lives today, do we have the strength and wisdom to stop in the middle of a crisis or great loss, and ask God to use that as a means to reach the lost and make them to see that He is truly God of this universe, and could easily be God of their lives? I believe that God expects us to give thanks in ALL things. Praise Him in ALL things. Knowing full well that ALL things work together for the good of those that believe in the Lord Jesus and trust Him with all their hearts. Allow God to have His will in ALL aspects of your life friend, so that they (the unsaved world) will believe! There is nothing better you can do for your family and friends.

My Prayer
(What I will ask of God, in order for me to properly apply His Word to my life)

Lord Jesus, this requires a whole new level of faith and trust in You. Please touch my life today and help me to be strong enough to give You praise, even when things don’t appear to be going my way, knowing that You will be glorified in the circumstance and lifted up in the results of the world seeing Your mighty hand at work. In ALL things, may You receive honor and glory from all that is achieved in my life in every circumstance. Lord, be lifted up today, and may that impact the lost world in such a way that they will make decisions to commit their lives to You.

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

The Holy Bible: The Good news Translation

2 Kings 15:1–5 (Key verses)

1 In the 27th year of the reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel, Uzziah son of Amaziah became king of Judah 2 at the age of sixteen, and he ruled in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. 3 Following the example of his father, he did what was pleasing to the LORD. 4 But the pagan places of worship were not destroyed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. 5 The LORD struck Uzziah with a dreaded skin disease that stayed with him the rest of his life. He lived in a house on his own, relieved of all duties, while his son Jotham governed the country.

My Thoughts:
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my life today?)

It seems like there is always one aspect of our lives that we don’t fully turn over to God. In this king’s life, he came short of cleaning up his country for the Lord by leaving the pagan places of worship. I wonder what all we leave behind when we surrender it ‘ALL’ to Jesus? Perhaps ‘ALL’ that we feel is necessary to surrender to Him? God brought great condemnation on the kings that did this. I wonder how much is really brought upon us because of our lack of commitment and total surrender. I bet we could not imagine how much sweeter our relationship with Christ would really be if we totally surrendered to Him. Not only was a dreadful decease (punishment) brought on King Uzziah, but the people continued to worship their pagan gods. The un-surrendered parts of our lives will be heavily attacked by Satan, because he sees that as an inroad into the life of a believer in Christ.

My Prayer
(What I will ask of God, in order for me to properly apply His Word to my life)

Lord Jesus, please help us to search deep within our hearts and analyze those parts of our lives that we have not totally surrendered to You. After meditating on Your Word this morning, I feel like I must do this, because I likened it to me making a long trip in a nice RV, but leaving the air-conditioners at home. The trip would be a lot more tolerable and comfortable if I had the units with me. When my life is not totally surrendered to You, I live life similar to my RV trip, missing some very important pieces that could drastically improve the quality of life on earth for me. Furthermore, my joy while serving You down here would be so rich, that I would find it difficult to understand how much better it will be when I see You face to face in heaven! Satan is after us with such intensity already, please help us to not leave any parts of our lives even more exposed to Him.

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

The Holy Bible: The Good news Translation

2 Kings 13:3–5 (Key verses)

3 So the LORD was angry with Israel, and he allowed King Hazael of Syria and his son Benhadad to defeat Israel time after time. 4 Then Jehoahaz prayed to the LORD, and the LORD, seeing how harshly the king of Syria was oppressing the Israelites, answered his prayer. 5 The LORD sent Israel a leader, who freed them from the Syrians, and so the Israelites lived in peace, as before.

My Thoughts:
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my life today?)

Oh the faithfulness of our loving God. In verse 3, we are told how harsh God was on Israel because of their ongoing sin, as they were led by king Joash. However, in verse 4 we are told that God loved the people so much that when He saw them suffering so much under the attacks of the Syrians, He listened to the prayer of King Joash. Interestingly enough though, God sent a new king to lead the Israelites. In other words, God loves His people so much that He wanted to save them, but He wouldn’t do it through a stubborn and disobedient king. He could very easily brush us aside and use someone else to accomplish His work through, if we choose to do our own thing! Are you loyal to the call of Christ friend? Are you obedient to His commands and allow Jesus to lead your every decision and your every move? You may be leading others astray, if you are not careful!

My Prayer
(What I will ask of God, in order for me to properly apply His Word to my life)

Lord Jesus, thank You for saving my soul. Thank You for allowing me to serve in areas of this life where others may be affected by my decisions, especially as they pertain to Christian/Biblical principles. Lord, I want to be obedient to Your Word, Your commands and Your will for my life. Please improve my sensitivity so that I can be finely attuned to Your voice and Your direction. Please help me to be especially attuned to everything that I do and say that affects the lives of others. I would never want to mislead anyone astray. I would always desire to be an influence to their spiritual wellbeing. Please help me to be so closely in tuned with Your instructions and Your will, that those who follow me will do so in a way that pleases You, and is directed by You.

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