Scripture: Matthew 5.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Matthew 5:13-16 (NLT)

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.

15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.

16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

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

Having done some boating at night, I can easily identify with the imagery here about being a light in a dark world. You see, traveling in the pitch of night and not being able to see what’s ahead of you, or what might be in the water to harm your boat, is a frightening thing. However, being in the same circumstance and seeing the light from a marker or lighthouse ahead of you, gives so much more peace of mind. If we live for Christ, we will glow like lights, showing others what Christ is like and giving them hope, much light the lighthouse showed me the way in the pitch of night. But why would Jesus tell us about the importance of being a light, do we not automatically stand out as a shining light? I don’t feel there is anything automatic about it, for we still have a free will. Unfortunately we hide our light by (1) being quiet when we should speak out, (2) going along with the crowd, (3) denying the light, (4) letting sin dim our light, (5) not explaining our light to others, or (6) ignoring the needs of others. Let’s be a beacon of truth—don’t shut your light off from the rest of the world. The light represents Jesus, and we want Him to shine forth in all we say and do, so that others may see that light and accept it as ‘THE’ Light!

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

Lord Jesus, may I stand firm in my commitment to You, and may Your light shine bright in all that I do. May I be a lighthouse through which You will shine each and every day, is my humble prayer.

 

**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
**

Scripture: Genesis 12.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Genesis 12:1-3 (NLT)

1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.

2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.

3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

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

Obviously God had seen some merit in Abram for who he was and for all that he had done to stay loyal to God, so God approached him and tested his faith even more. Friend, I want you to think with me for a moment how you would respond to such a call on your life. The nearest I can come to relating to this is that in my earlier days I was located in my birth country, the Bahamas. The organization that I worked for asked me on several occasions to work on a different island. While it was exciting to think about learning something about the culture of that island, it was a very challenging decision to make. We had family and many friends already on the island where we were at, and now to leave all of them and move to another island where we knew no one? This was a challenging time for us to move into the unknown. So I could only imagine how Abram must have felt. He was to drop everything familiar and move strictly on faith based on what God had told him and promised him. How strong is your faith today? Could you handle that kind of challenge? I believe that this is an indication of the faith required of us when we pray for a miracle, and when we pray for direction, and when we pray for wisdom. We could very easily be led into the unknown. Can you handle that?

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

Father, You told us in Your Word that if we had faith the size of a small mustard seed, that we could say to a mountain move aside and it would move. Thinking about faith to leave our family, friends, church and familiar surroundings, and go into the unknown and live among the unknown is almost as daring and challenging to our faith level, as is moving a mountain. Yet we pray each day for You to work a miracle in our lives or the lives of family, or our church. As I pray Lord, I need to constantly pray for the faith to believe unreservedly in You and in what You may direct me to do. Please give me that kind of faith dear Jesus. Too often I pray with question marks in my mind. Thank You for working in and through children like me to test our faith and minister to others on Your behalf.

 

**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
**

Scripture: Matthew 4.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Matthew 4:23-24 (NLT)

23
Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.

24
News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon-possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—he healed them all.

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

The people saw Jesus in action. They saw ministry at work. They saw the needs of people being met, and they began to evangelize – reach out to the people who needed Jesus, and they brought them in to share in the miracles they had seen and possibly even been the recipient of in their personal lives. Friends, this is very much how it should work today. Often we crawl into our little shell because we are afraid of rejection or repercussion. Don’t you think it was just as bad back in the day talked about here? Remember, all children under two were killed; Jesus was crucified; Many of the disciples were imprisoned and some even beheaded. So did the people have anything to fear? Yes they had lots to fear. I believe that our mission today is to be persistent in preaching and teaching as Jesus taught us in verse 17 – “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near”. When this is done, and as lives are changed, yes even the lives of Christians, we will be anxious to share the good news to our friends and neighbors, especially the unsaved. Friends, repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.

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

Lord God, I know that You are so aware of how lax we have become and how satisfied we are in claiming You as Lord, even without the desire to share that Good News with those that we know and love. As You preached and shared with us in verse 17 of this chapter, Your second coming is near. Please forgive me for procrastination in sharing the Good News so that others might be drawn to You. Please forgive me for not emphasizing the urgency of the hour whenever I have opportunity to teach or witness. Please reignite that importance in me and help me to be busy about Your work. Please also create this urgency in Your church today, so that we may see that Christianity is more than just coming to church and being satisfied that we have earned our badge for the week, but that we have a tremendous nugget to share with folk that will have an impact on their eternal destiny.

 

**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
**

Scripture: Genesis 7.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Genesis 7:1 (NLT)
¹  When everything was ready, the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I can see that you alone are righteous.

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

I can’t help but believe that there were many in Noah’s day that considered themselves righteous, but God considered Noah alone righteous. Doesn’t this sound an awful lot like the church today? Statistics will show us that a very large percentage of Americans believe that they are saved and going to heaven, and I’m sure that the church will give a resounding “amen”, but brothers and sisters will you be able to stand before a righteous and holy God and tell Him how righteous you were on earth? Remember now that God knows all things, so He already knows if you are righteous before you ever open your mouth, so you may as well give it to Him straight the first time. Righteous means “right with God”, and I believe that for those of us that make the decision to accept Jesus as Lord, and seek His guidance and help to live each day in accordance with His Word and His will, then perhaps we may have something to honestly say to God about our righteous condition. We just celebrated the resurrection of our Lord. He suffered a lot for us and our salvation. What are you willing to do in order to be obedient to Him and show your love for Him? I believe that He wants so bad to tell you “Well done good and faithful servant”, but that comes after you do your part in the relationship, and live a life of obedience to Him.

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

Father God, I realize that You alone are righteous and perfect, but just as you found Jonah righteous, I believe that You are very interested in seeing Your saints today righteous. Please help me to clear up anything in my life that causes me to stumble and stray from You. Pressure is great in this world to live like the neighbor down the street and not like a child of God should. Lord my desire is to live like You and allow You to impact my life in such a way that all those that I may come into contact with might have a real desire to know the Jesus that I know and serve. Please give me the strength and power to do that.

 

**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
**

Scripture: Ezekiel 22:30.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Ezekiel 22:30 (NLT)

30 “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.

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

I wonder if this is the problem with our world today? In one or more of the translations the Word actually says that God searched for a ‘man‘ to guard the land and couldn’t find one. Think about this with me carefully, friend. Many of our children are going to school hungry, but then many of the homes from which they come are single parent homes, and the majority of those homes are parented, supported, and directed by a female only. I am a firm believer that children brought up in a home where they learn the characteristics, habits and actions of one parent only, will take on those attributes, because it’s all they know. Have a look inside of our schools and see who is called to care for kids in trouble or to take them to the doctor if they are sick. Don’t forget to look inside of our churches and see who most of our attendees and leaders are. In many cases, our churches would have to close its doors if we depended solely on our men. But where are our men? Why is this happening to us? In verse 31 of Ezekiel 22, God said that because He could not find a ‘Man’ He would have no choice but to destroy the land. Unfortunately there are lots of males around, but where are the real men? I wonder what God’s next step is in dealing with our land? Men, it’s time for us to step up to the plate and be all that God meant for us to be. Badly needed in our country today are men of God; Christian fathers; Christian community leaders; Christian politicians – imagine how refreshing that will be to actually feel like we could trust what a politician is saying to us is true, and all that he stands for is actually for our good and not just to benefit his pocket. Men, I believe that God will bless us as we endeavor to be all that He created us to be and all that He has called us to be.

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

Lord Jesus, I have learned very humbly that if I point a finger at anyone, there are actually 3 of them pointing back at me. So I humbly ask You this morning to work in my life. Reveal my weaknesses, and give me the boldness and humbleness of spirit to accept what You tell me and be ready and willing to do as instructed. I will not question You on why You would choose to use me in any capacity You desire, because only You know all that You have already perfected in me. Most of all I plead with You to help me to always be obedient to You and to Your Holy Word. Boys and young men are in the mess that they now find themselves because of the poor excuse we have become, primarily in straying from Your Word, Your commands and Your example. Lord, may this be turned around, beginning with me.

 

**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
**

Scripture: Matthew 3.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Matthew 3:1-2 (NLT)

1 In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was,

2 “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

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

I found it intriguing that the same message that formed the basis of John’s ministry is still so applicable today. These words remind me that as humans we are made to naturally thrive from the things of this world, then through the miraculous hand of God we are convicted of our sin and therefore turn to God for forgiveness and righteous living. Every time we turn around we find preachers who will want to try a new twist to worship services or even new and innovative ways to share the Word of God. Friends I believe that we have seen in some preachers, like Billy Graham, that there is much more success in winning the lost through a simple, but consistent, message like John the Baptist preached. This is also not just for preachers, for as laypersons; our message is as simple: for just as Jesus showed us to the Father, we too must show those that we come into contact with, the need for repentance from their sin, and the alternate direction they should follow by allowing Jesus to rule and reign in their lives. The reason we do this, is because the Kingdom of Heaven is near, meaning that the day of Jesus’ reappearing to capture His followers.

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

Thank You for the reminder about the nearness of Your return dear Lord. Please help me to live my life in light of that today so that You may be given freedom to work in and through me to reach the lost in my family, among my friends, in my church and in my circle of life. I realize that You don’t need me to win these ones to You oh God, but I pray that I may find a kind or encouraging word for someone today that may open their minds towards You so that they may be more open to hearing and obeying Your voice.

 

**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
**

Scripture: Genesis 6.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Genesis 6:22 (NLT)

22 So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.

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

There are several amazing facts about Noah in this chapter that really touched my heart. In verse 9 it says that Noah was a righteous man, in fact he was the only blameless one on earth, and he walked closely with God. I bet that it was because he walked closely with God that he was found righteous. What if you were asked to pick one righteous person from your church? Now notice that I said ‘church’ and not your neighborhood, or place that you hang out. Yes, even at church I bet we would have difficulty finding a person we consider ‘righteous’. However, we find in the story that Noah was told by God about all the unrighteousness going on, and that it had disturbed God so much that He was going to destroy everything. Then God gave Noah instructions to build a boat – this was a first, but Noah followed the instructions. God told Noah that the reason for the boat was because He was sending a flood. It had never rained, so this was a first time event. Noah was told that he would not only take his family on this large boat, but also two of every kind of animal, bird and every creepy crawly thing. Yet in verse 22 we are told that Noah did everything that God told him to do. Friends, I believe that God showed me that I am to listen and obey when He speaks, and not be finding excuses or reasons why I feel like God messed up with His instructions. I believe that God wants us to be so closely in tuned with Him that we will hear His voice, understand His instructions and have no doubt that He is 100% right in what He is telling us to do. THEN we will begin accomplishing the work that God would like to do through us! Let’s set self aside and allow God to be God in our lives. The lives of Noah and his family, and every living creature were saved as a result of his obedience. Imagine what God can do through us in response to our obedience!

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

Lord, You are well aware of how many excuses we find to not be obedient to You. Please forgive me, and please touch the hearts of my readers that they too may surrender whole heartedly to You in complete obedience. You are God alone, and I need You to work on me so that I may not only allow You to assume Your proper position, but also that I may obey You without question or comment. As I was reminded in our sermon last Sunday, delayed obedience is actually disobedience. Please help me to be Your obedient child through whom You can accomplish Your work in and through me to my church, my family and my friends.

 

**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
**

Scripture: Genesis 3.  

OBSERVATION
(Key verses)

Genesis 3:1 (NLT)
¹ The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

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

Back in the only time that our world was ‘perfect’ (no sin), a newly created creature, a serpent, reared his ugly head and tempted Eve to sin. This started a domino effect, because not only did she sin, but she also pulled Adam in with her. As I read this today I was reminded that each day we are faced with our ‘serpent’ that comes to spoil our day and lead us into temptation, or sin. Unfortunately, like Eve and also Adam, our ‘serpent’ finds a willing party and we follow through into the sinful act while blaming the whole thing on our ‘serpent’. God is the victor, and only He can grant us the protection and strength to keep our minds focused on Jesus and not wander off into the ways of Satan. As we saw in the case of Adam and Eve, submitting to our ‘serpent’ will often bring drastic negative measures into our lives. Friends, this is just one more reminder: that when we feel like our life is filled with pain and so many things going wrong, we should look at our relationship with God and seek His direction in helping us to see our shortcomings (sin) and the strength to overcome those things, so that we may enjoy a perfect relationship with Him and receive His blessings instead. Be alert for your ‘serpent’ today and be ready to order him like Jesus did on the mountain when tempted, when he said “get thee behind me Satan”!

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

Lord Jesus, I believe that You are a perfect God and that You would prefer to see and have perfect children. However, You sacrificed Your very life so that we may have access to You and Your strength, power, wisdom and forgiveness, in order to be made whole, or perfect. We can only overcome the evil one with Your strength and power. We are reminded in this passage that the evil one attacks in many different forms, however we know in whom we believe, and we know that no form of sin or even hell itself could stand against You. It is because of this reminder that I come humbly before You today asking for Your love – so that I may share that with others today that may be unkind or unloving to me; Your strength to help me overcome and ignore the ‘evil one’ today so that my witness for You may go unhindered; and Your wisdom, so that I may be alert to the temptations that will face me today and try to pull me down.

 

**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
**

Scripture: Malachi 3.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Malachi 3:8-12 (NLT)

8 “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me.

9 You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me.

10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!

11 Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

12 “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

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

“Did you ever cheat God?” – I am sure that most of us would respond ‘No, of course not’ to this question. Unfortunately we will then have two reasons to get before the altar and beg forgiveness, cheating and lying! Friends, God has blessed us with everything that we have and He continues to bless us each and every day with the good health to enjoy His bounty; a job to earn money to support our families; opportunities to share the good news of Jesus in response to all He did for us. Having blessed us so wonderfully, why would we then cheat God by holding back on what we are obligated to give? We are taught that at least 10% of our income is due to God. Many of us will reason away that this means 10% of your net check. God expects us to give Him the first of our fruits, meaning right off the top. Example: if I earn $500, and $150 is taken out for taxes and $100 for a loan payment, I would then cash my check for the remaining $250. Some may reason that I only owe $25 in tithes. 10% of my income is $50, not $25 which is 10% of the leftovers. Would you rather see God bless you abundantly as He promises in verse 10, or would you rather that He blesses you in response to your half-hearted giving? Friends, when Jesus went to Calvary for us, He gave of himself fully and completely. He didn’t find excuses, nor did He call down thousands of angels (like He could have) to rescue Him and only partially cover the sacrifice for our sin. Our obedience to God will call down the blessings promised in verse 10: I will open the windows of Heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great that you won’t have enough room to take it in! Wouldn’t that be a tremendous expression of God’s love to us for a lost world to catch a glimpse of? Wow! God told us through the prophet Malachi, enough of the doubting, “Try it! Put me to the test!”

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

Lord Jesus, I am so aware that there is little I can do in giving, that could compare to all that You gave for me. However, I pray that You will help me to always give in accordance with Your Word, and I pray that You will always prompt me to give even more in response to the awesome love You displayed for me at Calvary and to all that You shower upon me each and every day. Thank You for being such a giving, caring and loving God to me. Please touch the hearts of all that may read this devotional so that they could never be accused of ‘cheating God’ in their giving. Please help us to imitate You and be a giving people.

 

**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
**