Scripture: Psalm 66.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 66:18-20 (NLT)

18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

19 But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer.

20 Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me.

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

I read through several Psalms this morning and there were so many nuggets that I hardly knew which one to choose, however these particular verses really caught my attention. I believe that we have become such a two-faced people, where we talk to someone, perhaps someone very close to us, and in spite of telling them how sincere we are in what we are saying, yet we withhold our true feelings, or the whole truth of the matter. I believe that this has become so prevalent in our lives that we often go before God in a similar fashion. The difference is that God really knows the whole truth of the matter before we ever go before Him. I could only imagine how He must shake His head sometime, hoping that we would be totally open with Him and share our true feelings and our sincere desires. That we sincerely ask for His forgiveness for the way we may have treated a brother, or a sister, or perhaps the things that we may have thought or said under our breath while they were sharing their heart with us. I believe that we should take David’s words and rearrange the scenario a little. When we feel like God is not hearing us, when we feel like our prayers are hitting a block wall, let’s stop and reexamine ourselves, our motives, our thoughts towards God, our friends or even life itself and be sure that we are being totally honest. When we go before our all-knowing God, the ultimate in holiness, we can only be assured of His attention and answers when we open ourselves up, seek His forgiveness for all those thoughts and/or unworthy feelings, so that we approach Him as an acceptable child of His. Let’s drop the fake and the false pretenses when we approach God, we can’t hide anything from Him. Then as David shared in verse 20, He will not ignore our prayer or withdraw His unfailing love from us.

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

Lord God, coming before a holy and righteous, all-knowing God is an awesome experience, for I come before You in full transparency. You know all about my unworthiness and the many failures that unfortunately I allow each day. I am Your child, and I want to be just like You, so I not only seek Your forgiveness this morning, but I also ask for Your strength, guidance and wisdom today to say only those things that are truthful and/or in accordance with Your Word, and I ask that You fill my mind with clean and pure thoughts that would serve to give You praise. I am sincerely praying for Your unfailing love and attentive ear to my prayer and my desires, and I praise You in advance for Your promises. Thank You Jesus for loving even me!

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: Psalm 59.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 59:9-10 (NLT)

9 You are my strength; I wait for you to rescue me, for you, O God, are my fortress.

10 In his unfailing love, my God will stand with me. He will let me look down in triumph on all my enemies.

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

David was going through a lot in his life and felt overwhelmed at times with all who he felt were against him and fighting to insure his failure. However we have a great lesson to learn from David, especially in these verses today. When we fell like everyone is against us, when we feel like we have reached the end of our rope, when we feel like there is no hope, let’s remember that there is One who sticks to us closer than a brother; One who loves us so much that He sacrificed His only Son to provide a means by which we may be saved; One who will be with us to the end of times here on this earth; He is my Savior, my Lord, my King. He’s my Fortress and my Strength and His love is unfailing and reaches beyond all earthly conditions that others place on me. Thank God that Jesus is my All in All!

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

Thank You Father for being there for me, even when it seems like everyone else may have abandoned me and left me alone. Thank You for loving me when I am unlovable to others. You are my strength and I thank You Lord for being there for me at all times. Please help me to stay close to You, my source of strength and love, each and every day.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: Psalm 57.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 57:9-11 (NLT)

9 I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations.

10 For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

11 Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.

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

We can learn a great lesson from David, for we see in the Psalms how he gave thanks to God in such awesome ways when he recognized answer to prayer. We are often blessed with answers to our prayers, but how often do we return to God and say ‘Thank You’? Friends, this gives us one more opportunity to witness to our lost friends by acknowledging God as having a major part in those things that occur in our daily lives. I believe that when we acknowledge God’s faithfulness that we show the world how awesome our God is, plus we return thanks to God for what He does and at the same time we show appreciation for what God has done.

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

Father, please help me to be more appreciative for answered prayer. Help me to acknowledge that the master of this universe loved me so much that He not only listened to my petitions, but He stepped in and answered my prayers. Thank You for that love! May I love You enough in return to give You praise and thanks today for Your faithfulness!

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: Psalm 55.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 55:22 (NLT)

22 Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

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

From my reading of the Psalms it sounds like David must have gone through a lot, and praise God he shared his trials, temptations and rich blessings with us through the Psalms, as we often feel like surely it is only us that go through such bizarre situations and/or trials. I believe that this is one more reason why we, as Christians, must brag on Jesus and His blessings, at every opportunity, therefore encouraging others who may be distraught and who may face similar trials. I am confident that God is in control, and that He takes great care of me every day. Let us therefore cast our cares/concerns upon Him and allow Him to carry those burdens for us, knowing that He will make those burdens light and that He will clear our minds to handle each and every day, without the added burdens of the day(s) before. God is good, and His mercy endures forever!

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

I am so thankful that I have a God who is so good to me. I realize that I am just a sinner saved by grace, and though I once was as sinful as any that God sacrificed His Son for, yet He loved me anyway! What a loving God that David served, and praise be to God, what a loving God that I love and serve today! Lord, may I learn to place my burdens at Your feet on a regular basis and allow You to remove the weight of them from me, so that I may face each day afresh and filled with Your grace and anointing, so that others may see and hear the love of Jesus in everything that I do and say.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: Psalm 51.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 51:7-12 (NLT)

7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice.

9 Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.

11 Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

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

David had sinned terribly in what occurred between he and Bathsheba, so he came humbly before God asking for His forgiveness and seeking His guidance and help to overcome the sin in his life. There is a lot to learn in this Old Testament legend’s example, for often we sin and we feel like we are so far removed from God that He would never hear our prayer, or forgive us, or ever draw us close to Himself again. In studying God’s Word, we cannot find anywhere that God said that His loving arms are not open to receive us when we go before Him for forgiveness. Of course, God is not happy in seeing us continue in our sin, or when we continue sinning and coming back to him time after time for forgiveness. He has given us His book of instructions to follow and consequently lead a life exemplifying Him. When we do that, we can then identify with David in what he prayed in verse 12, we can feel like the joy that we first felt when we accepted Jesus as Lord of our lives, has been restored and that a sweet, right spirit is resumed in our relationship with Jesus Christ. There is nothing sweeter friend, than having an honest, open, clean, unadulterated relationship with the Master of this Universe, my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ! Why not place your faith and trust in Him today? He will help you overcome the power of sin in your life.

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

Thank You Father for the joy of Your salvation that is evident in my life today! Thank You for forgiving me of my sin, and thank You for continuing to be patient with me as I journey through this life with constant reminders of the power of sin and the evil one. I know that Your love and Your power over sin is far greater than anything that may possibly come to take me off course, so I place my faith and trust in You and You alone again today, asking that You may renew a clean heart within me, and heart like Yours, strong enough to fight off the obvious forces of Satan. Please give me guidance and strength today to live my life exemplifying You in every way. Others that I come into contact with will need to see Jesus today, may they not be disappointed in seeing You in my life!

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

1 Corinthians 15:57-58 (NLT)

57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

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

This whole chapter is Paul’s efforts to explain the resurrection and new life promised to Christians. In these last two verses we are reminded that Jesus gives us victory over sin and death, through His sacrifice on the cross. We are therefore encouraged to be strong and immovable in our faith, as we know the end of the book, praise be to God! Paul also reminds us that all that we do in Jesus’ name while we are alive, must be done knowing that it is for God’s glory, and that one day He will recognize our efforts. We should do all we can knowing that God sees all things and knows all things and that nothing we do today will be in vain. That’s why I believe that it is so important that we do those things of eternal significance and not just things that are pleasing to man. This means that we must do everything in the manner in which Jesus did things, in love, and without expecting praise from man. To God be the glory for the things He has done, and for the things that I might do in His power and for His glory!

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

Father, thank You for all that You have done to give me salvation and peace of mind. Thank You for the sacrifice You made on Calvary. I pray that I might follow Your example very closely and give of myself without any expectation of praise and/or glory from my fellow people. I pray that all that I do might be of eternal significance and pleasing to You. Please provide the direction that I need to do these things. May You receive honor and glory even today in the things that I might do and say.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

1 Corinthians 13:1-7 (NLT)

1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.

3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

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

This ‘Love’ chapter is generally read during wedding ceremonies to help a couple understand how important love is. However, Paul actually relayed this message to the Corinthian church to help them understand that they should love each other, and that when they really do love each other, there will be no room for backbiting, no room for jealousy, no room for envy, no room for malice, no room for speaking evil about each other, for with love toward each other, all of these things will become so irrelevant as love never gives up on anyone, it never loses faith in anyone, it is always hopeful and will always hang in there and stick with you through every circumstance right to the end. Friends, I believe that this reminds us that we must return true Christian love, back in the church. For I believe that when we see a lot of the things mentioned above going on, then obviously we must realize that love is missing. We know that God himself is ‘Love’, and if we are to be like Him, then we too must be the image of ‘Love’.

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

Father, I pray that ‘Love’ will return to Your church today. This means that I want ‘Love’ to return as the primary focus and practice of Your people, for we are the church. As ‘Love’ returns and is practiced and taught by each of us, we will see a diminishing of all the other ungodly actions that we do and the ungodly things that we say, for we will strive to live out verse 7.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: Psalm 42.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 42:1-2 (NLT)

1 As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.

2 I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?

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

As the life of a deer depends upon water, so our lives depend upon God. Those who seek him and long to understand him find eternal life. Feeling separated from God, this psalmist wouldn’t rest until he restored his relationship with God because he knew that his very life depended on it. What a challenge to us today, that in spite of all that may be going on in our lives and everything around us, yet we know of one constant. We know of One that remains true and loyal to us. We are very limited in what we can do in and of our own selves. Let us therefore seek after God, to the extent that we thirst for God. When we realize that only God can satisfy that thirst, then we will truly surrender our lives fully to Him and allow His will to be fulfilled in us. Several passages in the New Testament quote Jesus when He said that He can give us living water, and we will never thirst again. He really wants to provide for us, but we must surrender ourselves to Him and allow Him to work in us. Let us be obedient to His calling today, won’t you?

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

Father God, I am nothing without You. I need You in my life each and every day. I need You to be so evident in my life that others will see Jesus and believe on Him. Lord, may I thirst for the living water that is only supplied by You. May I be holy as You are. May I be so filled with Your power and Your grace that You can accomplish Your work through me today in the lives of those that I may be around. When I stand before You, may I hear those comforting words of affirmation that I was successful in the few things that I may have been involved in, and in the lives of those that I had influence over, in that You were able to use me as Your vessel to accomplish Your work. Thank You Lord for life itself and the abundant life offered in the living water that only You provide.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: Psalm 34.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 34:12-14 (NLT)

12 Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous?

13 Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies!

14 Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

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

It is easy to look at our prescription container, read the directions and follow them to improve our medical condition. But how often do we consult with God’s Word and look for ways to improve our spiritual health? So often we wish family and friends a long and prosperous life around birthdays and/or the New Year’s holiday. God wants this for His children – us. But how often do we stop to think about how this could be accomplished. David shares with us the formula to achieve just this:

1. Keep your tongue from speaking evil – I believe that this refers to gossip and spreading news about the failures of others and/or talking about others with a sense of rejoicing in their failures or misfortunes;
   
2. Keep your lips from telling lies – this is always harmful, but especially bad when we do this in order to take a good man/woman down. We should always strive to tell the truth and be prepared to deal with the circumstances of any actions that we are not proud of;
   
3. Turn away from evil and do good – there are way too many people who will follow worldly desires and expectations. God saved us so that we might be like Him and do good wherever we go. Let’s learn to look for the good in situations and rejoice in what is praiseworthy. Let’s learn to do good, and not make a bad thing worse. When we walk away from a situation, let’s pray that others will rejoice that they saw and felt God’s presence while we were there, not evidence of the evil one;
   
4. Search for peace, and work to maintain it – we have two options in a bad situation such as a fire, we can throw water on it to quiet the fire and stop the heat, or we could add fuel to it and see it escalated. When we look to find and maintain peace, we are looking at everything through lens that are filled with Christ’s love. We must find the peaceful resolution and institute those things that result in result in glory to God.
   

Doing the 4 things listed will result in a long and prosperous life, so when we wish this on folk we love and care about, let’s remember the things that they will need to concentrate on to truly see our wishes come true for them. Let us fill our wish with prayers for God to help them achieve success in these 4 things.

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

Father, I believe that You have called us to be just like You. In this lesson this morning I have been reminded about things that I must concentrate on and to help others with as we strive to be more like You. I believe that in order for us to impact the world, there will have to be more of You in us and more of You reflected in what we say and do. I pray that You will fill my life with Your character today so that my life will impact others for the Kingdom. If living a long and prosperous life equates to my likeness of You, then I want to live forever!

 

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