Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1 (GW)

31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything to the glory of God. 32 Don’t cause others to stumble, whether they are Jewish, Greek, or members of God’s church. 33 I try to please everyone in every way. I don’t think about what would be good for me but about what would be good for many people so that they might be saved.

1 And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

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

Living the Christian life has always meant to me that I should live in a way that is pleasing to God. When I read about Paul’s instructions to the Corinthians, this gains a whole new dimension in living my life in tuned with God’s intentions. For Paul taught that not only should we live to please God, but that we should not boast in our liberties, if it results in a negative impact on our brother or sister. For example, if we are comfortable that God truly approves of us eating a certain food then it is ok for us to eat it. However, if we are eating with a friend who happens to believe that a certain food is unclean or not in accordance with what God teaches, then it would be wrong for us to eat that food in their presence and smear our faith, or freedoms before them, for it would weaken our witness to them. Let’s suppose for a moment that God sent us to that friend to witness to them or correct them about a certain sin in their lives. With a weakened witness, our correction or witness would be of no effect to them. Let us therefore respect each other’s faith or beliefs, if in the long term it means reaching that person for the Lord or growing them in their faith. Let’s remember, it’s all about God, and not about us. When we do things for God’s glory, He will point us to neutral ground with that neighbor where we might help grow them in their faith, instead of controversial ground that will result in arguments and separation. As we practice this, I believe that our actions would speak to other Christians in saying, “Now imitate me, as I imitate Christ”.

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

Father, I believe that this is presented in Your Word to show me how challenging this teaching really is without Your power and Your grace. For this may even appear that I am giving in to a belief that I am convinced Your sacrifice has already satisfied for me. Please help me to always remember that anything that I do for Your glory must be pleasing to You, and it may not always please me personally. As I seek Your face and Your direction in drawing folk to You, I pray that I could learn to place aside my selfish desires and instead look to always please You, and always seek to draw others unto You, even if it means sacrificing some of my personal ideals, in order to let Your light shine through in a situation or to an individual. May I never be a stumbling block to anyone and may I walk so closely with You that others would be safe in imitating my actions.

 

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 8.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

1 Corinthians 8:8-12 (GW)

8 Food will not affect our relationship with God. We are no worse off if we eat {that food} and no better off if we don’t.

9 But be careful that by using your freedom you don’t somehow make a believer who is weak in faith fall into sin.

10 For example, suppose someone with a weak conscience sees you, who have this knowledge, eating in the temple of a false god. Won’t you be encouraging that person to eat food offered to a false god?

11 In that case, your knowledge is ruining a believer whose faith is weak, a believer for whom Christ died.

12 When you sin against other believers in this way and harm their weak consciences, you are sinning against Christ.

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

Unfortunately many times our immaturity will cause us to gloat about something we believe is OK in the presence of someone who is convinced in their heart that our actions are sinful. While this may often weaken our witness to the other person, we could very well weaken the other persons faith by making them feel like they could follow our actions even though they feel in their heart that the action is unpleasing to God. When we do this, we ourselves are sinning, according to verse 12 above. It is far more important that we do all within our power, and that we sincerely seek God’s grace and power to lift up and strengthen the weaker brother, rather than doing something to weaken their faith. I heard one time that the worst thing in the world the church could do with a new believer is to place them in the midst of mature Christians, because they will soon be convinced that they are far too excited and much too committed in their faith. While this may sound funny, there is probably more truth in that than we would care to believe. Paul used food as the object of his discussion here, and while we still have differences today in what some faiths believe is OK to eat (scripturally), we must be careful to not tear down their faith, but to respect it and not gloat in what we feel might be our freedom to eat anything at all. Let’s always remember that our goal is to win the lost to Christ and to mature in our relationship with God and each other. This is accomplished by loving God and others around us, and therefore doing all we can to please God and our Christian brothers and sisters. As we faithfully do this, we will not gloat about anything that will upset them. Let’s also remember that in the same way that we may offend our Christian Brother or Sister, we would just as easily offend the non-Christian looking for a role model of God in their workplace or their school or even their church.

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

Sometimes this Christian faith seems all too complicated, but I am seeking Your strength today to do and say only those things that please You. For I truly believe that as I seek to please You, I will automatically please others and not be a stumbling block to them. I can only please You by knowing what You would have me to do and say, and this comes from reading Your Word and living it each day. Thank You for your Holy Word, and for how it becomes alive to me each day. You are my role model, please help me to live my life closely in tuned with all that I read and understand from Your Book of Instructions, the Bible. Use my life and my words to bless others that I come into contact with, so that Your name may be lifted up and praised. To God be all the glory today!

 

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 20.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 20:4-9 (NLT)

4 May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.

5 May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the LORD answer all your prayers.

6 Now I know that the LORD rescues his anointed king. He will answer him from his holy heaven and rescue him by his great power.

7 Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the LORD our God.

8 Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm.

9 Give victory to our king, O LORD! Answer our cry for help.

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

I was encouraged by this Psalm this morning, because it made me think so much about a specific prayer item that many of my friends are joining me in this morning. I feel like God is saying to me like He did to David when writing this Psalm, May God grant the desires of your heart today and bring victory in the situation you are praying for. May we then shout for joy when we hear of the victory, and raise a banner in the name of the Lord our God. May we boast in the name of the Lord our God and may we give God credit for the victory that is ours today! One of the things that we talked about in our Sunday School yesterday is that, as Christians, we must learn to always give God credit for the victories, and stop joining the world in attributing the successes to good luck, or a good attorney or anything else. If we pray for something and we see God answering our prayers, give God the glory. Claim the glory that you have been praying for! Imagine if the we continue to attribute victories to happen-chance, what would we think if the next time we prayed for something that God told us to not waste His time and that we should go to the worldly figure or good luck charm that we thought gave us success the previous time? That would greatly sadden us, so let’s claim the victory today and give God the glory for all that He will do today in answering our prayers! He is so worthy of our praise!

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

Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray that You would soften the hearts of those that will make decisions over my friend today. I pray that the truth will become evident and that innocence will prevail for my friend. I pray that Your work will become very evident in the lives of those that are causing unrest and hardships on my friend and his family, and that Your power would overwhelm them so that they will assume moments of truth and surrender to sin and ungodliness. Father, I believe that You have power to do ALL things, and while my request is huge, I know that it is well within your realm of power. I place my faith and trust in You today and anxiously await Your power at work and Your awesome love shown to this friend and his family. May this be a day remembered for the display of Your love, Your power, Your perfect will and Your mighty works in the lives of my friend, his family, and even those that despitefully use/accuse him.

 

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 18.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 18:1-2 (NLT)

1 I love you, LORD; you are my strength.

2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.

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

This Psalm reminds me of another one that says in part, “The Lord is my strength, whom then shall I fear”. To my friends who know my Father, I hope that you can identify with me in acknowledging the peace that we have throughout the storms of life, and even through all the attacks of Satan. In the lowest of times, in the depths of trouble when it seems like life is so overwhelming and that the enemy is attacking from all sides, yet I have a peace in knowing that, come what may, I can stand firm in knowing that my Savior lives and that I too will live eternally with Him in glory after I have been called out from this world. To my friends who do not share the confidence of this same peace of which I am referring to, I can only say that there will come a day when God will look you in the eye and ask why you chose to reject the precious gift that He sacrificed just for you. Living your life without the peace of which David spoke about in this Psalm is like walking down a busy street without any barriers or friends to stop you from walking into the flow of the dangerous traffic. God never expected us to live under that kind of stress. Like David, I am so blessed and happy to be able to thank God and say: “I love You Lord, for You are my strength, You are my rock, You are my fortress, You are my Savior, You are my protector, You are my shield, You are my safety, and because of Your love, You save me from all those that attack me. Praise be to Jesus, my Savior, You are my all in all!

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

Father, You have placed me here on this earth to represent You in every walk of life. The mere fact that I am still here on this earth means that Satan and his cohorts still attack me and try in every way to steer me away from Your ideals. Thank You for reminding me this morning that my strength comes from You and that not only was Your grace sufficient to see me through yesterday, but that today is a gift from You also and that You will never leave me alone. Please help me to place my hand in Yours each and every day, for You truly are my Rock, my Fortress, my Savior, my Protector, my Sheild, my Safety and You will save me form all the darts of Satan. Praise be to God!

 

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 15.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 15:1-5 (NLT)

1 Who may worship in your sanctuary, LORD? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?

2 Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts.

3 Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends.

4 Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the LORD, and keep their promises even when it hurts.

5 Those who lend money without charging interest, and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever.

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

God calls his people to be morally upright, and, in this psalm, he gives us 10 standards to determine how we are doing:

1. Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right;
   
2. Those who speak the truth from sincere hearts;
   
3. Those who refuse to gossip;
   
4. Those who refuse to harm their neighbors;
   
5. Those who refuse to speak evil of their friends;
   
6. Those who despise flagrant sinners;
   
7. Those who honor the faithful followers of the LORD;
   
8. Those who keep their promises even when it hurts;
   
9. Those who lend money without charging interest;
   
10. Those who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent
    

We live among evil people whose standards and morals are eroding. Our standards for living should not come from our evil society but from God. To live a ‘perfect’ life is to be God. Always striving to be more like Jesus and to live our lives according to His will and desire is our assignment, as illustrated in this Psalm. Remember the verse, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you” (Matt. 6:33). When we seek after pleasing man, that’s who we will please, not God.

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

Lord Jesus, I thank You this morning for bringing this to my attention, because I feel like way too often I allow other things to enter my life and take priority over the life You have set before me. You have laid out life’s design for me. Please help me to be obedient to that today and every day, so that onlookers will see a replica of Jesus and not the sinful nature of man. It’s You oh Lord that I live for and seek to example each day. Please grant me the peace, power and effectiveness to do just that.

 

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 13.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 13:1-6 (NLT)

1 O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way?

2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

3 Turn and answer me, O LORD my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.

4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!” Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me.

6 I will sing to the LORD because he is good to me.

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

A very good friend of mine and a brother in the Lord is currently going through enough that I’m sure he could recite this Psalm all day, every day. I know that daily devotionals will always serve to get me closer in touch with the Lord, so I believe that this Psalm is presenting an opportunity for me to deepen my relationship with the Lord. You see, it is so very important that we keep a close, tightly woven, inseparable relationship with God, for then when hard times strike and it seems like we have been defeated or put down, and like the enemy has the upper hand, it is then that we can do like David and hold steadfast to the hand of the One that is there for us in the good times, and know that He is especially close to us through the challenging times we are going through. To my friend and to all those feeling oppressed or defeated today, let’s remember that God promised that He would NEVER leave us alone or forsake us. So just how we easily celebrated His wonderful works in our lives when things were going so well, let’s remember that we are to give thanks also in the struggling times when we feel low, because God’s Word says that “all things work together for good, to those who love the Lord”. Yes friend, it is even through what seems to be the most challenging times of our lives that God is still working out His plan for His good. Like Paul when he was thrown into prison, God works in and through all of our circumstances if we hold strong to the faith and believe in Him for all things, knowing that He is working out His plan for His good. God sacrificed His only Son so that eternal life may be offered to all who believe in Him. What is our suffering compared to that? To those of us who feel like we are more than conquerors, and that God is blessing in extreme ways in our lives, I believe that God would love to see us encourage the brother who is feeling down-trodden or defeated or oppressed. Let us look for ways to share that joy that God has blessed us with, let us be His hands outstretched to those that are down and out and hurting. Like David, we don’t need to hide our thoughts and feelings from God, because He really knows how we feel anyway, but let’s always remember that in spite of our feelings and our struggles, God is still God and that He will work through our circumstance to reach and/or encourage another believer, or better still, to reach someone without faith who needs Jesus.

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

Father God, please continue to be patient with us, so that even in the times that we feel down and out, that we will realize the awesome, loving, tender hearted God that You are. This life is not about us. Help us to realize that You can use ALL circumstances for Your good, so help us to surrender our lives to You daily, so that You can accomplish Your will and Your work through the good times in our lives, and even through the challenging times. As in the story of “Footprints in the Sand”, help us to remember that the single set of footprints that we see in the difficult times of our lives, represents Your total love to us in ways that carry us through the valleys of our lives. Please give us strength to follow David’s example and trust in Your unfailing love and forever sing of Your praises and goodness, without regard to our circumstances. Thank You Jesus for loving us this much!

 

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 10-11.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 11:4-7 (NLT)
4
But the LORD is in his holy Temple; the LORD still rules from heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth.
5 The LORD examines both the righteous and the wicked. He hates those who love violence. 6 He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked, punishing them with scorching winds. 7 For the righteous LORD loves justice. The virtuous will see his face.

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

So often we do things on the ‘hush’, hoping that no one will else will see or hear about our actions. These verses are a reminder to us today that God knows every little detail about us. To those that are without Christ, this means nothing to them, because they don’t have a relationship with Him. However for the Christian, we have committed ourselves to Jesus and trying desperately to live a life worthy of the calling. We must therefore seek God’s help, strength and direction daily to walk uprightly before Him – pleasing to God/without sin/holy/acceptable to God/following Christ’s example. We are reminded in the Word of God, that He will punish the ungodly, but for those that accept Him as Lord, and please Him in every way (righteous/virtuous), we are pleasing to God and WILL see His face some day. Are we perfect brothers and sisters? We could never be while here on this earth, but when we deliberately do things, say things or hurt other people, with no regard for what we know God desires of us, then we are being unrighteous and displeasing to God. We know what we need to do, now let’s do it and stop pretending that we are ‘good’ while all the while living like the devil himself.

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

Father, You created us to be like You. Please forgive us for totally abusing that privilege and allowing Satan to enter and rule our lives instead. Too often have we said with our lips that we are Yours and that we live daily for You, but then we do just the opposite. You reminded me this morning that You are still on the throne and that I am accountable to You for my actions. Please give me strength today to live my life pleasing to You in every way. Please remind me of Your perfect will and desire for my life, and give me the boldness to live my life in line with Yours 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: 1 Corinthians 4.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

1 Corinthians 4:16-17 (NLT)

16 So I urge you to imitate me.

17 That’s why I have sent Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of how I follow Christ Jesus, just as I teach in all the churches wherever I go.

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

So often we say, don’t do as I do, just do what I tell you! Paul taught his Corinthian followers to follow what he did, because he followed Christ. Wow, can we honestly say something like that today? How’s our attitudes, our speech, our everyday living – yes even under pressure? Friends, if we are to be the example for the world to follow, this is exactly the condition that we must find ourselves in. Like Paul we have to be accountable to God, less we lead our followers astray. We often hear Christians say that we might be the only Bible that some people read. May I re-word that a little? What if we say that we might be the only ‘Christ’ that others might see? If we are to be followers of, and examples of, our Lord Jesus Christ, then we must be just like Him in every aspect of our lives. Let’s examine ourselves today and commit to following Christ in every way. Others are following in our footsteps and we want them to be more like Jesus. Will they be, in following us?

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

Lord, this is quite a commitment for us to make, because even though we consider ourselves to be yours, yet we still want to hang on to little pieces of this world. We know that this is so wrong, and we know that we must become more like You in every way so that others will not be led astray, but Father I come humbly before You today asking for Your guidance, Your strength, Your boldness and most of all Your forgiveness for me allowing Satan a small part in my life. Please help me to keep Satan out, so that You may abide fully in my life and influence others through me. Oh that others may follow me and be totally in line with Your Word, is my prayer today.

 

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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