Scripture: Philippians 3.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Philippians 3:12-14 (NLT)

12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.

13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,

14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Philippians 3:20-21 (NLT)

20
But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

21
He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.

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

I have often heard verse 14 quoted and I have always admired the determination that I saw in Paul to encourage us in and through his words. However this morning it all came together when I read verse 20. I believe that I can explain this by comparing it to my move to this country. When I first moved, I had a green card and I lived here just like citizens do and did those things that citizens do. I liken this to church attendees. Eventually, as I placed my roots in this country by purchasing a home, having a child and raising her, I wanted to make my stand for this country so I applied for, and became a citizen. At that time I truly pledged my allegiance to this country and have considered this ‘my country’. I liken this to when a church attendee, or any person, makes the decision to accept Jesus as Lord and the subsequent citizenship of heaven, for our journey towards our heavenly home becomes as Paul said, focused on that heavenly prize. When we sincerely do this, we set aside the things of this world that tend to burden us down and hold us back, for our eyes are fixed on the end of the road – a point to which we are ultimately destined. Where are you at today friend? Have you asked for your heavenly citizenship? There is only one way! For the Word of God tells us that it is only by faith our Jesus Christ that we could become a child (citizen) of the Heavenly Father (God). If the answer to the citizenship question is ‘yes’, and I sincerely pray that any who read this devotion could soundly respond positively, then please don’t allow the things of this world to hold you back and distract you from your heavenly destination. Look for ways that you may please God while you are still on this side of glory, His Word is filled with directions that will help us to run the course and stay on the right track!

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

Father, You are very aware of the distractions that bombard us every day. I pray that during this day You will fill me with Your love, fill me with Your wisdom, Your direction and the boldness to live my life following Your design. Please help me to stay the course, and while being brushed by worldly citizens, may there be a whole lot more of You brushing off on them than the filth and mire of this world that could possibly drift on to me from them. May I be so filled with Your awesome Holy Spirit that our impact on the world will be very promising 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
ß

Scripture: Philippians 2.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Philippians 2:1-5 (NLT)

1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate?

2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

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

So often in life we are taught to either have the same attitude as our parents, or as a church leader or role model that we admire, or as our supervisor at work, or as our spouse. In other words, if someone has it all together and doing something right, imitate them and you too will get it all together! In this passage today, we are admonished by Paul to imitate the only one that ever had it all together and did what was right – Jesus. Friends, as we read God’s Word and meditate on it each day, we can see the example set for us by Jesus. Even in this passage today we have some excellent pointers given to us by Paul that tend to better align us with the attitude of Christ:

• Agree wholeheartedly with each other – think about the opposite of that – make everyone miserable by disagreeing with everything they say or everything they want to do. Wouldn’t that be miserable and so opposite to all that Jesus did? Agreeing with each other means that we are willing to accept the gift that God has given to the other person. This often results in a better plan when we can put all the thoughts together and come up with a plan built by all involved.
  
• Love one another – sounds like a simple command, but extremely hard to practice, especially when we feel like we are the only one that has it all together, or if the other person is different in action or word than what we picture in our ‘perfect’ little minds!
  
• Work together with one mind and purpose – I like to give the example of a task where a group might be pushing a car up a hill. Together we can make it easy and pretty effortless. However, get one person pushing in the opposite direction and it makes for extremely hard work by all the others.
  
• Lay aside selfish desires; trying to impress others and your own interests, but try to take an interest in others and trying to help them;
  

Friends, when we accept Jesus as Lord, we strive to be more like Him in every way and have the same attitude as He had. This is an ongoing piece of work for us, because friends and non-believers of Jesus will constantly strive to pull us in the opposite direction with opposing goals and attitudes. So watch for this and strive to follow the ways of your Master – hopefully that Master is Jesus, the Christ.

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

Lord Jesus, You knew that this would be a challenging world in which to live, so You inspired Paul to write the above words for our benefit. I pray that I will be very conscious of the way that You would have me to live and the attitude that I should display, so that others may see You in everything that I say and in every action that I may take. Please forgive me where I have been weak and selfish in this over times past. Please help me to always put my selfish ways aside and live my life with You in mind and with You driving my every decision. As I reflect back on each day I know that I will easily see my selfish ways. May they be fewer and fewer each day as I strive to follow Your will and not my own.

 

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
ß

Scripture: Psalm 146.

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 146:1-7 (NLT)

1 Praise the LORD! Let all that I am praise the LORD.

2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.

3 Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there.

4 When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them.

5 But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the LORD their God.

6 He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever.

7 He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners.

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

I believe that too often we become so busy until things that we do, become very routine, including attending church and perhaps even worshipping our Lord and Savior. In this Psalm David reminded me that there is nothing else that could possibly warrant my attention and/or my praise, for it is only the power of God that will last forever and therefore is deserving of my praise. I pray that this day will be one that I will recognize the awesome power and love of my Savior in all that I come into contact with.

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

I pray that His presence will be so overwhelming that I will have little choice but to stop and praise Him for every little thing that I notice. Thank You Father, for loving me enough to place me in the presence of so many blessings, please remove the scales from my eyes so that I might recognize the blessings today and subsequently glorify You in everything.

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
ß

Scripture: Philippians 1.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Philippians 1:27 (NLT)

27 Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing side by side, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.

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

In my everyday walk of life, it would be embarrassing to my parents if I lived contrary to the ideals that they taught me, or lived in a manner that would constantly denounce the family name. For me, it would place such an awful stench on my name that people would not want to be found associating with me. In my Christian walk it is no different, for when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I committed myself to live in accordance with His Word – live as He lived. I made my decision public, so if I don’t live as a child of Christ, then there would be such a stench on my name as ‘Christian’, because I would be considered a hypocrite or may even be recognized as unsaved because of the lack of evidence in the way I live. Either way, I would be totally ineffective and embarrassing to the work of Christ. Where are you at in your walk, friend? Are you walking in a manner worthy of the Good News of Jesus Christ? Would you be found ‘guilty’ of being a Christian by non-Christians that you come into contact with each day? God knows everything about us, so He knows how seriously to take our commitment we may have made at some church altar. If we were serious about it, then there will be no doubt in our daily lives who it is that we serve, that we honor, that we love and that we represent in and through our everyday lives. Let’s place aside all that may beset us and all that may hinder us or our Christian walk. If it’s God that we truly love and are committed to, then let’s live our lives in a manner where there will be no doubt to Him or to this world. God could call us home today friend, can we approach His throne with anxious and open arms because we know without a shadow of doubt that our commitment to Him is secure and that our lives have been matching our commitment to Him? Let’s be sure that we can do this friend, for we have no assurance of tomorrow. God loved us so much that He gave it all. Can we at least turn loose of all the worldly and/or sinful acts/things that prevent us from having an honest and open relationship with our Savior?

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

Father, You have promised us only the moment in which we live. Please help me to live my life in total readiness for the time that You will call me home and that I will meet You face-to-face. While here on this earth, may I be found worthy to be called a child of the King. May I be found exampling each and every teaching found in Your Word so that others will not be distracted, but instead that I may be seen as an example of what You expect from true and real Christians.

 

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
ß

Scripture: Psalm 141.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 141:3-4 (NLT)

3 Take control of what I say, O LORD, and guard my lips.

4 Don’t let me drift toward evil or take part in acts of wickedness. Don’t let me share in the delicacies of those who do wrong.

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

Many of us look for ways to improve individually and many of us also professionally. Many times in the Psalms David finds ways to give God praise, many times he seeks God’s help in earnest prayer to Him and yet other times, such as these verses, David asks God to help him personally to develop a closer walk with Him and to be a more useful vessel for Him while here on earth. Many of you will probably agree with me that too often our tongue gets us in more trouble individually than anything we might actually do. In fact over in James 3:6, James writes that the tongue is a flame of fire that corrupts the entire body. In Matthew 26:63 Jesus himself was silent before His accusers. Knowing the power of the tongue, and reflecting back on the many times that it may have gotten us in trouble or caused ill will, it is very important that we pray daily like David did, “Please Lord, take control of what I say. Guard my lips”. Today, let’s think about and practice a principle taught in yet another scripture (Philippians 4:8-9): “If anything is praiseworthy, then let us speak up, otherwise hold our tongues”

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

Father, You are very aware of how often we speak up instead of shutting up and how often this causes so much trouble for us and for the kingdom. As Your servant, wanting to do Your will and be more like You in every way, I pray that this will be a day led by, and guarded by You loving hand. I pray that You will especially work on me to say only those things that will serve to uplift a brother, or encourage a sister. I pray that my heart will be so in sync with You today that my words will be representative of You in every way, for not my will oh Lord, but Yours, I pray.

 

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
ß

Scripture: Psalm 139; Ephesians 6.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Psalm 139:1-2 (NLT)

1
O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.

2
You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.

Ephesians 6:10-12 (NLT)

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.

12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

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

Both of these chapters offer a lot more than the verses I copied and pasted into this devotional, so if God is dealing with you on finding peace with Him in a troubled world, then I would encourage you to read both of these chapters. In the Psalm David is comforted in knowing that God is totally in control of everything around him, so he is able to place his faith and trust in God for his every need, every thought, and every concern that affects his life. Because of this acknowledgment in God’s power and control, David therefore releases himself in verse 23 by asking God to search him, test him, know his anxious thoughts, point out his non-conforming ways and lead him along a path to everlasting life. Friends, I believe that it is not until we reach this stage in our lives that we truly practice total surrender to the Master. We must first acknowledge who He is, including the power and direction that He is capable of using to bless and direct us, and that He loves us enough to use those characteristics to bless us and give us peace of mind. Similarly in Ephesians 6, Paul reminds the Ephesian church that they must learn to allow God in the lives and in their daily walk so that He could protect them and guide them. When we recognize God’s power and we acknowledge that He is our Master and Savior and Lord and that we are willing to let Him rule, guide and protect us, then we will go about our daily path with God in control and we will have that assurance that He will guide and protect us from the darts of Satan and the evil of this dark world. Today, let’s find peace in knowing that we serve the Creator of man, the Creator of this universe, the only One to overcome death and the grave, the only One who willingly surrendered His life so that we might enjoy life eternally with Him in glory! That’s the God that we serve, and the God that we should place our faith and trust in everyday! This results in unlimited peace for us, even in what appears to be the most troublesome times.

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

Father, what an awesome peace to know that You are in control of every circumstance and every event that I may interact with each day. There are so many times and so many circumstances where things seem so out of control and I am forced to reflect on whether I could possibly overcome. Praise God, I am reminded in Your Word that I need not worry about that, because when I place my hand in Yours, and when I place my life at Your disposal and have surrendered every aspect of my life to You, then I can rest in peace knowing that You are in control and that every little thing is gonna be alright! Lord, I love You today and so appreciate Your acceptance of this child as Your humble servant that You long to watch over, love and protect.

 

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
ß

Scripture: Ephesians 5.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Ephesians 5:15-20 (GW)

15 So then, be very careful how you live. Don’t live like foolish people but like wise people.

16 Make the most of your opportunities because these are evil days.

17 So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord wants.

18 Don’t get drunk on wine, which leads to wild living. Instead, be filled with the Spirit 19 by reciting psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs for your own good. Sing and make music to the Lord with your hearts.

20 Always thank God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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

Paul saw the struggle that the Ephesian church had with trying to live in accordance with Christ’s instructions, so he gave them some tips on how to do this. In believing that the Word of God is specifically placed in His Word for the benefit of His followers today, I therefore believe that God knew that His church today – you and I, fellow Christians, would have the same struggles today, and He wanted us to have the tools and advice at our fingertips to deal with the problem. Let’s therefore look at some of the tips given to us to live our lives worthy of our calling as children of God:

• Live as wise people – I believe that we are being told to be wise in our decision making and not just do what comes natural, or accept everything as mere luck or undirected wisdom for our daily living. In being wise we will read God’s Word and seek His will about those things that He would have us do, rather than just accepting everything that might come our way as a natural course of action for our daily living. Seek God first, and His righteousness……
  
• Make the most of opportunities – I believe that God is telling us to not let an opportunity slip by where He presents us with excellent opportunities to witness, love and influence someone in need of the Savior;
  
• Understand what the Lord wants – get into His Word, associate with other believers, listen to the preaching of His Word, pray – and all these things will become evident to you;
  
• Be filled with the Spirit – when we are reciting psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, we will fill our hearts and soul with the things of God. When we sit idly by or constantly gossip about people, we are most often foolish and filling our hearts and minds with ungodly things that will be no benefit to the kingdom;
  
• Always thank God – It is very challenging to thank God and praise Him when we are not following the wise advice emphasized above. Let’s keep our minds fixed on Jesus and enjoy the peace of constantly thanking Him and praising Him in all of life’s circumstances, because we are crediting Him for blessing us with each and every occurrence.
  

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

Lord Jesus, please humble me today so that I may use these words to guide my footsteps and mold my thought process. May I be wise in my decision making and careful in how I live my life. Nothing else matters when I face You and parallel my life with what You have exampled before me and shown me in Your Word. Thank You Father for loving me enough that You would guide my thought process and my every step in life’s journey. Please now give me the boldness to follow Your will for my life. May I not give reason for You to be disappointed in my walk or in my talk or in my actions towards others 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
ß

Scripture: Ephesians 4.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Ephesians 4:1-6 (CEV)

1 As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other. 3 Try your best to let God’s Spirit keep your hearts united. Do this by living at peace. 4 All of you are part of the same body. There is only one Spirit of God, just as you were given one hope when you were chosen to be God’s people. 5 We have only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. 6 There is one God who is the Father of all people. Not only is God above all others, but he works by using all of us, and he lives in all of us.

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

While studying God’s Word I normally highlight verses where God really spoke to me and caught my attention. In this chapter today, I have most of it highlighted – not because I felt like Paul was hitting a homerun with his Ephesian church, although I bet that he hit the nail right on its head with what he taught them, but Paul was addressing the church of small town USA even back then, he was addressing me and my fellow members of my local church. What an eye-opener, reminder and challenge for us today in these verses. Here are some things that particularly spoke to me:

1. Let us first recognize in verse 1 that we are a chosen people. God loved us so much that in spite of our sin, yet He called us to be His very own sons and daughters;
   
2. To coin a phrase that I have heard: ‘If we would get off our high horses’ and humble ourselves as an honored child of the Most High, and if we practice gentleness like our mentor (Jesus Christ) did, then we would easily practice patience with each other and love each other. Unfortunately, we often become very impatient with folk (brothers and sisters), who are not as good as we think we are, or as holy as we think we are, or as educated as we feel like we are. When we become impatient with someone, we speak wrongly to them, we put them down to the level where we picture them in our minds, and we place a wedge between them and us, making it impossible to show love to them. Yet in this passage, God through Paul is admonishing us to be both patient AND loving to each other;
   
3. In verse 3 we are told how this all can be possible. One translation reads: “Through the peace that ties you together, do your best to maintain the unity that the Spirit gives.” In other words, it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us that we could have that strength and power to overcome the temptation of thinking, or acting like we are better than any other saint of God. But friends, God, and His Holy Spirit are true gentlemen and they will only act when we ask for their help. Let us therefore be true followers of Christ and lean heavily on Him and not our own evil desires or traits. To follow His example and be obedient to His Holy Spirit, we must put self aside and lean not on our own understanding but on the will, power and direction of Him.
   

Something that is even more sobering as we meditate on this passage today is actually found in verse 30 (And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.) In other words, when we fail at the above points raised, we are bringing sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit. I don’t know about you friend, but the last thing I ever want to do is to cause sorrow to someone I love, especially Almighty God. Let us therefore be challenged to truly follow the example of Jesus in being patient and loving to all those we come into contact with. Let’s allow Jesus to shine through in our actions and in our character!

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

I’ve heard preachers talk about the need for steel toed boots when there are challenging words that God would have us to hear and follow. I really needed those boots this morning, because this passage is very applicable to me and my church at this time. Thank You Father for making Your Word so powerful that it speaks to our hearts right where we’re at. If the world is to be won for Christ, then they will need to see Christ. I pray that those that I come into contact with each day will see Christ very clearly in me and through my words and actions. May I receive Your strength today to be more patient, kind and loving to those that may not be very lovable. May I remain humble so that I not place myself above any other child of Yours. May I allow You to be God today, even in and through circumstances in which I may be involved, all for Your glory dear 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
ß