Scripture: John 21.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

John 21:17 (NLT)

17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep“.

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

Simon Peter was mystified why Jesus would ask him if he love Him. In fact, Peter responded like we many times do to such a question, “you know that I love you”. I believe that Jesus was saying to Peter what He would say to us today. If you really love Me, then …… In Peter’s case Jesus said, “then feed my sheep”. If He said that to many of us today, we might respond “But excuse me Lord, that’s the job of my pastor, I’m just a …..” But friend, I believe that this is exactly what God would want of us today. If we truly love Him, or if He truly has first place in our lives, then we will share that love and talk about that relationship with everyone that we come into contact with. Each of us answer this question each and every day, for we show Jesus how much we love Him by what we say about Him and how obedient we are to His commands, and how much we try to imitate Him and all that He taught us in His Word. How does it look at the end of the day when you reflect back on your actions and/or words? Do you love Jesus? Really love Him?

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

Father, this is an eye opener this morning for I take Your love for granted in so many ways. Please grant me the strength, boldness, courage and determination to reflect Your love in everything that I say or do today. May I reflect back on the day and feel satisfied that I have fed Your sheep, I have loved Your sheep, I have witnessed to Your sheep and most of all, that I have loved them with a heart like Yours.

 

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: 2 Kings 1.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

2 Kings 1:16 (NLT)

16 And Elijah said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: Why did you send messengers to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether you will recover? Is there no God in Israel to answer your question? Therefore, because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die.”

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

My mind was directed to cases that I have known of where families have travelled from long distances to have a TV evangelist pray over them because of what appeared to be an incurable decease from a human doctor’s perspective. While I believe that in desperation we will do almost anything to try and save a loved one, I also believe that it is evident from this passage that God wants us to be aware that He is everywhere that we are, and He is accessible by any of His children. An additional curse was placed on king Ahaziah for thinking that he could get answers from the gods at the temple of Baalzebub about the injuries he sustained in a serious fall. Friends, God is available to His children at any time, wherever we may find ourselves in need of Him. God’s Word is full of instances and verses that declare this truth. Seek the Lord while He is near. Depend on the Lord for He always hears our cry for help. Seek the Lord first and foremost, not wait until all else fails. We see from the previous chapter how the prophets called by the king quickly shared their personal views and then claimed that they were from God. Praise be to God that we can go directly to the throne and not have to worry about human intervention to fill the gap for us!

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

Father, You know that my mention of this example that I have knowledge of is not intended to place guilt on the minds of anyone, but rather I believe that You have opened the doors of Heaven to me today and helped me to be reminded of the power of the almighty God that I serve, and the value that You place on each of Your children. You have also showed me that I may come directly to You with requests, concerns and needs. If I feel like I am unworthy of that privilege, then there are some other cleaning up that I need to do in my relationship with You before You would hear my prayer directly or through the requests by others on my behalf. I pray that You may speak to me each and every day so that I may maintain a clean, open relationship with You so that You may continue to work in and through me in miraculous ways to fulfill Your perfect will. Thank You for loving me this much. Thank You for saving me from the evil one. Please use me as Your instrument today to reach the heart of one that may not know You personally and/or to encourage and bless the life of someone that does.

 

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: John 20.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

John 20:24-27 (NLT)

24 One of the disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came.

25 They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

26 Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said.

27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!“
28
“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
29 Then Jesus told him,
“You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

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

I believe that many of us are like Thomas. We need to see a sign or miracle to believe. The thing that really spoke to me on this is that Thomas was one of the disciples, yet he struggled with faith. When others (particularly non-Christians) look at us as an example of Christ, as a follower of Christ, as one who knows the Lord, do they see enough faith in us to make a believer of them? Thomas was struggling on his own, I can’t imagine how others who looked to him for Godly wisdom and direction would have gained more strength than what he himself was displaying. God expects us to depend on Him, His Word and all the teachings contained therein. He expects us to be full of faith, as in verse 27 He admonished us to not be faithless any longer. Let us therefore stand on the promises of God. Let us believe that He will do what He said He would do. Let our faith be so bold that others will know there is a God because they can see it and feel it in all that we are about.

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

Father, there are so many truths in Your Word that encourage us each day and give us direction for the Godly life that You should lead, especially so that those that may not know You might gain a desire to want to know you personally. To do this, I believe that it will be important to place our faith and trust solidly in You and to make every moment count, as we could never imagine when someone may be looking to us for the Godly influence, faith or direction needed to help them make a decision to also ask Jesus to guide them. May I be a man of faith, and may those that read this be people of sincere faith each and every day through the grace that only You can give.

 

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 Kings 11.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

1 Kings 11:32-35 (NLT)

32 But I will leave him one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 33 For Solomon has abandoned me and worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians; Chemosh, the god of Moab; and Molech, the god of the Ammonites. He has not followed my ways and done what is pleasing in my sight. He has not obeyed my decrees and regulations as David his father did. 34 “‘But I will not take the entire kingdom from Solomon at this time. For the sake of my servant David, the one whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees, I will keep Solomon as leader for the rest of his life. 35 But I will take the kingdom away from his son and give ten of the tribes to you….

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

I know that my God is a just God and that He expresses love in ways that are way out of the realm of what I can fathom, but as I read this passage I was amazed of how much God really loves us when we not only say with our mouths that we believe, or express our acceptance of His Son as our Savior, but His love reaches to, what seems to be, new heights when He sees us so committed to Him that we obey His commands and follow His instructions. In other words, when we put our beliefs and commitment into action, and actually follow through with what we believe. God withheld total judgment on Solomon because of His deep love and regard for Solomon’s father, David. Wow, what a love God is expressing here for this man that followed His commands while he was alive. Now before you think that this was much easier for David than it is for us today, I want to remind you that David struggled with many of the same sins that we struggle with today, and he gave into many of the same desires and/or lusts that some of us give in to today. Yes, there was evidence of failures by David, but God’s Word also shows where David quickly reconciled with God and sought forgiveness and sincerely sought His help for strength to overcome and get back on a right footing with God. Friends, as we seek God’s heart and His will we will be more apt to seek His help to overcome the weaknesses and failures that may result. God knows better than us that there is only One who is perfect, and that’s His Son Jesus, but what He is looking for from us is to have a mind like His and a desire to bounce back and get back on track in following Him, and not to wallow in our sin and go on sinning. When we are reminded of sin in our lives, we don’t use the point of us being weak as a human, instead we lean on the power of the Almighty to show us how to overcome the human weakness and instead depend on God for His strength, His power, His direction and His ultimate love to excuse us and make us right with Him. How reassuring to know that He will bless for generations because of what we do and because of our obedience. Praise be to God that He sees such value in us!

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

Father, You are awesome and You constantly amaze me with Your love for me, just as You have shown me today about Your love for David, even long after he died. I need Your strength today to be more like You. I need Your strength, wisdom and direction to always return to the cross – at Your feet, and seek Your forgiveness and teaching on how I might be more like You and what I must do to follow Your commands with a perfect heart and will. Please be my constant guide today. Please give me quick reminders when I am tempted to stray or disobey Your commands. Your blessings for generations to come will be a side benefit, as my aim is to please You personally and to be more like You every day. Hearing You say “well done good and faithful servant” is my ultimate goal, but I clearly understand that I can only get there with total dependence on You. Thank You for expressing so much love to me. Please help me to express my love to You through daily obedience to You.

 

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: John 17.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

John 17:14-19 (NLT)

14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15
I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.

16
They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.
18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19 And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.

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

After reading this chapter my mind reflected on my parents and made me wonder what they must have prayed for me, and what my mom must still pray for me, even at my age. While here on this earth Jesus did everything possible to demonstrate His love and His concern for His disciples and for those that He had contact with. He made an indelible impression on them and showed such great love for them that followed Him and obeyed Him without reservation. God has also placed us here in this world on mission. He sent His son Jesus to show us how to do it, and especially how to do it through obvious opposition from this world. The thing that I believe that we can learn from this passage today is the prayer that I underlined. If Jesus prayed that for us, how much more should we be mindful of the opposition, temptation and challenges that our children face in this world, and therefore be in daily prayer for them? Jesus said that He gave himself as a holy sacrifice so that we could be made holy. Surely we can give of ourselves in prayer for our kids that they too may become holy and pure before our Father.

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

Father I know that You are aware of all that we face each and every day. I believe that You also know what our kids face each day that hardens their hearts and keeps them from being totally sold out to You. In verse 19 You told the Father that You had given Yourself so that we may be made holy by the truth that You shared with us. I pray that Christian parents will join me in giving unselfishly of ourselves so that our kids may become one with You, so that they may find value and everlasting joy in totally surrendering themselves to You and following Your will and way for their lives each day. This old world has only gotten worse in the pressure that it places on our kids to follow a path that leads to destruction, but praise God I know that You are more powerful than any temptation that may come their way, so I plead with You again to touch the hearts of our kids with Your love and give them unbelievable strength to follow You in a world that seems to pull them in totally opposite directions. Please give me wisdom as a father to pray as You did and give sacrificially as You gave.

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 Kings 8-9.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

1 Kings 9:3-5 (NLT)

3 The Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your petition. I have set this Temple apart to be holy—this place you have built where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart. 4 “As for you, if you will follow me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, 5 then I will establish the throne of your dynasty over Israel forever. For I made this promise to your father, David: ‘One of your descendants will always sit on the throne of Israel.’

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

Solomon had just spent 20 years building the temple and his palace. He then went through a very outstanding dedication of the temple, including sacrificing well over 100,000 animals to God at the temple. He offered admirable prayers to God on behalf of himself and his people and prayed that God would especially bless any prayers offered at, or towards the temple. I believe that God was very blessed by all this, however He had a personal message for Solomon that, I believe, could also speak to us today. Quoting from sections of these verses through which God spoke to me: “…if you follow me with integrity and godliness, … obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, then I will…..”. In other words, I believe that God will put aside all that we have done, and all that we still do in His name and for His glory, and there will come a time that He will sit us down and say, “OK buddy, now about you, here’s what I have to say to you….” I believe it is very evident that God is about having a personal relationship with us, not about us trying to prove anything to Him. Mind you, I believe that as we work on our personal relationship with God, He will use us beyond anything we could imagine, to bless Him through helping others and leading them towards integrity and godliness. I believe that in summing this whole message up today I would say that God is saying that it’s not all about what we can do for Him. It’s about our relationship with Him – if we follow Him with integrity and godliness. If we obey His commands, decrees and regulations (in other words, do we follow all that is taught to us in God’s Word). When I think of integrity, I think of people being able to trust what I say and what I claim to be without doubting my intentions, or without them seeing anything hypocritical about me. I must remember that God knows EVERYTHING about me – my thoughts, my actions, my words and even my intentions, so I can’t hide anything from Him.

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

Lord, may I follow You with integrity and godliness. May I be honestly dedicated to serving You in everything I say, do and even think. May You find holiness and godliness in everything that I am about. May others see these characteristics in me and want to know the Savior that grants me the strength, wisdom and power to accomplish such traits. May You be honored and glorified through me today, is my sincere prayer!

 

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 Kings 6 – 7.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

1 Kings 6:11-13 (NLT)

11 Then the Lord gave this message to Solomon: 12 “Concerning this Temple you are building, if you keep all my decrees and regulations and obey all my commands, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father, David. 13 I will live among the Israelites and will never abandon my people Israel.”

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

These two chapters relay the story about the great temple that Solomon built for the Lord. I believe that he had a pure heart about building the very best for the Lord and sparing no expense. However, during the construction God gave a message to Solomon, and this is what spoke to my heart today. In the verses mentioned above, God basically told Solomon: hey, I appreciate what you are doing, but it’s a broken and contrite heart that I am looking for, one that is obedient to me and follows my commands. I believe that many times in churches today, including mine, we spend so much time worrying about the physical appearances of the place that we worship, that it might appear to God like we are worshipping it instead of Him. I believe that if we spent as much time in preparation for worship, in preparation of Sunday School lessons, in preparation of our hearts and souls for worship, as we do in gossiping, in planning parties, in things that tend to please us, then God might just listen to our heart-cry knowing the sincerity of our hearts, knowing that our aim is to worship Him and that we are looking for ways to better understand His will for our lives so that we may be obedient to Him. I believe that all the extra-curricular things that we do are for our selfish satisfaction and pleasure, not for pleasing God or proving to Him that our desire is to draw closer to Him through these things. I am not advocating that we should be stuck in a box with no type of fun as a Christian, but I am convinced that we should show where our priorities are. God desires our heart and our obedience. To align our heart with His, we must be in a constant learning mode with every effort to learn about Him and His character and His will, as relayed to us through His Word. Psalms 51:17 (AMP) : My sacrifice [the sacrifice acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart [broken down with sorrow for sin and humbly and thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.

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

Father, Your Word is awesome and written to get to the hearts of man with clarity and ultimate direction. I believe that this Word was specifically brought to my attention for a special reason this morning. I believe that folk that will read this today will, like me, be reminded of the importance and priority that must be placed on our study of Your Word, listening to the teaching and preaching of Your Word, so that we might be directed along a right path to righteousness and total obedience of Your will for our lives. Please help me today to be obedient to what I know of You and to follow Your commands and will for my life. You told Solomon that then You will fulfill the promises given to his father and bless Your people. I see this as the same promise to us today dear Lord, so please help me to do my part personally and through the leadership role that I have at my church, do my part in leading them to obedience and pure worship of You. Thank You for Your Word today 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.
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Scripture: John 16.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

John 16:33 (NLT)

33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

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

In this chapter Jesus had laid a lot on the minds of the disciples, because He knew that He would soon go to be with His Father. I think of the times that I am about to go on vacation, or leave my family for a short trip. I try to fill them in on what to expect during my absence and then train them on how to handle various things that may come up. Jesus was doing something like this, but the important thing is that much of this still applies to us today. We may relieve ourselves through a sigh of relief when we surrender our hearts and lives to Jesus, as we find ultimate peace there. However, our earthly trials and sorrows will not cease. What Jesus is telling us here is that we can still take peace in knowing Him and we can still confidently place our faith and trust in Him because He has the ultimate victory over these things. So friend, know today that we can have confidence and peace even in the most troublesome times, because of our relationship with the Victor, the King of Glory, the Master of the sea, the resurrected One, our Father and soon coming King, Jesus. Know my Friend (Jesus) today and know peace and victory over the challenges of this world!

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

Father, what a comfort it is in knowing You! You have been there, done that, and been victorious over that. In fact, You have told us in Your Word that You have also prepared the way so that we may be victorious over these things that we face each and every day, and Lord do we ever face them! Thank You for the reminder today that You overcame, that You paved the way for us to safely, confidently and victoriously travel the roads of this life and that we can have peace in knowing that no matter how bad, or how tough things may get, yet we can know that as we ask anything in Your name, the Father will answer our prayer and help us to know that He is in control over the situation. What awesome peace this is! What an awesome comfort it is to know that even though we may sometimes feel like we have little control over the things of this world, yet we personally know the One who does! Thank You Father for giving me this kind of peace!

 

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 Kings 3.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

1 Kings 3:10-14 (NLT)

10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. 11 So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies – 12 I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! 13 And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! 14 And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.”

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

I believe that God is extremely happy with His kids that are unselfish in their requests to Him and who not only show an unselfish love towards Him, but also to the people that they come into contact with. You see, I am fairly confident that most of us will push for the best job that is available, even if we knew that it would bring unnecessary burden on us and/or our family; we would take the bigger and better vehicle, even if we knew that it would be a burden to us in payments; we would rather be first in line at the buffet so that we could get the choice foods, even if we knew that others may not have eaten in the last two days, or may not have eaten as good as we have. As the son of a great king, Solomon had been used to the having his own way, and many times at the expense of seeing many under the reign of his dad, go without. Even in this position, Solomon could very easily have found more to ask for in order to fulfill the normal lusts of a man in charge, like he was. Instead, he knew that he was challenged with an awesome responsibility, and because he wanted to make sure that he had all that he needed to properly, and fairly rule his people, he asked for wisdom to do an even better job of ruling and leading his people. Oh that we would do more of this today as we take on leadership roles. We may have tremendous amounts of talent to use in our leadership roles, but when dealing with other people, we have no idea what it takes to truly meet their needs and best utilize their God-given skills. Let’s stop and think about our role, then let’s get with the Master and ask Him to lead us and guide us, and to give us the wisdom it takes to lead unselfishly, beneficial to all that we lead and honoring to the Master. God saw Solomon’s heart and He gave him much more than he asked for. It would be joyous to look at our day, or week or year and thank God for blessing us with much more than we ever asked for. But that’s the kind of God that we serve, so let’s not be surprised when we see things like this happen! Praise be to God!

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

Father You are awesome! You have made us to be like You and even though I could only imagine that You must look on us in disgust or disappointment many times. Yet I believe that You will honor the sincere, unselfish requests that we may make of You, all because of Your love for us. It is evident from the story of Your servant Solomon that You will honor and bless the soul that seeks after Your heart and has a desire to be like You in every way. I pray that this may be a day in which You will honor the sincere prayer of my heart to grant me the wisdom to deal with my fellow man in a way that will honor You; to make right decisions for those over whom I may have leadership responsibilities and the wisdom to make those decisions in a way that will not only be honoring to You, but also beneficial to them so that they too may be drawn closer to You. I pray for the wisdom to discern the man You have chosen to lead my church as pastor. Many things are made to look good on paper in a resume, but Father I know that You are very familiar with the hearts of each man behind the resumes and You know the man that is needed to lead a peculiar flock such as ours, so I place my sole dependence on You to guide my team and I to the right man for this leadership position. I want Your kingdom to grow in Avon Park and I would really like for our church to be a vital contributor of that growth, please bless us with everything we need to make the right choices in our future leader so that Your work may be accomplished.

 

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: ^.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

John 14:21 (NLT)

21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

John 14:23-24 (NLT)

23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. 24 Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me.

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

I believe that one of the main reasons that our world is in such bad shape today with crime, hatred, murder and ill-will is because many have chosen to do their own thing, and follow their personal desires, always looking out for number one – self. If we truly love Jesus, then we will follow His commandments, follow His will, practice His teachings and follow His example. When we don’t follow this principle, we are identified in verse 24 as not loving Jesus. Where am I at today? Which side of the pendulum do I fall on dear Jesus? What about you friend? I am seeking identity with Christ, and in this passage I am reminded that a major part of fulfilling this goal is to prove my love for Him by following His commands and honestly obeying all that is taught in His Word. With God’s help we can do it friend! Every day we find ways to show our love to our spouse, or those that mean a lot to us here on this earth. Won’t you join me in recommitting ourselves to also proving our love for Jesus by not only learning His Word, but also being obedient to all that He teaches us through His Word? Friend, obedience is how our love is measured for Jesus!

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

Father You proved Your love for us by sacrificing Your very own son at Calvary so that we may have eternal life with You in glory. You have reminded us of what is necessary to prove our love for You. Today, as I recommit myself to following Your will and way, with ever increasing faith I must also seek Your power, Your wisdom, Your strength and the will power to overcome the wishes and desires of my earthly friends who may otherwise tend to pull me down and hold me back from becoming more like You. In sincerity I seek Your hand upon my life this day, so that I may gain new strength to follow Your every command, in spite of the worldly influences to do otherwise. Please touch the hearts of those that may read this today so that they too may also catch a glimpse of what You desire from them.

 

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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