Scripture: John 12.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

John 12:35-36 (NLT)

35 Jesus replied, “My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going.

36 Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.” After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.

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

When someone walks into a room that is totally dark and turns on a flashlight they brought with them, everything is revealed. There may be furniture, or people or any combination of things in that room. Jesus likens our Christian walk with this scenario. We are to follow Christ, as He followed the will of His Father, God. Letting our light shine is the same as doing the will of God, obeying His commands and living our lives as an example of Jesus. In doing so, we help those who are walking in darkness (sin) to see the wrong they are doing, and by seeing our example, show them the right/acceptable/way of God that they should also live. How’s your example today, friend? For me, this is something that I must stay in close communion with God on, study His Word daily, pray to Him so that He may respond with appropriate answers that will be in accordance with His will. In and of ourselves, we are very selfish and want everything our way. When we listen to, and follow the will of God, we will be doing what He wants us to do, and what He wants from the person we are witnessing to. Many times we don’t even know the darkness that might be hidden in the lives of individuals, but God knows all things, even those things we think that we are doing in private. Let us therefore be children of the light, or children of God, following His will and direction, so that we may be shining examples to those that refuse to let go of their selfish desires. Verse 36 tells me that I should waste no time in doing this, for I never know when it will be too late. While there is still time, I want to be a child of the light representing Jesus in everything that I do and say, so that others may catch a glimpse of my Father and want to know Him personally. For those who know Him as Master and Lord, let us band together to be children of Light to the darkness that is all around us. For those reading this who would like to know about this ‘Light’ of which I write about here, please respond to this post and allow me to shed some ‘Light’ on the subject for you. It will truly be a blessing to me!

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

Father, thank You for being a shining light for me and all those who have allowed Your light into our lives. Please help me today to be more committed in allowing Your light to shine in and through me, so that those who still walk in darkness may see Jesus in all that I say and do, and they would want to know You in a very personal way also.

 

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 13.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

John 13:34-35 (NLT)

34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.

35
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

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

During His ministry here on earth Jesus showed love in so many ways for people. In this particular chapter Jesus showed His love for His disciples in several ways, including the intimate time that He spent with them at the last supper. Although He knew what would happen with Judas betraying Him, yet He loved him anyway. Although He knew that Peter loved Him an awful lot, He knew that Peter could not withstand the temptation that would confront Him with being recognized as a follower and pinpointed to the extent that his life was possibly threatened, yet Jesus loved Peter anyway. This reminds me of our situation today where I know that Jesus must look on us with disappointment about all that we could be doing for the enrichment of His kingdom, yet we selfishly look for personal satisfaction and happiness in every other aspect of life, rather than sacrificing ourselves for the good of the kingdom. Praise be to God though, that this lesson teaches me that God will not give up on His children for He loves us anyway. Oh that I may have that kind of love – a forgiving spirit and a love that outlives and outweighs all the hurt and bitterness that could possibly come against me. In fact, it is incumbent that I follow Jesus commandment to love one another just as He loved me, so that I may show evidence that I am one of Jesus’ disciples. Friend, I pray that as you read this devotional today that you may join me in this commitment to show proof daily that we are His followers and we can be counted on as one of His disciples.

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

Father, I know that this is a tall order today, but I know that it is possible, because You commanded it of us, and You have assured us in Your Word that You will never put more on us than we are able to bear, or accomplish. So this day, I pray that You will give me the boldness to show love for the unlovable, or those that may treat me in less than a loving way. Help me to prove that I am Your disciple following Your practice of loving those that I come in contact with, not just those that show their love for me. Thank You for loving me this much and for showing me the way to love those around me.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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Scripture: 2 Samuel 12-13.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

2 Samuel 12:9-12 (NLT)

9 Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife.

10 From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own.

11 “This is what the Lord says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view. 12 You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.”

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

When we disobey God’s laws and His commands we may tend to feel like no one knows about it, or no one will ever find out about it, or no one could possibly care about it. In this passage today we see the awful result of sin that began when David saw, wanted what he saw, forcefully got what he saw, and committed an act of sin by sleeping with Bathsheba, who was another man’s wife. This followed with David having to kill one of his best soldiers, Bathsheba’s husband. But friend, God didn’t let this go unnoticed. The results of David’s sin had long reaching effects on himself and on his family, including the death of the child he and Bathsheba conceived; his very own son committing a similar sin by forcing himself on his half-sister Tamar; then one of David’s sons killing his brother for his shameful act with his sister, and on and on and on. The bottom line is that God knows our every move, our every evil intention and every time that we disobey Him. Often the consequences are not pretty. Often the consequences result in long periods of what we may sometime call ‘bad luck’, but ultimately God is putting us in our place, and showing His displeasure with our actions. Many times we use the excuse “well no one is perfect”, and while that is a true statement, we who know Jesus, know the only One who is perfect. He has given us a book of instructions to help guide us towards a life of perfection. He told us in the New Testament that He even sent the Holy Spirit to be our guide and our comforter, and that He will be with us until the end. While there may be imperfections along the way, we must always keep our eyes focused on Jesus, always seeking the strength and guidance of the Comforter to help us along the way and to follow the commands of Jesus as given to us in His Word. Jesus wants us to be like Him, and that includes living without sin. When we sin we may be able to hide it from those around us, but my God is all knowing and we can’t hide a thing from Him. Where’s your heart today? If you’ve given it to Jesus, then He wants you to be like Him. If you’ve accepted the gift of Jesus to rule, direct and reign over your life, then I encourage you to do just that today, for He loves you more than anyone else and will do anything to show His love for those who are His. If you have never surrendered your life to Jesus, why not respond to this post today and let me pray with you and give you help and direction in this very important step? I want you to know my best friend!

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

Father, thank You for loving me so much that You gave everything for me. Thank You for sending the Comforter to be my guide and my friend through each and every day, every temptation, every challenge and every trial. Satan is on the attack, but I am convinced today that You are greater and will guide me through this life to be like You. In the name of Jesus, I ask that today You keep me from sin, and that instead You fill me with Your love and compassion, so that I may reflect the true image of Christ to those that I have contact with. Someone will need encouragement, someone will need love and compassion shown towards them because of the challenges they are facing right now. May I be Your hands and feet today as I reach out to others, all for Your precious honor and glory?

 

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 11.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

John 11:33-39 (NLT)

33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.

34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.”

35 Then Jesus wept.

36 The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!”

37 But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”

38 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance.

39 “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”

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

I believe that there are two ways that one could interpret verse 36. In one instance it looks like the people may have been mocking that Jesus didn’t love Mary, Martha and Lazarus enough to immediately come and save Lazarus from dying, yet in another sense they may have been drawing attention to the fact that Jesus really loved Lazarus so much that it hurt Him to know that Lazarus actually passed away from that life or their presence. Regardless of this friends, my heart was drawn to the fact that Jesus loved these folk so much that it stirred His heart to see the sisters hurting, and to know that the brother had left the world of the living. This, I believe, shows us that Jesus is still concerned about His children even today. When a child of the King is saddened by the impending death of a loved one due to cancer, I’m sure that Jesus is also saddened and wants to reach in and make it all better for us. When a parent is saddened by the events and actions of a child that they (the parents) worked so hard at bringing up in the right way and introduced them to Jesus as they should have, I believe that Jesus is saddened because He would rather see none perish. Friends, regardless of the awesome job that we may do in raising our kids, it is ultimately their personal decision to accept Jesus as Lord and to allow Him to rule and reign in their lives. My point here is that Jesus really loves us so much that He not only died so that we may have eternal life with Him and the Father, but He is also concerned about our everyday hurts or sadness or disappointments. Think about it, we become troubled when our kids are saddened or disappointed, imagine all the more that our heavenly Father cares for us? The situations that we find ourselves in, or the challenges that we sometimes face may seem very smelly to us at times, but as children of God, be reminded today that Jesus cares a lot about us. It stirs His heart to see us hurt. Therefore, let’s be determined today to surrender our cares to Him, and if, as in the case of Lazarus, Jesus sees our situation as an opportunity for God to receive glory, He will work in miraculous ways. He really loves us friend!

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

Thank You for loving me so much that You gave everything so that I may look forward to life eternally with You. Thank You for reassuring me today that You do not ignore the times that I am saddened by the events of this life or the times that events may not always go the way that I feel they should go. Lord, I pray that You will give me strength to look full into Your wonderful face and give You praise for ALL that You allow me to walk through here in this life. Because of Your love for me, I know that every little thing is gonna be alright!

 

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 Samuel 7-8.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

2 Samuel 7:18-22 (NLT)

18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and prayed, “Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And now, Sovereign Lord, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving your servant a lasting dynasty! Do you deal with everyone this way, O Sovereign Lord? 20 “What more can I say to you? You know what your servant is really like, Sovereign Lord. 21 Because of your promise and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have made them known to your servant. 22 “How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you!

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

Wow, catch a hold of this, won’t you? David was so overwhelmed with what God did in his life, and now with the additional things God was promising to do in and through David’s family. David was blown away. He couldn’t imagine why an all-knowing God would bless him and go on blessing even his family, considering the human-ness and obvious failures that surely must be apparent to God. This really resonated with me today, because although I know that I pitch a very strong effort into serving God and doing all that I discern He wants me to do, yet I know that I fail Him and my fellow Christian brothers and sisters in so many ways. It made me stop and think about why God would consider someone like me to allow His precious Son Jesus to suffer at the hands of Pilate and his bunch, and then die such a cruel death on the cross at Calvary? Why would He bless me with such a fine family, when there are so many marriages that fail in divorce, and children who kill their parents physically or emotionally? Why would He bless me with a nice job and co-workers who bless me daily, when there are so many who are unemployed and barely making it through in providing for themselves and their families each day? But praise be to God, He comes through every time and in every way! I serve an awesome God!

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

Who am I Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that You have brought me this far? You know what I am really like, yet You bless me in so many ways each and every day. How great You are Sovereign Lord! There is no one like You! Thank You for Your daily love and provision. You are awesome!

 

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 Samuel 5-6.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

2 Samuel 5:17-19 (NLT)

17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king of Israel, they mobilized all their forces to capture him. But David was told they were coming, so he went into the stronghold.

18 The Philistines arrived and spread out across the valley of Rephaim.

19 So David asked the Lord, “Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The Lord replied to David, “Yes, go ahead. I will certainly hand them over to you.”

2 Samuel 5:22-23 (NLT)

22 But after a while the Philistines returned and again spread out across the valley of Rephaim. 23 And again David asked the Lord what to do. “Do not attack them straight on,” the Lord replied. “Instead, circle around behind and attack them near the poplar trees.

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

“What Shall I Do?” These are probably very popular words of a person who is truthful with themselves and who realizes that they don’t know it all or have all of the answers. In the above verses we can see two examples where David didn’t dare make a move against the Philistine army until he consulted with God. Now, David could have based his decision on past successes and led his army into battle with a certain degree of confidence knowing that he had overcome this army on several occasions before. However, David always fought his battles the way that God instructed him to. In each instance he:

1. Asked God if he should fight, or not;
   
2. Followed instructions carefully, and
   
3. Gave God the glory (see verse 20 for a prime example)
   

When we are faced with decisions and wondering which way to turn next or what we should say or how we should handle ourselves, it would behoove us to follow David’s example. Remember, there’s a reason God wanted this particular story/example in His Word – for His people of all generations to follow. We are daily faced with important decisions that could not only affect ourselves, but those that we love, or those that we work with, or those that we influence. Let’s get in the habit of consulting with God first, following His instructions carefully, and then celebrate the results by giving all the glory to God.

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

Dear God, please help me to place full dependence on You each and every day and with each and every important decision I need to make. It never ceases to amaze me of all the answers that I find in Your Word. It always amazes me of the excellent examples You have shown to me through those servants of Yours in times past. There really is no excuse for me to do it alone, for I believe that as I place my full dependence in You and listen to You speak through Your Word, I will not only find answers to my dilemmas but I will be assured of success with You in control of the situations I find so tough to handle many times. David was such a fine example of this, and I thank You for reminding me of this again today. You are awesome, most powerful, almighty to save, and One in whom I can safely place my trust and dependence. Please remind me of this each and every day, and give me wisdom to follow Your will for my every decision. Thank You Lord for all You can, and will do!

 

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 9.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

John 9:35-38 (NLT)

35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”

37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”

38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.

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

There comes a time that we all must face the challenging question of where do we stand in our relationship with Jesus. We were created by God, and yet He loved us so much that He sacrificed His only Son on a cruel cross, just to show how much He loved us and how far He would go to make sure that our eternal destiny could be secured with Him. Now even though He provided the way, and the means by which we could secure our destiny, there must be a time in our lives where we answer the question like the one posed to the man that was healed, “Do you believe in the Son of Man, or Son of God?”. Even though God provided the way, He also gave us the option, or choice, so that we would personally decide whether we will continue living our lives destined for Hell, or whether we surrender our lives over to Jesus. Perhaps you are like the man in the focal passage, you want to know Jesus. Friend, the Bible is very clear on who Jesus is, the gift He is offering you today, and the very simple steps you can follow to accept this gift in order to be assured of your eternal destiny. As you can tell from the daily obituaries, there is no set pattern or age to help you decide the maximum time you have left on earth, in case you are thinking that you can wait until the last minute. So don’t put this off, decide today if you want to believe in the Son of God, then if you need help, prayers or information on how to proceed to the next step, check with your pastor or respond to this post and let me help you and pray with you. This is THE most important question of the day for you. If you decide to accept the gift, you can be assured forever that you are secured in the arms of Jesus. If you brush this off and make no decision, you are indicating that you are satisfied and determined to die knowing that you will find yourself in Hell being tormented forever by Satan himself and all of his demons. You think life here on this earth is challenging, unloving, hateful, misguided and something you wish you could escape from at times? You ain’t seen nothing yet friend!

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

Father I know that someone will read this today and feel like this is a scare tactic to push them into making a decision today. I pray that before they read it, You will prepare their hearts to fully comprehend the importance of this decision. Please help them to fully understand the pain that You went through at Calvary, so that they wouldn’t have to go through anything similar when they breathe their last breath here on earth. Please help them to catch a glimpse of the joy that could be theirs each and every day in knowing that You are there for them through each and every challenge with outstretched arms to love them and help them overcome. You’ve done it for me and I’m sure You’ll do it for any that may accept You today, for Your Word is very clear in that You stand for truth and will guarantee all that Your Word declares. Touch hearts today, I pray 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: ^.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

John 8:31-32 (NLT)

31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

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

I believe that one of the most aggravating reasons we could give our kids as to why we have declined a request of theirs, is “because I said so”!! For we have truly not told them why, and that we have no reason for declining other than because of our personal wish or desire. Jesus was questioned or interrogated by the Pharisees and other religious leaders, and being the Son of God, He could have very easily said that You need no other reason, but instead He told them, and I am convinced that He is telling us today through these same words, that although it is important for us to go through the earthly rituals of coming forward and surrendering our hearts to the Lord, but what really proves that we have had a ‘heart’ experience is when we follow the ways of God and obey His commands. The focal verse here says, “if you remain faithful to my teachings” (if you hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them). To me, this means that I must have my life so saturated with the Word of God that not only will others know whose I am, but they will see evidence of that in what I say, what I believe, how I act and how I react. Friends, let’s make our salvation experience more than just a ‘ticket punching’ event for going to heaven, but rather show evidence of the change that has transpired in our lives by studying God’s Word and following its teachings. I don’t believe that there is one command given by God that was intended to unreasonably restrain us or constrain us, but rather His commands are intended to make us more like Jesus in every way so that others will believe on Him and know Him because they could see that we truly know Him and follow Him. Let’s not try to imitate any earthly person or figurehead, Jesus is our example as He was the only perfect One, and He’s the One that we should always choose to please and follow. Pray that He will truly know that we are His disciple today, because He has seen us remain faithful to His teachings.

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

Father I believe that one of the greatest compliments my earthly father could receive, if he was still alive today, would be hearing that he raised a good son because there is evidence that he is following many of the same principles that my dad followed in his lifetime to be a child of God and a successful citizen of this earth. Similarly, I believe that one of the greatest compliments that I could possibly hear from You is that I made it a point to always follow Your commands and Your teachings and Your will. I wouldn’t dare say that I have attained in this goal yet, so again this morning I humbly plead with You for strength today to follow Your perfect will, obey Your commands and biblical teachings so that I may represent You well to my lost friends and coworkers, and especially so that You might recognize me as one of Your disciples. Please guide me and show me the way today, oh Lord.

 

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 Samuel 29-30.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

1 Samuel 30:21-24 (NLT)

21 Then David returned to the brook Besor and met up with the 200 men who had been left behind because they were too exhausted to go with him. They went out to meet David and his men, and David greeted them joyfully.

22 But some evil troublemakers among David’s men said, “They didn’t go with us, so they can’t have any of the plunder we recovered. Give them their wives and children, and tell them to be gone.”

23 But David said, “No, my brothers! Don’t be selfish with what the Lord has given us. He has kept us safe and helped us defeat the band of raiders that attacked us. 24 Who will listen when you talk like this? We share and share alike—those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment.”

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

We are reminded in this passage that each of us in the Lord’s army are important and critical to the task of winning the lost. Some may say that they are just not physically capable to walking the streets to be a witness, but you can pray. Some may say that they are timid witnessing to a person. Unfortunately we use this as an excuse, but I bet if you had just become a grandparent, there is probably no one that you would not tell, and show those photos to! Yet we have gained eternal life with the Master of this universe and we are too shy to tell someone else that good news? Since when have we been so unconscionable that we could see someone hurting and going the wrong way, and although we know the only right way to go, a true place of everlasting joy, and we could be selfish enough to sit back and withhold sharing that with this person? I bet we could never be so selfish about anything else! Bottom line is that David showed us how even though we may be tired, or withdrawn or shy, don’t just set yourself aside and do nothing. After all, like David did, so will God recognize that although we may have only been responsible for praying for the warriors that went out to preach and witness, or perhaps we took responsibility for gathering supplies for them, or feeding them, or caring for their families while they went out for a week of disaster recovery, yet God will realize that it took us all to get the job done. Now understand that we all can’t be backstage folk or support folk, but our jobs are vital to the success of the frontline folk. There really is no excuse for doing nothing at all! For those of you who feel like you do it all, take note of how David recognized those who couldn’t join him on the front line. Let’s be understanding of all in God’s army and not just on the good you feel like you alone are doing. We can all share in the work, then we all would rejoice in the glory one day!

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

Lord Jesus, thank You for all that You did for me by sending Your Son Jesus to die on a cruel cross at Calvary, so that I may have the confidence of eternal life with You one day. Thank You for all You do each and every day to watch over me, keeping me safe and guiding me into a path of righteousness. I often wish that I could do more while here on this old earth, so while I am here, I ask that You best utilize my strengths, abilities and willingness to be used of You in touching the lives of those that need a touch from You. Please help me to never sit on the sidelines and wait for others to do the work, but instead show me how I could help to facilitate the work You have for us to do. I look forward to the glorious rewards of success, so please help me to do my part in preparation for, and maintenance of, the travelling time/the journey towards the goal.

 

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 7.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

John 7:15-19 (NLT)

15 The people were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked.

16 So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me. 17 Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. 18 Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies. 19 Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me.”

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

God has blessed us with His Word, and with His Holy Spirit so that we may be capable of discerning the legitimacy of the teaching and/or preaching of His Word. I believe that too often we take what is said from a pulpit, or from Bible teachers, at face value, and without proving the words back to the Bible. We have really become a people very accustomed to entertainment with very little thought required of us. There are two main principles taught here in this passage by Jesus on how we may KNOW, or test, if we are being told the truth of God is being taught or preached:

1. The words must agree with, and not contradict what the Bible says – In verse 17, Jesus said that we would know that the teaching is from God. The way that this is accomplished is by proving it against the Word of God. For a personal example: In one of my previous jobs I was an auditor/examiner, and if I found something wrong with the practice of the employee(s) I could write them up, but I had to support that write-up with supporting rules and/or regulation. I couldn’t just write them up because I felt it was wrong.
   
2. The words of the deliverer must point to God and not to themselves. In verse 18 Jesus teaches this principle very clearly. Ever walked away from a church service or a teaching class thinking “wow, he sure was full of himself this morning”?
   

Friends, it is so important that we not pollute our hearts with the words and personal wishes of mere man, but fill it to overflowing with the Word of God, the teachings of God, the values that Jesus would have us learn from Him. Let’s not be entertained at church, but rather let us receive a word from God through the teaching and preaching. Follow in your Bible as the Word is taught or preached. Keep your pastor or minister accountable by gently questioning him after the service. They will love you for participating and not just sitting there waiting for, or expecting entertainment!

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

Father, thank You for providing Your Holy Word for us to live by. Thank You for working in and through Your servants that teach and/or preach Your Word week in and week out. Please continue to provoke our hearts to be the right flock, by doing our part in testing the spoken word. Help us to love You and our pastor/preacher/minister/teacher enough to follow along with all they are teaching or preaching – by participating rather than merely criticizing, because we may not have heard something that tickles our fancy. Your Word is like a two-edged sword, so there are times that it will sting or hurt, because it will correct our wrong or evil thoughts or practices. Your Word is powerful, please help us to never take it lightly and never apply it to someone else, but to our very own lives.

 

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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