What an Awesome God We Serve

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Christian, Faith, Follow Jesus, God Reigns, Love God, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Pleasing to God, Reflecting Christ, Surrender, WorshipLeave a comment

Scripture: Exodus 23-24.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

25 “You must serve only the Lord your God. If you do, I will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness.” Ex 23:25 (NLT)

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

In the chapters around this verse God had been dealing with the Israelites in their exile to the Promised Land. In all that God was doing for them, and in all the miracles He performed in helping them reach the point where they were at, yet He had to warn them about their temptation to worship other gods. Unfortunately I don’t see any difference in our walk today and in the way that God must deal in our lives. We read from God’s Word how awesome He is in all that He did for our ancestors; we celebrate almost daily over the way that God answers prayer and walks with us each day, yet we have such difficulty in giving Him our total commitment and undivided attention and worship. We may say that we worship no other gods. Friend, if you agree with my statement that we don’t give our undivided attention and worship to God, then we must ask ourselves where does the divided part of our attention and worship go? I would dare say that we are distracted by our other ‘gods’, such as work, worldly entertainment, etc. Oh how I realized, and was reminded how awesome my God is and how He alone deserves my praise, my obedience and my total dedication.

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

Lord, please so fill my heart with You that I will not have time to be distracted by other gods. Please allow me to display Your love in all that I say and do so that others will know that You live fulltime in my heart and rule my life in every way. May You always be prominent in my life.

God will Lavish His unfailing Love

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, God Cares For Us, Love God, Obedience, RighteousnessLeave a comment

Scripture: Exodus 20-21.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. Ex 20:4-6 (NLT)

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

This is an awesome passage with such an awesome message for me/us today. I know that we often think that the Old Testament is ‘old’ news and that the ‘New Testament’ only applies to Christians today, but I believe differently, for Jesus said that He came to fulfill the law of the Old Testament, not to do away with it. In verse 5 God shared with us that He will not tolerate any other gods in our lives. In fact He said that He is a jealous God who requires our total commitment to Him. I may quickly dismiss this by trying to convince myself, and God, that I worship no other God. However, in reality, I must admit that anything that receives my total concentration too much, especially for personal identity, meaning or even security, may truly be viewed by God as a ‘god’ of sorts in my life. I must always be careful to have proper balance in my life, and not let these ‘things’ control my thoughts and energies, otherwise they become ‘gods’. I must always let God hold the central place in my life so that He may keep these ‘things’ from becoming ‘gods’. He must be God, and God alone in my life. In turn, I was overjoyed to read and meditate on verse 6. For God said that He would lavish His unfailing love on those that love Him and obey His commands. My desire, and commitment, is that I may always love God sincerely and obey His commands at all times. I know that this will not always be easy, but I know the ‘God’ who can help me handle that commitment with ease. Praise be to God!

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

Father, I beg Your forgiveness today, because I know how easy it is to get so caught up in my everyday life at work or at play, that I easily forget who makes it all possible for me. I am once again reminded that You are God and besides You there is no other god. I pray that this will be a constant reminder as I am tempted and become wrapped up in the things of this world and often allow them to surround me and fill my thoughts. Please help me to keep perspective in my life. Please help me to recognize You and Your love for me in all walks of life, so that I may share those experiences with others and convince them that You are God, and God alone. Thank You Jesus for loving me so much that You gave. Thank You for the promise of lavishing Your love on me and my generations to come, as we love You and obey Your commands. You are truly awesome!

In Preparation for Worship

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Humility, Love God, Love your Neighbor, Pleasing to God, Praise, Purity, Righteousness, WorshipLeave a comment

Scripture: Exodus 19.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

10 Then the Lord told Moses, “Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing. 11 Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch. Ex 19:10-11 (NLT)

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

I wonder what our charge would be today if God was to send instructions for us to properly prepare ourselves for worship? It seems like some of us go to corporate worship with sour attitudes, some with the weight of the world on our minds, some with hatred in our hearts, some with pride in our hearts about how good we are or how much better we are than many around us, some with deliberate sin towards a brother/sister in our hearts and many with no respect for the royalty whom we are about to worship. I’m ashamed of how God must look down in disgust at us and become so distraught over our unthankful hearts for all that He did for us on Calvary and all that He does in love for us each and every day. We have no room to feel in our hearts and act in the ways I just described. We may often look at the Israelites in disgust over how they acted, but the truth is that we are probably worse than them in many ways today. We may sing the words, we may raise our hands, we may clap to the beat of the music and we may even give the occasional ‘Amen’ in response to what the preacher is sharing with us, but let’s remember that God knows our heart and our inmost feelings. He is looking for a humble, forgiving, dedicated heart to bless and in turn, use for His glory. Friends, let us spend time readying ourselves for worship. Let us give the deserved respect to our Master, our Lord, our Savior and our soon coming King. He knows our heart, we can’t fool Him. Let’s clean up our act and be ready to truly worship in His presence when we think about going to corporate worship. We must be pure, even as He is pure and holy.

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

Father, I am guilty of doing the traditional thing of going to church at the appropriate time; singing the hymn/songs when announced; listening to Your Word preached and in my mind thinking of all the people that it applies to. The bottom line is that You are speaking to me. It is I that Your Word applies to. It is I that You long to speak with and sanctify so that I may be the ambassador for You to others that I come in contact with. Please help me to keep the fingers pointed at self, and allow You to do the finger pointing at anyone else that also needs a touch from You. Please help me to seek Your face daily, so that I may come boldly and uprightly before You in worship. You deserve my undivided attention and respect as I come before You. Please consecrate me, wash me clean and set my mind on You so that I may truly worship You.

Our Loving, Compassionate Lord

On By Ed AlgreenIn Ask and Receive, Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Christian, Faith, God Cares For Us, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Thank You JesusLeave a comment

Scripture: Matthew 20.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

32 When Jesus heard them, he stopped and called, “What do you want me to do for you?” Matt 20:32 (NLT)

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

Two things were brought to my attention today from this chapter, all culminating in this short verse:

  1. I believe that Jesus holds His hand out to us daily and asks “What is it that you want me to do for you, dear child?” This is what He asked of the blind men who cried out to Him, so I have no reason to believe that He would not do the same thing for us when we cry out to Him for mercy, or whatever the needs are in our lives that bear so heavy on our hearts;
  2. Although I know how much Jesus cares for us, yet I was touched by this story today. Here it is Jesus is on a journey with His disciples and a crowd of people thronged all around Him. Yet these two men caught His attention more than all the crowd of people around Him. He was not too busy, or caught up in the moment with all His followers to stop everything, and go over to attend to the needs of these two men. Praise God that we serve a loving Savior with such qualities. No doubt there are millions that call on Him everyday, but I am once again reminded of the compassion He has for each of us that call on His name. He loves each of us individually, and will find time to stop, listen and respond in accordance with His will for our lives.

Praise be to God that we serve such a loving, caring and compassionate Savior!

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

Thank You Father for hearing my cry. Thank You for loving me enough to stop what You are doing and listen to my need. Thank You for responding in ways that only You can, because You know that I may ask unwisely. Thank You for protecting me by answering according to Your holy will for my life, and not always “yes” to my selfish and silly requests, that could ultimately harm me. Thank You for caring enough to stop, listen to me and answer with what You know I need, in order to bring ultimate satisfaction to me and full benefit to Your kingdom. You are my God, and I adore You!

How Others Will Know that God is Greater

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Encourage, Faith, Imitator of Christ, Motivate, Praise, Reaching the Lost, Reflecting Christ, Righteousness, Testify, Thank You Jesus, Victorious LifeLeave a comment

Scripture: Exodus 18.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

10 “Praise the Lord,” Jethro said, “for he has rescued you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh. Yes, he has rescued Israel from the powerful hand of Egypt! 11 I know now that the Lord is greater than all other gods, because he rescued his people from the oppression of the proud Egyptians.” Ex 18:10-11 (NLT)

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

Jethro who was a man of God, went into the wilderness to check on his son-in-law Moses. Their greeting could have easily taken on the form of many of our meetings today where we catch-up on gossip, but instead Moses was bubbling over with all the many ways that God had been so good to him and the people of Israel since they began their journey to the promised land. I was totally awakened by the response of Jethro in verse 11: I know now that the Lord is greater than all gods. As followers of Christ we witness so many blessings in our lives and in the lives of those around us, so who are we to grumble and complain about this little ache, or that little negativity we heard someone may have said about us? Child of God, we have been placed in positions of encouragers, evangelists, teachers and imitators of Christ! Do others see these qualities in us? Do they walk away from our presence encouraged and blessed, or do they see the same old thing they see in non-Christians – the backbiting, the gossiping, the whining and complaining? We won’t win them to the Lord like that. They won’t leave our presence any more convinced that we serve a mighty, all knowing, ever loving God, than when they first visited with us. Based on the praise report that Jethro received from Moses, he was convinced more than ever that the God that he and Moses served was truly God Almighty, greater than any other god.

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

Lord may I be reminded of this today, especially when I’m tempted to whine and complain. May others be encouraged by me and know that I serve the God of this universe and how awesome You are in all that You do for me. May they want to know the precious God that I serve. May I always represent You well. May others see Your character in all that I do and say.

In Support of our Spiritual Leaders

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Chosen by God, Christian, Disciple, Encourage, Getting Along, Helper, Humility, Obedience, Servants of God, Teamwork, Work Til Jesus ComesLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE: Exodus 17.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

11 As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage.12 Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset.13 As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle. Ex 17:11-13 (NLT)

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

It seems like we have grown the church into a place of employment for a professional to use his college/theological degree in teaching/preaching all the fancy stuff learned in his years of schooling/college. Let me quickly say that I am thankful for all the education and tools that are available to our ministers today, but when God chose Moses to lead over 1 million people out of Egypt, he was so surprised because of his low opinion of himself and his abilities, that he seriously questioned God to the extent that he wondered if God had made a mistake. In these verses we see where God used Moses to perform some miraculous stuff to help in the safety and protection of his people. The kind of relationship Moses experienced with God enabled him to quickly obey, no matter how silly his actions may have appeared to the people. The thing that challenged me here is that just how Aaron and Hur ran to assist Moses, in fact they were keeping such a close eye on him that they realized he would soon get so tired of holding up his staff that he would need assistance. So they saw the need, and they followed through in meeting the need, and lending support to their leader, their shepherd, their pastor. This is no different to our spiritual leaders today, in that those who are fully dedicated to God’s work, they give of themselves to the extent that they become burned out in the ministry and often create a separation in the lives of their own personal family. I believe that God expects there to be an Aaron and Hur in every congregation. When God’s appointed man comes to pastor a church, he needs the tender, but yet strong and consistent support of the Aarons and Hurs. Let us take note that as long as Aaron and Hur helped Moses to keep his staff in the air, God did His work, however whenever Moses became weak and his hand dropped, his people were jeopardized. That’s much like today, we (the church) must invite a man of God to lead us, but we must also be in the forefront as his support so that God can freely do His work in our midst. We often hear that a divided church is a weak one. Conversely, the strength of a church is in a congregation that stands behind their leader and always sensitive to his needs and willing to support him in accomplishing the will and work of God. Are you an Aaron or Hur, or are you a part of the people like Moses also had who sat back and used every opportunity to grumble and complain when things were not going exactly as they thought they should?

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

Father, I see so much of You in us, but unfortunately I see so much of the attitude and actions of the Israelites in our churches today rather than the humble, caring, supportive teamwork that I see evident in Aaron and Hur. Please help me to be more like this duo and do my part each and every day to listen carefully to You, to see and understand the needs of my pastor and then to do something about his needs so that Your work may be accomplished. I pray that You will not only bless our current interim pastor, but that You would also lead us to the man You have prepared to pastor our church next. I also pray that You will make our leaders, especially myself, extremely sensitive to the needs of the ministry and our pastor so that we can be the support and encouragement that he needs to accomplish all that You have called Him and us to do. Lord, may we find not just a man well educated by today’s standards, but more so, one whose heart is fixed on You and who is called by You into Your ministry for Your church here on planet earth.

Please Don’t Complain About God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Ask and Receive, Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Christian, God Cares For Us, God our Provider, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Praise, Thank You Jesus, Victorious Life, WorshipLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE: Exodus 16.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “By evening you will realize it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 7 In the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaints, which are against him, not against us. What have we done that you should complain about us?” Ex 16:6-7 (NLT)

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

So often we whine about each other, about the weather, about our jobs, about our finances, about the food or meals available to us, or even our own family at times. In fact, you name it and we probably complain about it at one time or another. When we come down off these tangents, we should stop and think about how we have been blessed by God to have each of these things in the first place. As we think about the ways that God has blessed us with great friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, people who care about us and love us, about the wonderful weather that we enjoy – especially compared to many other areas of the country and/or world that we read about, and we may be fortunate enough to have a job whereas many do not, we may be fortunate enough to have money to buy the necessities of life whereas many do not. Friends, I believe that, like me, you can understand what I garnered from this passage, I am, and no doubt many of you reading this are, indeed people blessed by God in many ways. So when we whine, what are we really doing? Unfortunately, and shamefully so, we are whining and complaining about how God has really messed up. Has He really? I hope that we will quickly realize that we are to be a thankful people, thankful in all things that God showers on us, His children that He loves so much that He gave up everything for. Let’s stop the belly-aching and instead be in a mode of constant praise, worship and thanksgiving to our loving God, and our provider of all good things.

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

Father I am so ashamed for whining when really I have no reason to. Thank You for providing, thank You for blessing me in so many ways each and every day. I am truly blessed, and I am truly thankful for all that I have and all that You provide for me. Please help me to never whine or complain, and remind me when I do that it is against You.

Overcoming the ‘gods’ in our lives

On By Ed AlgreenIn Allegiance to the Lamb, Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Chosen by God, Christian, Faith, Giving, Love God, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Pleasing to God, Purity, Reflecting Christ, Righteousness, Servants of God, Surrender, Work Til Jesus ComesLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 19.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matt 19:21 (NLT)

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

In response to a question posed to Jesus by a rich young man about what he must do to have eternal life, Jesus first told him of 6 key commandments that he must obey. Interestingly enough, each of these six commandments referred to the man’s relationship with others, so this re-emphasizes that we must love our brother as much as we love ourselves, and also points to another teaching that we show our love for God by how well we show love to others. However, the young man responded that he was already obeying each of those commandments. To an all knowing God though, Jesus knew that there were other distractions in this man’s life that hindered him from total obedience, humility and the mind to totally follow Christ. In other words, Jesus knew that there was another ‘god’ that was hindering this young man – his wealth. Many of us that read this passage may automatically pass over this because we automatically exclude ourselves as we may not be wealthy, by the world’s standards today. The point that got my attention is: I wonder what Jesus might say to me if such a question was asked of me? What are the ‘gods’ that stand in the way of my relationship with Him? What are the ‘gods’ that prevent me from being effective for Him in my ministry efforts? Jesus told the rich man to go and get rid of the interference, the little ‘god’, the interference, the distraction that was preventing him from being totally committed to Him. Being involved in church leadership, I wonder what God may be saying to us as a church? What should we rid ourselves of in order to see His mighty hand at work – at work accomplishing kingdom work through us? God is holy, forgiving, humble and loving to all of His children, plus endless other top qualities. If we are to be like Him/Christ-like/Christians, then we need to examine ourselves for the same qualities that we see in Christ. Let’s pass control to Him and see Him perform a great work in and through us!

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

Father, I realize that I am not rich monetarily, but I feel rich because of the many blessings that You have bestowed on me. Please help me to not let anything/any ‘god’ interfere in my commitment to You. Please help me to stay focused on the ministry that You want to accomplish through me. Please help me to stay focused, and depending solely on You to help me live a life that would example You in every way, so that others may see Jesus in all that I say or do. Please forgive me when I have let self interfere so much before, but today I ask that you give me added strength, boldness and the faith that will not be easily penetrated by this world and Your opposers. You are God alone, so I must look to You to help me daily to overcome and be a successful witness for You in my personal life, and in the ministry areas in which I am involved.

God’s Wonderful Protection

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Christian, Faith, God our Helper, God our Provider, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Peace, Protector, Victorious Life1 Comment

SCRIPTURE: Exodus 15.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

The power of your arm makes them lifeless as stone until your people pass by, O Lord, until the people you purchased pass by. Ex 15:16 (NLT)

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

So often we look at the trials and temptations around us that seem impossible to overcome. Child of God, we must remember that the same God that saved the Israelites, the same God that they sang about making the Egyptians lifeless as stone, the same God that opened up the waters so His people could march through, this is the God we serve, this is the God that we can depend on to see us through each and every day and all that comes along our way. We are victorious as children of the King of kings, for He is our Protector and He has a proven track record to back that up!

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

Father, please help me to keep focused on You regardless of the ‘walls’ that may seem to surround me at times. Thank You for being my ‘Protector’ at all times, even those times when I don’t see imminent danger ahead. You are my God, and I thank You for accepting me as Your child, and watching over me and protecting me, even as You did with the Israelites. Whom then shall I fear?

Then We Will Know He is God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Christian, Faith, Follow Jesus, God our Helper, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Pleasing to God, Victorious LifeLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE: Exodus 5 and 6.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

7 I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt. Ex 6:7 (NLT)

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

So often we set out to follow God’s will and obey His every command, then we start listening to self or others and wonder, are we really following God’s will? Things got worse at the camp that Moses was in charge of, when he followed God’s commands and spoke to Pharaoh. However, in this verse God told Moses that He really was in charge of this release and that soon he and his people would be able to look back and acknowledge Him as the God who released them from their oppression. I would imagine that it must get pretty upsetting to God when He sees us being so impatient and so untrusting when we try to follow His orders. Moses had great faith, yet he questioned God when he saw things getting worse instead of better. However, the thing that we have to our advantage is that we can read from the Word that God came through on His promises and did everything He had promised, plus some. My God loves me too much to promise me something then back off on His promise. However, I must learn that His ways are not my ways, and he will accomplish His work in ways that I may not understand. My job is to be the obedient servant and do what He says, and then I will know that His is God.

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

Thanks be to God for being loving and patient enough to accomplish His work through me. God You are awesome, and as proven throughout the parts of Your word, You are all powerful and could accomplish Your work through those that may seem most unlikely by us. Thank You for seeing the best in the worst of us and thank You for assuring us that those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, they will see You accomplish the work You have promised, no matter how impossible it may seem to us. Then as this verse says, we will know that You are the Lord our God who accomplished the work. Please help me to be faithful to Your instructions, especially when You choose to use me to accomplish a work in me, or through me to others.