My Name’s in the Book!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Born Again, Eternal Life, Faith, Praise, Resurrection Day, Thank You Jesus, The Book of LifeLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Revelation 20  

OBSERVATION

Revelation 20:12 ~ I also saw all the dead people standing in front of that throne. Every one of them was there, no matter who they had once been. Several books were opened, and then the book of life was opened. The dead were judged by what those books said they had done.

APPLICATION

In John 3:16 I am told in part “…so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.” So it is with faith this morning that I celebrate that my name is in the Book of Life and I will live eternally with God when He calls me home. Praise God that I can celebrate that truth today, and not have to wait until the Book is opened to be told “Go away for I never knew you”. I cannot be proud of all the things I have done, but glory to God I have a mediator who stands in the gap for me and who guides my every step, speaks to the Father on my behalf, encourages me and leads me in a path of righteousness every day. In fact He is looking so forward to the day when I will join Him, that even today He is preparing a home for me. My earthly father took such good care of me here on this earth, but I believe that this was only a glimpse of the loving care that my heavenly Father will take care of me (and my earthly dad) when I am called away from this old earth.

Oh What A Savior!

On By Ed AlgreenIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Psalm 145

OBSERVATION

Psalm 145:17-21 ~ Our LORD, everything you do is kind and thoughtful, and you are near to everyone whose prayers are sincere. You satisfy the desires of all your worshipers, and you come to save them when they ask for help. You take care of everyone who loves you, but you destroy the wicked. I will praise you, LORD, and everyone will respect your holy name forever.

APPLICATION

I believe that all fellow humans feel satisfied after having worshipped our Lord and Savior, and often we may feel like it’s because we have met our spiritual obligation, or because it is the place to be on the Lord’s Day. In Scripture we are told that God is near to those who pray sincerely, and He satisfies the desires of worshippers and He saves us when we ask for help. I want to always remember that God designed us to worship Him, so when we do just that we should expect to be satisfied by Him. Now if only we can learn to worship Him daily and not just at those official times that we gather with other believers to worship Him corporately! When we read His Word and reminded of great things, such as this passage today, let’s worship Him and praise Him for being so considerate of His children that often stray and need so much help. When we see the beauty of this earth – the plants and flowers, the beautiful sunshine, the wonder of the seasons, the food supply that grows and for all the provisions that He has provided to insure our daily desires and meet our needs, let’s worship the only true and living God for doing all this for us! This is the God that I love and adore, for He is my Savior and Lord! To those who may read this, I implore you to know Him today and know real peace and contentment. Allow Him to satisfy your desires and draw near to you!

PRAYER

Father, You are more awesome than I could ever imagine. To leave Your Father in Heaven and die on a cruel cross so that I may have life eternal…. wow! To draw near to me when I pray sincerely to You, even knowing that I sometimes fail and fall short… wow! To satisfy my desires when I worship You, even considering that many times to bless me and I fail to worship and thank You for it… wow! You take care of me because I love You, even though it was because of my sin that You hung on Calvary’s cross and sacrificed Your life so that I may live forever with You… wow!

Thank You Jesus!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christian, Praise, Thank You JesusLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Psalm 145; Revelation 20  

OBSERVATION

Psalm 145:9-12 ~ You are good to everyone, and you take care of all your creation. All creation will thank you, and your loyal people will praise you. They will tell about your marvelous kingdom and your power. Then everyone will know about the mighty things you do and your glorious kingdom.

APPLICATION

When I stop and realize how thankful I am for all that my mom and dad did for me over the years and how I just can’t seem to do enough now, in later years, to show my appreciation to them, I am reminded today that the same should apply to my Lord Jesus Christ. God created me and has protected and provided for me all along the years. I am especially mindful of the ways that His hand is upon me these days, because I can see how fortunate I am to:

  • Have food, when so many are going hungry;
  • Have good health to enjoy this life here below, while so many are either in hospital or suffering from one affliction or another at home;
  • Have a loving family, when there are so many that have deliberately separated themselves from their family because of a rift;
  • Have a loving wife, when there are so many divorces today;
  • Have a loving daughter, when so many kids today take joy in terrorizing their parents to get back at them for silly things like disagreements or arguments, or smothering them with too much love;
  • Have a loving family of God (my church family) that cares for me and will lift me up when I need them, versus many who have unfortunately chosen to follow a path that either denounces God altogether, or one that directs them into a world where they try to ignore the One that loves them more than a brother and actually sacrificed His own Son in order that they would have life more abundant and free and one with a hope for an eternal future;
  • Have a job so that I can provide for my family, while there are so many that are unemployed today;

None of the above gives me bragging rights, but they serve to remind me that had it not been for the grace of my heavenly Father, I could easily have been one burdened with any of the negative side of the above. Therefore I will praise my Savior while I have breath. I will depend on Him daily to continue blessing me with each of the above for as long as He sees fit.

 

As the latter part of the scripture says, I will praise God for all things not because I am deserving of the blessings, but because of His grace, so that others will see the mighty things that God does in and through me, and nothing on my own accord.

God – Deserving of our Praise!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Christian, God Reigns, Love, Obedience, Praise, WorshipLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Psalm 145 

OBSERVATION

Psalm 145:1-4 ~ I will praise you, my God and King, and always honor your name. I will praise you each day and always honor your name. You are wonderful, LORD, and you deserve all praise, because you are much greater than anyone can understand. Each generation will announce to the next your wonderful and powerful deeds.

APPLICATION

When I see God’s handiwork all around me in the many things that He has provided for me; when I reflect on the way that He protects me from harm each time I move/travel; when I stop and reflect on the good health that He has blessed me with; for the wonderful family He has blessed me with to help me through each day; then there’s my work family, church family, friends, work income that enables me to provide for my family each day. Wow, I will always honor and praise the name of Jehovah for being my God, my King and my provider! I pray that as I reflect on the wonderful Savior that I know and adore and I lift up His name in praise, that my daughter and all of our younger generation on which I may have influence, will truly take note and have a desire to want to also follow my Lord and Savior in a similarly intimate way, for David reminds us in the latter part of this passage that each younger generation should learn from their older generation.

PRAYER

Lord I pray that I may be a positive influence on those that are looking up to their older generation. May they be positively affected by my walk, and may I not be a stumbling block to any. Please help me to always be reminded of the ways that You are active in my daily walk of life, and help me to always reflect on this in praise and honor to You. Thank You for being my God, my Savior and my Lord! “

The One Who Judges in Fairness!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Forgiveness, God Reigns, PowerLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Revelation 15 

OBSERVATION

Revelations 15:4 ~
Lord, who doesn’t honor and praise your name? You alone are holy, and all nations will come and worship you, because you have shown that you judge with fairness.”

APPLICATION

I have heard so much about the love, power and authority of God, that I was pleasantly impressed to be reminded about how fair God is in judging us. My church was just blessed with a sermon yesterday where we were challenged to not judge others, not because we would probably unfairly judge them, but because it is not our business to do that. Our authority comes from God, and it is He that will judge our actions versus His ideals. Thank You for the reminder that I can depend on You to judge in all fairness oh God. You alone know our hearts, and our intentions when we drift away from You and Your ideals. Praise God for the One who can, and will judge in fairness!

PRAYER

Please grant me power today to stay focused on You and Your will for my life, and consequently the strength to place my own selfish desires aside so that I may be true to You and Your Word.

Going through Hard Knocks?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Forgiveness, Humility, Love, Obedience, Sin, Worry no moreLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Lamentations 3

OBSERVATION

Lamentations 3:29-33 ~ Being rubbed in the dirt can teach us a lesson; we can also learn from insults and hard knocks. The Lord won’t always reject us! He causes a lot of suffering, but he also has pity because of his great love. The Lord doesn’t enjoy sending grief or pain.

APPLICATION

I don’t believe any human being looks forward to, or enjoys, discipline, but as in the case of parents disciplining children, our Father must always discipline us because we sin and consequently stray away from God’s ideals/teachings/commands. For the Christian it is comforting to know that because of God’s great love for us, He won’t always reject us and He will have pity on us at some stage. I believe that as we go through these tough times of correction we can always look forward to being re-pointed in the right direction while being blessed by an extra dose of humility. After all, it was because of our selfish desire to take the reins away from God that got us into that mess in the first place. If only we could stay on the right path in the first place and follow Jesus every day! But let’s take joy in knowing that if we slip, God is all loving; all forgiving and all powerful and because He finds no joy in punishing us, He is constantly looking for ways to help us overcome our weaknesses. He is not only one that can save us from our sin, but one that we can always place our trust in, because He is one that will always love us.

PRAYER

Praise God that He knows what I need and when I need it. Praise Him because He identifies exactly when I’m tempted to fail, and His outstretched hand is available to me when and if a need arises. He sent His one and only son so that I may have life eternal, yet He looks for opportunities to help me when I fail. Thank You Jesus for being the loving and caring God that You are. Thank You for caring for me. I can truly sing “

Celebrate “God” Day!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Christian, God Reigns, Righteousness, Worship1 Comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Lamentations 3

OBSERVATION

Lamentations 3:22-24 ~ The LORD’s kindness never fails! If he had not been merciful, we would have been destroyed. The LORD can always be trusted to show mercy each morning. Deep in my heart I say, “The LORD is all I need; I can depend on him!”

APPLICATION

In the earlier verses of this chapter the prophet went through quite a discourse beating up on himself. He had quite a pity party, expressing how he felt like he had been placed in a corner and forsaken by even God. He was totally depressed. However, in these verses he thankfully came to himself and acknowledged the true God who had proven himself to him over the years. I believe that old Satan will often do this to distract us from the real truths and blessings of God. It is so important that we keep our minds fixed on Jesus. To achieve this, it is really important that we stay closely in the Word, and communicate with God on a regular basis, for without these efforts we are led by a wicked world and by Satan himself. Friend, Jesus is the one I serve and I trust that you will accept Him as Lord of your life and place your faith and trust in Him daily. There is no other like Him, whether you consider friends or mentors/leaders in your life. He is the only one that cares for, and loves us unconditionally and at all times. He knows our weaknesses, and can help us overcome and live victorious lives to represent Him in our daily lives, around those that really know us. Let’s let them see Jesus in us today, so that He may be glorified by all.

PRAYER

Father, I pray that You will be worshipped and adored today by each of us that were so craftily designed by Your hand, and loved so intently that you gave everything to help us enter the doors of heaven to be with You one day. There are so many ‘days’ celebrated anymore, ‘donut day’ or ‘chocolate day’ and any other day imaginable, but may this be YOUR day, celebrated by Your children so that those that need to know You as Lord will truly see You and know that You are God and that they too can know and serve You. Thank You Father for the awesome God that You are to me.

There is Power in the Blood of Jesus

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Blood of Jesus, Christian, Defeated foe, Peace, Power, RighteousnessLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Revelation 12  

OBSERVATION

Revelation 12:10-12 ~ Then I heard a voice from heaven shout, “Our God has shown his saving power, and his kingdom has come! God’s own Chosen One has shown his authority. Satan accused our people in the presence of God day and night. Now he has been thrown out! Our people defeated Satan because of the blood of the Lamb and the message of God….”

APPLICATION

I believe that the part that really spoke to me in this passage is because of the blood of Jesus, because of His death (and subsequent resurrection), and under the written authority of the Holy Scriptures, God’s people (Christians) had power to, and defeated Satan. Wow! I believe that even today, with the power of God through His Holy Spirit that dwells within us, we have that same power and can defeat old Satan still. I don’t believe that God’s Holy Spirit and Satan could dwell in the same house. The Word of God tells me that when I accepted Jesus as Lord of my life, His Holy Spirit came and dwelt within me. So with Christ within me, Satan could only tempt me, he is not permitted to reside there! Praise be to God for the power that He gives to us to live holy lives that are acceptable to the Master! This passage has reminded me of the power that is truly ours, because of the blood (death and sacrifice) of our Savior, and I sing that age old hymn, “

A Force to Reckon With

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Born Again, Christian, Eternal Life, Faith, Humility, Obedience, Peace, Worry no more1 Comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Revelation 12  

OBSERVATION

Revelation 12:7-9 ~ Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.

APPLICATION

I am reminded here that old Satan was a force to reckon with in heaven, so who am I to be so naive and think that he is of no consequence in my life, or in my world? I believe that the main thing that I must concentrate on is that greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world!! Praise be to God, I serve the One who overcame the temptations of Satan and won the battle. The one who conquered death and the grave, and won the battle, yes even today I can sing – “

Less We Forget

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Eternal Life, Faith, Forgiveness, Humility, Love, Obedience, RighteousnessLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: 2 Chronicles 36  

OBSERVATION

2 Chronicles 36:14-16 ~ The people of Judah and even the priests who were their leaders became more unfaithful. They followed the disgusting example of the nations around them and made the LORD’s holy temple unfit for worship. But the LORD God felt sorry for his people, and instead of destroying the temple, he sent prophets who warned the people over and over about their sins. But the people only laughed and insulted these prophets. They ignored what the LORD God was trying to tell them, until he finally became so angry that nothing could stop him from punishing Judah and Jerusalem.

APPLICATION

If it wasn’t for the names and places mentioned in this passage, we may have thought that this was referring to Avon Park, or the United States, or almost any part of our current world, as it appears like we have become such an unfaithful bunch today. When I consider all that Jesus did for me at Calvary, and all through my life in the blessings that He has poured out on me, I should find myself at His feet worshipping Him most of the time, for who am I that a King should die for and sacrifice so much for? But this is yet another reminder that the sacrifice made on my behalf was out of such love for His child/children, because He wanted to create a way that I/we could have eternal life with Him. While I have accepted Jesus as Lord of my life, and am forever grateful, I look forward to the day that I could set aside the desires of this world and dedicate myself to living and serving Jesus in ways that would make Him proud of His child. Now having said that, I also believe that no matter how much I do I could never repay or show my gratefulness in things I do, but in and through the characteristics that I reflect when I speak, or when I react to circumstances – that I do it from a heart of God’s love. For becoming more like Him is my ultimate goal and my daily challenge, God being my helper. Ignoring the challenge to be more like Him could easily lead to following the evil ways of this world and Satan, and as we are reminded in verse 16, this could lead to God becoming very angry with us and in turn, punishing us like He did Judah and Jerusalem.