Tag: acceptance

Embracing Love: Lessons from the Samaritan Woman

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Acknowledge God, All have sinned, Awesome God, God Cares For Us, God’s Word, LoveLeave a comment

DATE POSTED
Sunday, June 8, 2025, and I was blessed to be at Mariposa at Hunter Road, San Marcos, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Read John 4:15-19 in your Bible or click on it to read it online in the Living Bible (TLB).

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
For some background leading up to these particular verses, we must be reminded that Jesus was on an uncommon path to Jerusalem, by way of Samaria. This was a path not usually traveled by the Jews, for they made it a point to stay clear of the Samaritans, whom they distained and whom they felt were illegitimate and extremely distasteful to be around. So I believe that the first key point in our lesson today is to remember that prejudice and hatred for any particular sect of people is a mankind thing, as God made us all, sent His Son for all who would believe on Him, and Jesus died and rose again so that all of God’s children who come to Him (believe on Him and surrender themselves to the lordship of Jesus Christ) will be saved. Friends, I am convinced that Jesus was as comfortable with this Samaritan woman as He would have been with any king or queen from a Jewish nation. I also believe that Jesus wants to have fellowship with you and me because He created us and loves us beyond anything we could imagine. Yes, we have sinned, and yes, we have disregarded the commands of our Master in His Word, but praise God He has not turned His back on us nor joined with others who despise us because of our financial position, our ancestry, or our place in the palace of an earthly leader. Another important note for us to think about is that the Samaritan Woman seems to have conceded to the offer by Jesus for the life-giving water that only He could provide, as to say that if only I could partake of this water You offered, then perhaps I would be able to…… Is that the sort of deal we try to make when parents or close friends are trying to convince us of our need for salvation? Jesus, ‘save me’ and then perhaps these people will get off my back and leave me alone, or ‘save me’ and I will then connect with a much better crowd that I am currently involved in? You know, I come from an area that was bombarded with the threat, and often the damages, of hurricanes each year. The weather man would tell us to prepare, for a hurricane is eminent at our location over the next few days. We didn’t look to find a better deal, or something more fun to do, we started securing our homes, boats and vehicles for the onslaught of a hurricane. Why then do we not listen and adhere to God’s warnings in His Word? Like the weatherman I mentioned above, God loves us enough that He wants us to be prepared for the day that He will call us out of this world. He wants us to be ready for eternity in Heaven, rather than accepting the damnation of Hell. I wonder, have you been obedient to the call of God? If not, I encourage you to read my Footnote carefully and accept my tips on meeting my Savior and Lord. For He desires relationship with you, my friend! The Bible tells us that a home has been prepared in Heaven for those who accept Jesus as their Lord. He has prepared for your arrival my friend. Please don’t disappoint Him.

PRAYER
Lord I am so humbled by Your expression of love for this Samaritan woman that so many of Your own countrymen went to extremes to avoid contact with, because they had placed her in a box – one filled with rejects that they thought could never be worthy of You and Your love. Oh Lord, You chose to do the same for me as You did for that woman, in spite of my unworthiness, yet You loved me and chose me to live with You in Heaven throughout all eternity. But Lord, I’m afraid that we have yet to learn a lesson from Your display of mercy and love for the Samaritan woman, for we still turn up our noses at those who are different than us. We jump to our own conclusions based on our worldly rules of likes and dislikes, but seldom does that ever equal what You have demonstrated and taught us throughout Your Word. Please forgive us Lord, and help us to love like You love us, and help us to always consider others thru eyes of mercy and humbleness of our heart and soul. May it always be obvious that we love others as an expression of the love You demonstrated to us. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please take advantage of the information provided on my page ‘To Know Jesus’. Alternatively, consider speaking with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. One of God’s servants will pray with you and offer help and encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals or subscribe to receive a daily email containing each new devotional, please visit NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. Friends, I encourage you to find a Bible teaching church home near your residence and attend as frequently as possible. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk while you make every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider being a part of that while also growing in your faith as you worship with fellow believers!

A Story of a Father, Son and Forgiveness

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Adoration, Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Awesome God, Beyond Description, Blessing, Celebrate God, Forgiveness, Needs, Praise, Praise-worthy, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED: Saturday, May 27, 2023, and I was blessed to be at O’Brien, FL when God inspired me to write this blog post. Please see my Footnote on how you might read or listen to this devotional or any past posts.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE FROM THE New International Version (NIV) IS FOUND IN Luke 15:20-24

THE BIBLE TEXT IS: So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

MY INITIAL THOUGHTS: With so many families split apart, and anger and resentment being the rule of the day, I sometimes wonder if we have learned absolutely nothing from the God some of us serve, and others have heard about. Please don’t insult me by saying that you don’t believe in God, because everyone sees your dependence on Him when your close relatives become sick – to the point of death, or you awaken one day to realize that your problems are much bigger than anything you alone can possibly handle. Stay tuned as the Holy Spirit works through my simple words to open your eyes of understanding.

APPLICATION OF THE WORD: It truly hurts my heart to hear someone say that they haven’t talked to their brother, sister, mom or dad in months, or even years. Besides the sadness of separation from loved ones, it also indicates that you are not striving to imitate the heart of God, for He is love, and He is known for His forgiving heart. Much like your earthly father, our Heavenly Father – God, created us in His own image. Through His son Jesus, He exampled pure love for us, and He left us a book of instructions, the Bible, to demonstrate how we are to love one another, and how we are to watch over, love, protect and care for our mother and father. In our Bible story today, we are reminded of a very popular illustration used by Jesus to help open the eyes of those who claimed to be ‘holy’ but were not demonstrating their belief in God and their holiness in a way that imitated God Himself. I considered titling this devotional ‘The Heart of God’, because in being reminded of the profound love of the father in today’s illustration, I was reminded of the love, compassion and heart of forgiveness that my Heavenly Father demonstrated when He gladly accepted me into His kingdom with open arms. I wonder, as you read the Scripture I appended above, which character reminds you most of your life’s journey? Remember, one son had enough of the bossing around by his father, so he asked for his inheritance, probably because he had no intention of ever seeing his father alive again. I’m sure that upon his departure, he had hoped to travel into a faraway land, for an all-time, extended stay. But things didn’t go exactly how he had calculated, so with all of his money gone, and finding only a job feeding animals that he and his family absolutely despised, he quickly saw in his mind how he could return to his father and accept the absolute worse job on the farm, if need be, because it would still be better than what he was doing. But just as sinners look to our Heavenly Father for complete forgiveness, unconditional love, and acceptance beyond anything we could find on planet earth, we find that this young man did the same with his father. Just like our Heavenly Father looks out in love and desperation for one more sinner who ran away and is lost, so this earthly father did the same. The father didn’t know whether the son would ever return, but he knew he was out there and would be extremely challenged to return to a place he had said farewell to. Friends, when a heart is filled with love, and especially also filled with the Holy Spirit, one is able to do more than any earthly man, on his own, could do. Yes, the son had received his inheritance, and yes, he would probably not return unless he had totally blown that inheritance, but one thing that would never change, is that the foolish young man was still this gracious father’s son. This frightened young man that was probably just as afraid of rejection as much as we are, had his speech ready, to plead with his dad for forgiveness and acceptance, in spite of all that had already gone down. But notice in the story how the father responded to the son’s spiel. Absolutely nothing! I’m sure that we also have our spiel about our misgivings and our sin, and we offer that up when we try to reunite with family members, friends, pastors and whomever we’re at odds with. But let me remind you of Romans 10:13 that says: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” So you can save your spiel, just call on the name of Jesus, my friend. He knows your name and everything about you. Remember what I said earlier? He is waiting with opened arms to receive you into His kingdom. Our Heavenly Father is even more forgiving, loving and ultimately more welcoming to his sons and daughter who leave the sin and distractions of this world behind and choose to follow Him! It’s a great feeling to receive love, admiration and forgiveness from someone who, you thought all along, hated you for your acts of sin against them.

BLESSINGS WORTH NOTING: A ‘prodigal’ son came to his senses, and his loving father was waiting to welcome him home. A perfect image of the Father and the Son who waits to welcome us home after we’ve come to our senses and claimed our stake in the Son of God! Glory to God in the highest heavens!

PRAYER BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT OF TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Lord Jesus, I thank you for speaking into my life and encouraging me to surrender my life to You many years ago. Please Lord, for those who might read this devotional and still are having doubts about meeting their Heavenly Father, or possibly having doubts about accepting Your Son, I pray that you will remind them of the provision You made at Calvary in sending Your very own Son so that in knowing Him, they could live eternally with You in Heaven. It is overwhelming joy to know that although we struggle through life here on earth, there is a day of joy and welcome coming from You, for those who opened their hearts to the salvation offered through Christ alone. Praise God, the biggest party is yet to come!. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There’s another page on my website, entitled ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to this page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin or continue your walk with Jesus. If you would like to see or hear more of my devotionals, please go to NuggetsFromGodsWord.org and read more, or go to Apple Podcasts and search for Nuggets From Gods Word to listen to more podcasts. You can also choose to freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s written devotional, or on the Apple Podcast app, simply search for Nuggets From God’s Word and click ‘Follow’ to be notified of Podcast updates. Please allow me to encourage you to find a church home near by your home and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

What You Do for Others is Noticed By God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christ's Representative, Christian, Christian Living, Christian love, Christian Principles, Example of Christ, Righteous, Righteous Living, RighteousnessLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Friday, 2017-03-24
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Matthew 25:37-40 (NLT)

Text:

 37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
OBSERVATION:
In evaluating the people in front of Him, Jesus divided them into two groups: the unrighteous; and the righteous. The righteous were recognized for the heart they demonstrated like that of Jesus Christ. In fact, so much so that Jesus concluded that all the things they did proved their righteousness.
APPLICATION:
While I realize that Jesus knows and sees all things, I wonder if we had to evaluate our actions over the past week, would there be enough evidence to convince Jesus that we are among the righteous? There is a saying: from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. I believe that a heart filled with the presence of God’s Holy Spirit, will respond to needs around us like our Savior responded. For there was no respecter of persons in Jesus’ eyes; He is well known as ‘Love’, because of His amazing love towards all mankind; He is Healer; He is our Shepherd; He is the Restorer of our souls; He leads us in the path of righteousness, especially when we are so prone to stray; He set the example for us in all aspects of life – mixing with sinners, standing firm for what He knew was Truth, loving and ministering to sinners at every opportunity; Used the Word of God as His defense – when tempted. Friends, not only has the example been set for us, but our Savior stands ready to bless us, guide us, empower us and embolden us so that we might be His hands, His feet and His love to this lost and dying world in which we live. To do this, Jesus needs our commitment to serve Him no matter what. He needs us to be trusting and pliable, because His ways are not our ways, and if we are truly going to be used by Him, we must totally surrender our will to Him. I would like to challenge you with the question I started with: is there enough evidence in your actions and your words, that Jesus and/or your friends would be convinced that you are among the righteous, and being truly directed by God each day?
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, we come humbly before You today, knowing that we are not capable nor worthy to be looked on as ‘righteous’, especially by the righteous Son of God. However, we are reminded through this teaching today that loved ones, friends, or any one still searching for the Lord, must see and experience enough of Jesus in us, for them to truly know that the Word is true and that You are still alive and powerfully working in your children – Your righteous ones who have committed their lives wholeheartedly to You. Lord, please complete Your work in Your way, for Your kingdom, even through us, Your humble servants, AMEN!
FOOTNOTE:
There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’.  If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Who Is Your Serpent?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Getting Along, God Cares For Us, God our Helper, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Pleasing to God, Righteousness1 Comment

SCRIPTURE Studied: Genesis 3-4

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied.3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman.5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” Gen 3:1-5 (NLT)

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

God provided a perfect world for Adam and his family to live in. He provided everything they would need to eat, and the beautiful garden/atmosphere in which to enjoy life. Although it is tough for us to recognize this today, but God has also provided everything we need today to feed ourselves, and He has also given us the beauty of this earth to enjoy. God established commandments/rules for Adam and his family to follow, much like we find in God’s Word today for us to follow. Adam’s family wasn’t satisfied with all that was provided, so Eve chose to follow what a serpent told her to do. Cain, out of jealousy for his brother Abel, and out of spite for the correction handed to him because of his giving to God, killed his brother. This is not much different to what we do today. Like Eve, we would rather listen to our daily horoscope or a palm reader, rather than looking into God’s Word for answers to our problems. Like Cain, we quickly find someone else to blame our actions on, and we will quickly eliminate anyone that stands in our way of progress or success. We may not murder, but we gossip about, or try to disqualify the individual in order to lower the acceptance of that person in the eye of the one we are trying to please. As in the day of Adam, God still provides everything we need today, and He has given us His book of instructions to follow. We often tell our child that we can give them direction from the advantage point of experience. In God’s Word we can read story after story about experiences such as this one today that shows us what happened when God’s commands were not followed. We have the advantage point of the experiences detailed in the Word, but like in Eve’s situation we allow some serpent to lead us instead of God and His Word.

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

Father, I realize this morning that I may try to cover up my deeds to those around me, but You know my inmost feelings and the desires of my heart. You know all about the ‘serpents’ that I allow to rule my day and guide my thoughts and actions. Please may You find me useful in Your kingdom and therefore constantly looking for ways to overcome the evil one. I must take this life very seriously, because You have only given me one chance to walk this road. May I not wander from the path You have established for me and may I always seek Your favor to overcome the ‘serpents’ that will seek to destroy me, my family, my church family and those that I love. You are greater than all the situations that I may face today, please be my guide, protector and lord so that I may stay focused on You and Your desire for my life. May You receive honor and glory for all things accomplished through me today!