Tag: All things are possible

Allow God To Lead

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Lead me, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Wednesday, 2021-11-24
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 2 Samuel 5:22-25
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 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.24 When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the poplar trees, be on the alert! That will be the signal that the Lord is moving ahead of you to strike down the Philistine army.” 25 So David did what the Lord commanded, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

APPLICATION: Think about David’s former encounter with the Philistine (giant). He was not afraid of the giant, even though the whole Israelite army stood back in fright over the dare given to then by this giant-of-a-man. But look at what happened in this mature state of David’s life. David didn’t go to battle based on his previous success, but he wanted to ensure that he was basing every decision in life on the the awesome God that he served. He knew from all of life’s experiences that God had always been faithful; always successful in whatever He approves and/or commands; and that there is nothing, absolutely nothing that God can’t do. As a son stands before his Father to seek His direction, David knew that God would not approve something that would cause him hardship or harm. With God’s stamp of approval, David knew that he could move forward into battle knowing that he served the God who will always be true to His word and will only lead His children into challenging times to show His strength, His power, and His divine purpose. Friends, for those of you that have experienced life and seen the ups and downs of life, you will be quick to recognize that God’s direction has not always been aligned with your way of doing things, but you soon recognized that His way was always perfect in every way. As you move forward in life: remember how He rescued you; remember how He saved you in circumstances where you didn’t have a clue which way to turn; and always take note how He also directed men of old in the Bible, and that we still serve the same God who has always been evident across the ages of time. He proved His love for us, and He has proven Himself in many circumstances for many of His children. Take note of this, and remember that God can still do it again for you in whatever circumstance of life that you may find yourself in. Don’t question God, but instead trust in Him knowing that He’s in control and that He will do what’s best for His children, just like we try to do for our earthly children. God will lead the way for us in our battles! I believe He is patiently looking for us to follow His lead. Trust Him today precious friend, for He is faithful right to the very end of time!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: God not only directs us in our battles of life, but He leads the way for us, and welcomes us to follow His lead, knowing that His way is always best/perfect!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, there are so many dilemmas and questions we have in life that we often scratch our heads and at times, wonder which way we should turn next. How refreshing it is to read how You led the way for David and his men in battle against the Philistines. I am convinced that it only serves as a reminder that You are still able and willing to do the same thing for us as we face our daily battles. At times, our battles feel much bigger than the tallest Philistine, at least in our eyes. But praise be to God, You are bigger than all our troubles and very capable of handling our battles each and every day. Help us to listen to the rustling as You proceed ahead of us and motion for us to follow behind. Your love is beyond anything that we can comprehend, but I praise You Father for loving even me – especially me and my readers and listeners. Lord You are good, and Your faithfulness endures through all generations! May we always life up our eyes in praise and thanksgiving, knowing that what You do is well done and always in line with Your perfect will, with us ultimately on Your mind. 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 might 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 subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would 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!

The Prayer of One Man

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Power of Prayer, Praise, Prayer, Recognize God, Worship1 Comment

DATE POSTED Friday, 2021-08-27
WRITTEN AT: Hattiesburg, MS

SCRIPTURE FROM: Joshua 10:13-14
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT:  13 ….So the sun stopped in the heavens and stayed there for almost twenty-four hours! 14 There had never been such a day before, and there has never been another since, when the Lord stopped the sun and moon—all because of the prayer of one man. But the Lord was fighting for Israel. 

APPLICATION: There are some folk that we talk to and it seems like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders. They can’t accept your invitation to the beach, because they have ‘this’ to do, and ‘that place’ to go, and ‘this person’ to see, or preparations to make for a planned meeting later that day. I was almost this bad one day, and I said to my fellow deacons that I just could not make enough time available to also read my Bible or visit the shut-ins. A quick suggestion from one of the deacons burned into my heart and changed my perspective forever: ‘you just haven’t made it a priority’. Although this means the same as my excuse, I would sooner tell God I didn’t have time, before I could possibly tell Him ‘It just was not a priority’. Have you also gotten yourselves so busy, that it has become a very minor priority to pray for the very important people in your life? Family and friends are dying every day, and some may even be going to Hell because we didn’t make it a priority to share the love of our Lord with them. I believe that Joshua was a man on his knees, because I could see that God was especially keen to hear his cries and respond to his needs. I would encourage you to click on today’s Scripture reference and read the whole chapter. You will see that true to God’s promise to Joshua, He was delivering on winning the battle against 5 kings and their armies. Joshua was so into the battle that he didn’t want the day to end, so he asked for additional daylight so he and the Israelites could continue in battle. God immediately heard his cry and stopped the sun and moon from moving. Yes, this gave Joshua more time in battle, but I was overjoyed to read how God was coming through on His promises, for more were being killed from God’s actions than Joshua and his army of Israelites. Friends, we can’t outdo God. When we ask Him to be in charge, we can count on Him like no other. Let me also remind you that Our God not only sees our needs and knows what really hurts our heart, but I believe that He is all to ready to jump in and help ease our pain and our heartfelt concern for our loved ones. Let me encourage you dear friend, to make it a priority to pray for every concern that you might have. Remember that from the prayers of one man, God stopped the sun and moon in motion. Imagine how much more He will do in response to your prayers!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Nothing is impossible with God! Joshua received a positive response to his request, that would seem impossible to any man. Doctors may give up on our family and friends in hospital, but with God, ALL things are possible!

PRAYER: Lord, please teach us to have such a relationship with You, that we can ask anything in Your name and it shall be done. God,You proved this through Your response to Joshua’s impassioned plea, and we are confident that You could do this again and again for those who place their faith and trust in the Almighty. Lord, we stand in desperate need, for our family and friends are dying from this Covid disease, and from unusual crime and war. Please give our medical teams wisdom from on high so they could stem the spread of this disease, and teach us Lord how to best protect ourselves to help in this dilemma. I know that nothing, absolutely nothing is impossible with You Lord, so I ask this in faith, on behalf of many who are hurting today. Please complete Your work among us and make us well. Draw the unsaved to Yourself so that they may know and believe in the God of this universe. May Your name be praised and lifted up today. 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 might 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 subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would 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!

Pray – In Faith – and Receive

On By Ed AlgreenIn Evidence of Faith, Faith, Genuine Faith, Power of Prayer, PrayerLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Tuesday, 2017-03-07
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Matthew 21:20-22 (NLT)

Text:

 20 The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”

21 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. 22 You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”
OBSERVATION:
Jesus had a point to prove to his followers, because He knew there was still doubt in their minds of what all they could accomplish through the power of the Holy Spirit. So He merely spoke to a barren fig tree and it instantly withered up. Of course, the disciples reacted just as Jesus knew they would, and this provided a teaching moment for Jesus. Verse 22 should be posted in all prayer rooms today! 
APPLICATION:
For all believers reading this today, I believe that we can reflect back on our life-journey and see the path God set that led us towards accepting Him as our Master and Lord. For me, it was: placing the right lady in my life; one who was attending an evangelistic, Bible-teaching church that believed in altar calls; driving me towards attending her church vs the one that I was attending; placing a godly man in the service the night that I felt God tugging at my heart but wouldn’t let go of the seat to go to the altar, so God’s messenger came over, touched me on the shoulder and helped me make that walk that totally changed my life for ever. For the disciples, in our story today, who needed to learn about faith, Jesus also found the perfect time to demonstrate His power, and teach them about the miracles that could be wrought by even them, if they had faith. Friends, this story was placed in the Word of God to show us that, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we too have access to the throne of God to ‘ask for anything, in faith, and receive it’. Sounds impossible? Good, because the Bible said that these miracles will not be of our own power, but if we ask Jesus for it, and believe in faith that He can, and He will do it, then our prayer will be answered. So if we are asking this of Jesus, please realize that the things you ask will have to be things that He would approve of, and that fits into His perfect will. Jesus even gave an example of what could be possible through this kind of faith. So may I challenge you today to consider whether anything that you would ask in prayer today is greater than the ability to move a mountain into the sea? Probably not, right? Yet Jesus said that could be done, if we exercise our faith in Him! Wow!
PRAYER:
Father, there are things that many of Your children are praying for right now that seem very impossible to us. Please draw us closer to You so that our faith might increase, and so that we would think outside of our small box of finite possibilities. We need You Heavenly Father to be in charge of our personal lives, so we fully surrender to You today. Please use us as Your instruments through which You can reach the souls of mankind. May we never be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and may we see nothing but Jesus rather than the mountains of impossibilities that often block our view of You. Thank You Lord for reminding us of Your awesome power that can be extended from You to others we cross paths with, in the form of miracles today. 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!