Tag: angel

Celebrate Jesus!

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

DATE WRITTEN: Friday, 2020-12-25
WRITTEN AT: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

BIBLE REFERENCE: Revelation 19:9-10
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT: 9 Then the angel said to me, “Write these words: Wonderfully blessed are those who are invited to feast at the wedding celebration of the Lamb!” And then he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
10 At this I fell facedown at the angel’s feet to worship him, but he stopped me and said, “Don’t do this! For I am only a fellow servant with you and one of your brothers and sisters who cling to what Jesus testifies. Worship God. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”[e]

OBSERVATION: As I read this passage I believe that God reminded me of how careful we must be in getting distracted from the Main Thing, just as John was distracted. Notice how John was ready to bow at the feet of the angel and worship him because of all the awesome things he saw and heard around him, in his dream? Now notice how, for us at this very special time of the year, such little attention is given to Jesus, whose birthday we celebrate at Christmas. Wouldn’t You think that perhaps an angel should stop us in our rush and haste to spend our very last dollar on gifts that has nothing at all to do with Jesus, and remind us of where our attention should be centered?

APPLICATION: What if, in the middle of your shopping this Christmas, an angel tapped you on the shoulder and insisted that you return home and stop worrying about what the world promotes around Christmas time? Do doubt over recent weeks you have been frantic in shopping for the best deals, worrying about what you will give this family member or that particular friend who most people find it impossible to please. You probably fought the crowds to purchase food enough for several families, as you think about Christmas dinner for your own family, and you may have even worried about when you might have a small party in these days of social distancing and COVID spread, so that you might look at least equally as good as your friend, who always have great parties at Christmas. But in the middle of one of these activities, suppose you heard a message from God that reminded you of this being the birthday of a King – The King of all kings. You might be reminded that the Shepherds left their sheep and went as they were, with all that they had while tending sheep, and traveled a long distance at the beckon of a star, to worship this newborn and to recognize the gift that God sent to us that first Christmas. It is at that point that you become real confused, as if an angel stood before you and asked you to explain how, what you are doing correlates with what the Shepherds did. They didn’t worship the host of heavenly angels, because they knew it was about the One whom the angels sang about. They didn’t praise the star for taking them in the right direction, because it took them to the bedside of the newborn King. They didn’t go off course to see if any stores were opened, because they knew that giving of themselves was way more important than anything artificial or bought, that they could take in their hands. The angel stopped John from paying homage to him, because he was like John, a worshipper and a servant. If the angel stopped us and redirected our thoughts towards the reason for the season, Jesus Christ, what do you suppose he might suggest that we do? Perhaps like the Shepherds, give ourselves completely to our Lord? The Shepherds also worshipped the newborn King, perhaps the angel might suggest that we consider putting everything else aside and concentrate on Jesus, worship Him as our King and devote the day to Him? Perhaps our Christmas should revolve around giving of ourselves, and not the things that we purchase to demonstrate how much we care. John was told by the angel that Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. I believe the angel would remind us this holiday season that Jesus is the spirit of Christmas!

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for sending Your Son as a baby, so that we might ultimately have a Savior who would save us of our sin, and redeem us, fit for heaven for all eternity. This may have been a year filled with signs and wonders, but Lord, we need to hear from You again, much like Your messenger spoke to John in our Scripture today. Please help us to keep our eyes fixed on You as we celebrate Your birth. In spite of our sacrifices for gifts that may or may not be of value to those we love, I pray that You will help us to keep our hearts and minds fixed on You, the greatest gift ever given by Your Father to mankind. Happy Birthday Jesus! Please accept my humble gift of myself as a token of my love for my Savior and King. May the hearts of my readers also be touched by You this Christmas, so that You may be lifted up and praised like never before. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org 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 or listening to this devotional, please go to 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. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. 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!

Oh, for the faith of our forefathers

On By Ed AlgreenIn Ask and Receive, Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Christian, Faith, Faith, God Cares For Us, God our Provider, God’s Word, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Power of Prayer, RighteousnessLeave a comment

Scripture: Genesis 23 

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

6 “No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there.7 For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son.8 If she is unwilling to come back with you, then you are free from this oath of mine. But under no circumstances are you to take my son there.” Gen 24:6-8 (NLT)

14 This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.” Gen 24:14 (NLT)

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

This is a pretty amazing chapter to read on the faith of our forefathers, wow! Abraham heard from God on who his son Isaac should marry, and who he shouldn’t marry, and where exactly Isaac should settle down at. So he sent his servant to look for a wife for Isaac so that Isaac wouldn’t be tempted to stay in the destination that Abraham was convinced his wife would come from. Abraham was convinced of his actions and followed through with them in faith believing God. It seems like his servant left for the journey a little hesitant, but yet willing to follow the orders of his master. Surely there must have been a degree of assurance based on the many times he had seen Abraham’s faith in action before. It was interesting to see the servant also bow before God with his own requests for this awesome task assigned to him by his master. It was also amazing to see how God answered the prayers of Abraham and his servant and then to see how pleased Isaac was with his new wife that was picked for him. This has once again reminded me of how awesome my God is, and how He will come through for us as we pray in faith, and as we follow His will obediently.

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

Lord please help me to never question You and Your will for my life. My problems are extremely minor in comparison to the awesome tasks that I read about in this chapter today. Please help me to draw so close to You that I will know Your will for my life and that I will seek with all that I have to follow Your commands, Your Word and ultimately, Your direction for my life and for those that I influence and have responsibility. You are all powerful, and not only have You made everything around me, but You have everything under Your control. Thank You Father for that assurance, and for loving and caring for me enough to want to see the very best for me. My desire is to follow Your will for my life. I pray that my faith will be strengthened each and every day that I walk alongside of You!

Obedience that shows our fear of god

On By Ed AlgreenIn Allegiance to the Lamb, Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Christian, Faith, God Cares For Us, God’s Word, Honesty, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Pleasing to God, RighteousnessLeave a comment

Scripture: Genesis 22 

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

12 “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son.14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”  Gen 22:12-14 (NLT)

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

Abraham had been an outstanding child of God up to this point, obeying God’s every command and doing what he thought would please God. Yet in verse 1 of this chapter we are told that God tested his faith, and oh what a test! He commanded Abraham to sacrifice his dearly loved son, Isaac. The scripture shares nothing about Abraham questioning God or trying to make any deal with God, he simply followed God’s instructions. Because of his obedience, God intervened and saved Abraham from such a sacrifice. I wonder if we, or if I am obedient enough to God’s instructions that I would do whatever He asked me to do, and secondly, am I obedient enough for God to say, OK you have proven that you truly fear Me. In my opinion, this is the ultimate proof of our love for God and our obedience to Him, when we are willing to follow what He tells us to do no matter what. God loves us so much that He willingly sacrificed His Son, Jesus, and He didn’t hesitate and withdraw at the last moment, like He allowed in the case of Abraham and Isaac. So lessons learned here tells me that God loves me so much that He sacrificed it all. He also loves us so much that He would be willing to step in and save the day for us, His children, when we prove to Him that we truly love and fear Him. Perhaps we will be blessed enough to name the place where we recognized God’s miracle in our life, much like Abraham did in the case of ‘Yahweh-Yireh’!

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

The kind of love that You extend to me is way beyond human comprehension, O Lord. You have shown in Your Word just how loving and kind You were to those before me, and I have every reason to believe that You love me equally as much. May I be bold enough, obedient enough, honest enough and committed enough to show my love and respect in all that You command of me. Abraham was obedient even to the extent that he was willing to sacrifice his greatly loved son. May I be obedient to Your voice today dear God!