Tag: Appreciation

Taken God For Granted?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Thank You Jesus, Thankful, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Tuesday, 2021-08-17
WRITTEN AT: Hattiesburg, MS

SCRIPTURE FROM: Deuteronomy 32:3-6
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 3 I will proclaim the name of the Lord; how glorious is our God! 4 He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!
5 “But they have acted corruptly toward him; when they act so perversely,
are they really his children? They are a deceitful and twisted generation.
6 Is this the way you repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Isn’t he your Father who created you? Has he not made you and established you?

APPLICATION: Although it might be extremely challenging for us to admit that we are just as ungrateful as the Israelites were, I believe that we should always look for ways to show appreciation to our Master. Here are some ways that I believe will help us to show our appreciation to our faithful God:
– -> Speak to Him at least daily – prayer;
– -> Listen to Him at least daily – Bible reading;
– -> Obey His commandments – not just the 10 given in the Old Testaments, but all the comands given by God for our good;
– -> Love God – you know how to show love to your parents, siblings, spouse, children and others, so show love to the God who created you and watches over you each and every day;
– -> Love your neighbor – Love God and love your neighbor are listed as the two most important commandments, and around which all the others are built. Your neighbor is someone that you cross paths with who has a need. Love them, by meeting their need;
– -> Worship the Lord your God – For those whom you love, respect and adore, you tend to worship. Make it dileberate to worship God, personally. You don’t need church services to worship God. In fact, if you worship God personally on a regular basis, you will be more apt to join other believers in worshipping God corporately. God is looking for our worship, not just the worship by other believers who may be near you;
– -> Obedience and unselfishness – Ask God to teach you to do the things that please Him most. We tend to always default to the things that come easy to us and that makes us feel good about ourselves. In showing appreciation to God, you should take your eyes off self, and look for ways to please and honor God. Remember, God knows your heart and He knows your very thoughts, so you fool yourself when you think you could fool God. Be honest with Him and give Him your heart;
We could never ‘repay’ God for all that He has done for us, but we can show our appreciation for all that He has done, and continues to do in blessing us every day! Please strive to never take for granted the God who gave up His only Son for your eternal benefit. He is worthy of our everlasting praise and honor!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Show appreciation to God for His unending blessings towards us!

PRAYER: Lord, I am thankful that You are so gracious to us, even though our praise in return may appear weak and almost non-existent at times. Thank You Lord for all Your mercies and for all that You have done for us. Please forgive us for our ungratefulness and, make us ever so aware of your goodness. Thank You for Jesus and thank You for eternal life, that is only possible because of Jesus. You blessed the Israelites and we tend to jump on their case for being so ungrateful, but Lord, I need to ask You to touch our hearts so that we would never be found guilty of being ungrateful. You are our King, and we adore You Lord Jesus. Please forgive us of our sins and fill us with grateful hearts to always praise and worship You oh Savior divine. 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!

Your Song Of Thanksgiving

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

DATE WRITTEN: Thursday, 2021-03-04
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: Psalm 18:1-3
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT: 1 Lord, I passionately love you and I’m bonded to you,[c]
for now you’ve become my power!
2 You’re as real to me as bedrock beneath my feet,
like a castle on a cliff, my forever firm fortress,
my mountain of hiding, my pathway of escape,
my tower of rescue where none can reach me.
My secret strength and shield around me,
you are salvation’s ray of brightness shining on the hillside,[d]
always the champion of my cause.
3 All I need to do is to call to you,
singing to you, the praiseworthy God.
When I do, I’m safe and sound in you.

OBSERVATION: Warning – this devotional may be a little different to the ones you are accustomed to reading in Nuggets From God’s Word. To begin with, I would ask that you click on the this song and prayerfully listen to the words. This is where God sent me to after I read this Psalm this morning. It’s a song that has always touched my heart as I sing it. The Psalm is a heartfelt song of praise and thanksgiving to God, by His servant David. Immerse yourself in the blessings of God today, and worship the King of all kings, dear friends.

APPLICATION: David was drawn to the foot of the cross, not only because of his relationship with his God, but especially in a mindset of thanksgiving, because of the miraculous works of God in providing protection, strength and wisdom to him in some very tight and dangerous situations. David realized and acknowledged before the Father that had it not been for the goodness of Almighty God, he would have been captured, punished and killed a long time ago. Friends, our life may not have been nowhere near as dramatic as David’s life, but I am certain that if each one paused for just a few moments today, you could think of multiple situations in your life where you can now reflect back and say without a doubt that, but for the grace of God your life here on earth would have ended from certain accidents, or illnesses, or vendettas where the enemy was in hot pursuit. As you think of those things, praise God for His all powerful hand upon you and your circumstances. Worship Him for being your peace in the midst of the storms of life; for calming the seas of doubt and fear that tend to burden you during troubled times; for giving you a clam assurance in knowing that God’s not dead, because you are constantly reminded of His presence and His power, especially when life seems so overbearing. My dear friends, David was brought to a time where he found the need to worship his Creator because of His awesome works in His life. I trust that you too may be drawn close to God today – close enough to where you are reminded that He’s still God and He still loves and cares for even you. I serve an awesome God, and so do you, dear one. Join me in worshiping Him in the beauty of holiness, that He is so deserving of.

PRAYER: Oh dear God, You are awesome in every way. Who is man, who is this mere man, that You would sacrifice your only Son so that we may enjoy life eternally with You and the Father? Your love is amazing, because I’ve felt Your presence, especially at those times when I’ve needed Your warm embrace, Your healing touch, Your words of wisdom; and Your direction through the troubled times of life. I have been encouraged, protected and overwhelmingly blessed in so many wonderful ways, and I can’t find enough ways to say ‘thank you’ and share my deepest appreciation. Please dear God, touch the hearts of Your children reading this devotional today, and remind them of their Almighty Father. May we all find room in our hearts to worship, praise and adore You today for Your infinite goodness. 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!

God Cares About, and For You

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

DATE WRITTEN: Sunday, 2020-12-06
WRITTEN AT: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

BIBLE REFERENCE: Psalm 144:1-3
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: 1 I praise you, Lord! You are my mighty rock,[a] and you teach me how to fight my battles. 2 You are my friend, and you are my fortress where I am safe. You are my shield, and you made me the ruler of our people.[b] 3 Why do we humans mean anything to you, our Lord? Why do you care about us?

OBSERVATION: Many will identify with the idea of marrying someone because you noticed that they cared about you. David’s heart was filled to overflowing because of the love and care of the God that He placed his faith and trust in. What do you do when you’ve witnessed God’s protective, caring and loving hand upon you? I’m afraid that way too often we do a great job in asking God for help, but not necessarily acknowledge His goodness in responding to our prayers. Stay with me as we look into this Scripture today!

APPLICATION: David was just a young man, sent out to the battle field to deliver food for his older brothers who were a part of the local military. Upon arrival at the battlefield he became confused, as the Israelites stood back while a Philistine giant stood forefront with a challenge for any one brave enough to fight with him personally. Everyone else felt like pions compared to this extremely large man, so they merely stood back in fear. Although nowhere as tall or big as a giant, yet David had dealt with impossibilities of his own while defending his sheep from attack, and he often felt like the lions and other large beasts were ‘giants’ to him. So with God’s prodding David, just a young man, volunteered to fight the giant Philistine. The words of these verses are taken from the song that David sent up to God as he prepared for battle. I don’t believe that David fell short in recognizing any of the attributes proven to him by Almighty God, just look at the worshipful words of recognition offered up by David: Mighty Rock; Teacher; Military Leader; Friend; Fortress; Shield; and other versions add: Deliverer; and Caretaker who offers unconditional love and care for him. It is easy to see that David searched his heart for more and more descriptions of this awesome God who was in charge of his life. In fact, so much so, that David wondered before God, why then would you care so much for mankind who seems to have negligible amounts of these attributes? But my dear friends, I believe wholeheartedly that David couldn’t begin to imagine the love that God has for His children – His creation. Imagine for just a moment, mankind arrested Jesus, God’s only Son, beat Him, spit upon Him, falsely accused and convicted Him and crucified Him. Yet God permitted this, because this was fulfillment of His perfect will, and it was out of pure love for His creation – His children – you and I. How then can we praise and thank and worship Him? Can you find the words to describe your appreciation? Remember, He is our Creator, our Sustainer, our Provider, our Protector, our Guide, our Giver of Eternal Life, our Eternal and awesome God, just to name a few to help you get started! Praise our living God forever and for ever, AMEN!

PRAYER: Lord, we are ever so grateful for Your love and Your protection over us, expressed in so many wonderful and miraculous ways. Thank You, dear Jesus. Please forgive us for the times that we experience answers to our prayers, yet we neglect to return thanks to You. We would never think of being ungrateful, so we humbly ask that You might prod us in our forgetfulness and neglect. Thank you for the example that David showed so vividly to us in today’s Scripture. May we learn to seek Your face more, instead of always seeking what we might receive from Your hand. And Lord, I pray that as we are blessed, thru grateful hearts we will pass along those blessings to touch the heart of those who may not already know You. 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!

Lord, You are….

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

Wednesday, 2019-05-29

Bible Reference: Psalm 36:5-8
Translation: Living Bible (TLB)

Bible Text: 5 Your steadfast love, O Lord, is as great as all the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. 6 Your justice is as solid as God’s mountains. Your decisions are as full of wisdom as the oceans are with water. You are concerned for men and animals alike. 7 How precious is your constant love, O God! All humanity takes refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 You feed them with blessings from your own table and let them drink from your rivers of delight.

OBSERVATION: I believe that if we were exposed to God’s awesome love, as displayed in nature, rather than what we see on our television screens or devices, then perhaps we might become more appreciative, and creative in describing the awesome handiworks of our maker, like David did. For a farmer will probably describe something or someone in terms of what he experiences each day, while an artist will see, and explain things quite differently. Each one is correct, so let’s just remember to look for the handiworks of our awesome God and share that with Him – often!

APPLICATION: So if you were to describe your Master – your God, your Savior, to someone that you meet later today, what might be some of the adjectives you would use? Too often we will simply say that He is good, or we may even stretch it to say that He is awesome, but if you walked along the edge of a stream in a mountainous area, do you suppose that you might be able to add a more descriptive view of God? What about a view of God after sailing quietly in the clear waters of the Bahamas early one morning? What about doing this right after leaving the hospital and hearing your doctor say that you must have been healed, because he was unable to find that mass inside that showed so prevalent in the radiation reports? Friends, I don’t believe for a minute that God created us so uniquely, for us to just repeat what the Psalmist said. For I believe that from the depths of our heart and the experiences we have been blessed to encounter, we may have a lot more to say than David ever saw, or thought to say. I believe that in much the same way that spouses like to be told how awesome they are, and kids long for parental affirmation, God also longs to hear His children lift up their voices and lift up holy hands in praise and worship to our Creator. Do you do that often enough? Do you look for, and acknowledge all that He does in your life, and all around you? Great is the Lord, and worthy of praise! Great is the Lord!

PRAYER: You are so worthy dear Lord of our worship, our praise and our thanksgiving, for You are sooooo good to us. Lord You designed us to return thanks to You and to worship and adore You, but we have allowed pride and worldly attitudes to creep into our lives that hold us back. Beginning with the nucleus of friends that will read this devotional today, I pray dear Lord that You would create a right spirit within us, and fill us to overflowing with a strong hunger for more of You in our lives. For I pray that we will overflow with your goodness to such an extent that the world will see, hear and know that we are saturated with Your love. We are a thankful people oh Lord! May we express that more often in appreciation to You and so that people around us may know the source of our joy! AMEN!

Show How Blessed You Are

On By Ed AlgreenIn Blessings, Give thanks, GivingLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Saturday, 2017-07-15
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Deuteronomy 16:16-17 (NCV)

Text:

  16 ….No man should come before the Lord without a gift. 17 Each of you must bring a gift that will show how much the Lord your God has blessed you.
OBSERVATION:
The Israelites received guidance from Moses on where they should worship, when, how and why. Other than the sacrifices, where Jesus offered Himself as a living sacrifice for us, I believe the other guidance that Moses felt led of God to share with his people are still very much in line with what we should still be doing today. The point today of giving in return for the blessings you receive, is one that we will look closer at and attempt to apply to our lives today.
APPLICATION:
I would imagine that there are some out there that give to the work of the Lord for various reasons, like giving because of promises by preachers that you would be healed, or that you will get rich. Some to avoid shame when the offering plate is passed, so that you will not be looked at strangely if you put nothing at all in it. Some may not give because they feel like churches or pastors are out to get rich quick from the gifts of even the poorest members. Or because you never have enough money for yourself each paycheck after paying your bills, so why should you short yourself to give to the church? These are probably just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ on excuses you have either heard or used before, but friends, our direction comes from God’s Word. Throughout His Word He teaches that those who love Him, or know Him, or who are His, are those who obey His commands. The guide given in verse 17 above, is that we give in line with how we’ve been blessed. Notice that there is no other calculation used? Here’s a personal testimony: When I became a tither, the biggest hurdle for me was to switch from a $1 offering in the plate as it passed, to actually giving 10% of my paycheck. There were times when funds got so tight that old Satan would make me question why am I doing this crazy giving thing? But God always saw me through, and He blessed me day after day. No He didn’t make me rich in money, but rather rich in blessings. Later in my Christian walk, an evangelist spoke on giving to God from our financial resources. In his closing prayer, he had us take our wallets out of our pocket, hold them in our hands before God, as we prayed for direction on our giving in relation to our blessings. God clearly reminded me that He had blessed me with my whole paycheck, and not just the net amount after taxes, loan payments, etc. At a time when funds were already challenging, I trusted God to see me through this change in the amount that I surrendered to Him. In no way is this bragging on anything special about this old born again sinner, but I would like you to know that God has held my hand and helped me through every financial challenge, AND blessed me enormously in my everyday life. Is God proud of the way you recognize His blessings to you? If He went strictly by the percentage you gave to Him unreservedly, and out of total obedience to His Word, would He consider you to be a totally appreciative person? If God blessed you strictly based on the amount you give to Him, do you suppose your blessings would increase, or decrease? Friends, let me assure you, our God is a very giving God. You can’t out-give Him, and I strongly believe that He will bless you even more as He recognizes that you are giving honestly and in response to His matchless blessings to you!
PRAYER:
Lord, how could we ever give enough to show our appreciation for all that You willingly and generously give to us? Lord, please help us to always give back to You out of love and in proportion to all that You have blessed us with, and never in response to what we feel that our church leaders may fail at. We want to be blessed by You, so we give to You. As You direct us to elect Your leaders to lead Your church, I have no doubt that You will place trusted leaders to mind Your flock and provide for the spiritual welfare of Your flock and our community. Thank You for giving so overwhelmingly to us Lord. May we give in proportion to all that You give to us. 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!

Give The Lord A Chance

On By Ed AlgreenIn Appreciation, Love, Submission, SurrenderLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Thursday, 2017-05-18
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Psalm 34:8-10 (ERV)

Text:

 8 Give the Lord a chance to show you how good he is.
    Great blessings belong to those who depend on him!
9 The Lord’s holy people should fear and respect him.
    Those who respect him will always have what they need.
10 Even strong lions get weak and hungry,
    but those who go to the Lord for help will have every good thing.
OBSERVATION:
Speaking from firsthand experience, David is challenging his readers to just give God a chance, then we will see how awesome He truly is, and how trustworthy He is. For those of us who have already placed our faith and trust in Jesus, we are to respect and honor Him, knowing that all good and worthwhile things come from the Father above.
APPLICATION:
I find it amazing how faithful, appreciative and praiseworthy we become to those who help us in one way or the other when we are in need. Yet when we put our feet on the floor each morning and actually have feet to stand on, air to breathe and the warmth and comfort of a home, we tend to take that for granted – as if all that is due to us. But that’s only ‘good’ for those of us that could ignore the news reports of folk starving, homeless, and many without vital limbs to give them mobility. Friends, the Word of God says that we could expect rich blessings if we love Him, respect Him, honor Him and call on Him in every aspect of life. As for that very last item, we must do a better job of allowing God to steer us throughout our day, for I believe that as we do that, we will become less desperate when the repercussions of the crazy, sinful choices that we make on our own. I am fascinated by the fact that we have a Savior who willingly gave His life so that we might have eternal life with He and His Father. A Savior who made the ultimate sacrifice to show His love for us. How could I but love Him? How could I but serve Him? How could I but thank Him, my Savior and my Lord! I know Him, call Him Lord and rest all my cares in His loving, but strong and powerful hands. Do you, friend?
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for this reminder from the Psalmist. You created us, created everything around us to enjoy, and then also offered Your precious Son as a sacrifice so that we might live eternally with You. More love than we could even imagine or comprehend. Oh that we might learn to accept that love, that sacrifice and that gift offered to undeserving sinners in need of a Savior. Lord, please speak to the hearts of those who will meditate on this devotional, just as You have already done to me. Please continue to draw us close to You. 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!

The God Who Protects Us!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Appreciation, Give thanks, Protection, Protector, Thankful, Thankfulness, ThanksgivingLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Saturday, 2017-02-25
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Psalm 18:1-3 (TLB)

Text:

1 Lord, how I love you! For you have done such tremendous things for me.2 The Lord is my fort where I can enter and be safe; no one can follow me in and slay me. He is a rugged mountain where I hide; he is my Savior, a rock where none can reach me, and a tower of safety. He is my shield. He is like the strong horn of a mighty fighting bull. 3 All I need to do is cry to him—oh, praise the Lord—and I am saved from all my enemies!
OBSERVATION:
David had been rescued from battle after battle, and he sat down and considered the source of his protection, support and wisdom, and exploded with a sacrifice of praise to the only God, the One who was so gracious to him. He acknowledged that God stepped in and saved him from his enemies whenever he cried out to Him, and now his heart was so filled with thanksgiving and praise that it appears like there may not be enough descriptive words to serve the purpose! How are we doing in this area of life?
APPLICATION:
We hear about folk traveling hundreds of miles to be touched by a TV evangelist who has been known to heal attendees of crippling deceases, and we hear of prayer meetings where we are encouraged to bring our petitions and our needs before the Lord, but how often do we remember to return to the altar and lay our hearts out before God in awesome praise and adoration, having recognized Him as the Healer, or Provider, or Miracle Worker in our personal situation that we had laid before Him in prayer? As a kid, we were taught that it is good and proper to say ‘thank you’ after being blessed with a gift from someone. But how often do we return to God to acknowledge His holiness and His awesome blessings to us? Friends, may I encourage you to acknowledge God for His mighty works, and stop attributing your successes, recoveries and wins over serious deceases to ‘good luck’ or ‘your special moment’ or any other avoidance of praising God? If you took time to pray for God’s intervention in your serious situation, and you see a breakthrough in that situation, please acknowledge the One that you asked to help in the first place. I believe that each day results in multiple ways that we can stop and praise the Lord – protection while traveling the road of life; the doctors who helped us overcome serious illness; loved ones who encourage and bless us every day; food to eat and the comfort of our homes. Let’s not take those things for granted. God blessed us with then, and He knows what we need and when we need them. Let’s acknowledge Him in all things each and every day, and let’s not forget to thank those that God has placed in our path, so that they also might be blessed and appreciated by us. God is so good, and in so many ways. Let’s praise Him for who He is and for all that He does!
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, You are so good to us and so often we neglect in returning thanks and appreciation for all that You do. Please forgive us for our ungratefulness. Lord, may we learn from David and be more moved by Your Spirit to return to the throne of grace and offer up our praises to You on a regular basis. As recognized in my ‘Application’ above, You look out for us each and every day, and You bless us more than we could possibly deserve every day. Thank You Father for Your awesome love for us and for all that You do for us. May we be more like David in an example of a grateful and appreciative child of the King. 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!

Praise God For The Women In Our Lives!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Mothers, WivesLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

28 Her children show their appreciation, and her husband praises her.

29 He says, “Many women are good wives, but you are the best of them all.”

30 Charm is deceptive and beauty disappears, but a woman who honors the Lord should be praised.

31 Give her credit for all she does. She deserves the respect of everyone.

(Bible Translation and Location: The Good News Translation – Proverbs 31:28-31)

Thoughts:

If after reading the subject of this devotional, you panic and look at your calendars to make sure that it’s not Mother’s Day, Then I believe I can confidently say that my whole purpose for sharing this message would have been achieved! As I read this scripture I was reminded of a few things that I wanted to share with you:

  • Whether it is the woman who gave birth to you, or the woman that raised you, or the women in your life that impressed Biblical and moral values upon you, I believe that you will acknowledge that there is an undaunting love there that is very hard to explain, because these ladies loved you when most folk felt you were unlovable. They sacrificed to share with you even when you felt like no one even cared. There is just that motherly attachment that is virtually impossible and/or unlikely to be broken. A love second only to that of Jesus’ love for you.
  • For myself, and perhaps many of you, there is also another lady in our lives for which this wise advice applies. For at a point in our lives we found a lady who fell in love with us, yes even mean old us! I can agree with the Proverb quoted in verse 29, that no matter how special and invaluable you may feel your wife is to you, mine is the best of all! Guys, we struggle to express the kind of love that we see expressed through our wives. As I age, I find where I get pretty miserable and challenging to get along with, especially when the heat (stress) is on. Yet, if we avoid abuse to our wife, she is the one that understands our frustration and is quick to respond in helping us overcome that frustration. Because of this quality, I am convinced that our wives help us overcome many obstacles and, because of their undying love for us, they help us to succeed in life. May I encourage you to join me in finding more opportunities to praise our wives for what they do to make us better men? They truly deserve our continued praises!

I realize there are other ladies involved in our lives also (work, church, etc.) but I am convinced that it is because of the two mentioned in my key points that we are what we are today. Therefore, if this Thanksgiving Day has passed by without you giving your mother and/or wife credit, then I would humbly point you to verse 31 and ask you to be obedient to the Word of God!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank You for the mother that You have blessed me with. Always loving, kind, protective and caring to me. May I faithfully endeavor to care for her in return as she ages gracefully? She was patient and caring for me even during my young days when most people would have given up on me. Please help me to also be patient and caring with mom now as she especially needs help from her children. Thank You also for my wonderful wife, dear Lord. Having seen me at my best and, unfortunately, at my worst throughout our 39 years of marriage, and yet to still love and care for me in spite of all that, I am truly thankful to You, and to her for allowing You to grace her with power from above for her earthy ambitions and responsibilities. I am truly a blessed man, thank You Oh God! Now may Your power and Your peace rest with each man that may meditate on this devotional today, and may Your wonderful grace continue upon our mothers and wives, for I ask this in the name of Jesus, my wonderful Lord. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely 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, Sebring, FL!

The Reward of Thankfulness and Appreciation to God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Christian, Faith, God Cares For Us, God our Helper, God our Provider, God Reigns, God’s Word, Heaven, Hope, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Righteousness, Testify, Thank You JesusLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE Studied: Genesis 8

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose. 21 And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things.22 As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.” Gen 8:20-22 (NLT)

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

Noah could very easily have complained while on the ark about how long he had to be penned up in tight quarters with the stench of animals, and he could have been so relieved after exiting the ark that he could have left everything behind him and went on to the joys of everything he saw in front of him. However, he took time to stop and offer a praise and thanksgiving offering to God immediately after getting off the ark, and before indulging in anything else. Are we careful to do this every time we recognize God at work in our lives? Do we stop and thank God for all He has done? Do we give Him credit for the things accomplished in our everyday lives, or do we attribute the successes to luck, or our personal achievement? God was so please with what He saw in Noah, until He made a few promises that Noah never even thought, or knew to asked for. I believe that God has way more good in store for us than we could ever imagine. He’s just waiting for us to let Him, and to do our part in recognizing Him and thanking Him for all that He does. there’s a song that I like to sing along with, “God of Wonders” that comes through in expressing how awe struck I am as I consider all that God does for me each and every day, and how special His children must be to Him. I want to always be mindful of all that my God does for me and those that I call ‘Brother’ or ‘Sister’. Thank You Father!

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

Father, You loved us so much that You gave it all for us. You created us, and everything around us to enjoy while here on this earth. You provided the ultimate sacrifice so that we may have a means to enjoy the ultimate prize of worshipping You in heaven one day. Thank You Father for loving me so much and providing for me every day. Please forgive me when I am selfish and whine about things that really don’t count towards my ultimate journey in being with You.