Tag: BFC

How To Transform Worry Into Praise

On By Ed AlgreenIn Praise, Prayer, Surrender, Worry, Worry no moreLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Philippians 4:6-7
Today’s Bible Text: 6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take Away: I believe there is one thing that we do extremely well, and that is ‘worry’. For we worry about what was said to us, or perhaps what wasn’t said to us. We worry about the look someone gave us, and even worse if they don’t look at us at all! We worry about what we should say, but we worry even more if we say too much. When our minds are so busy worrying about every little thing in life, we tend to start building our own case about why the world hates us and wants nothing to do with us. I hope that as you meditate on this scripture with me today you will catch a glimpse, or be reminded of the awesome God that we serve. You see, I am convinced that our God loves us enough that He will patiently wait for us to unload all of our concerns (worries) on Him in prayer. But what I am even more convinced of, is that God loves us enough that He sacrificed His one and only Son to die a cruel death, so that He could provide the answer for our forgiveness of sin and our means of entering the gates of heaven to spend eternity with Him. Friends, there are so many things that we are so blessed with, that we should learn to fix our minds on those things, rather than the worries of all that this world will burden us down with. So how do we move from where we are at to where we should be? We are taught in these verses that it’s a matter of prayer and praise. Let’s make it our aim to take our concerns to the Lord in prayer, and let’s look for ways to praise Him for all that we see Him doing in our lives. In doing these things, I believe we will find relief for those times that we would otherwise take on the concern ourselves and just worry, worry, worry. God loves us way too much to see us succumb to the sickness caused by worry.

Prayer: Dear God, thank You for Your endless blessings on us. Thank You for the provisions You made for us and the future that is ours, who have placed our faith and trust in You. It’s a daily thing for us to overlook the temptations Satan will send our way to pull us down emotionally, and make us worry about things that we have no control over. Thank You for the direction You have given to us today in Your Word. Oh that we may be found faithful and true to You dear Lord. Oh that we may learn to worship You and praise You for who You are, even when our personal circumstances seem bleak. We’re Yours dear Lord. Please continue to teach us the right path to truth, hope, love and encouragement, so that we may savor in Your presence all of our days. I ask these things in and through the name of Jesus, my Savior, 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. 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 www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org 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!

2016

Under Whose Power?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Boldness, Strength, Take a stand, WitnessLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Acts 4:7–12
Today’s Bible Text: 7 They stood Peter and John in the middle of the room and grilled them: “Who put you in charge here? What business do you have doing this?” 8–12  With that, Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, let loose: “Rulers and leaders of the people, if we have been brought to trial today for helping a sick man, put under investigation regarding this healing, I’ll be completely frank with you—we have nothing to hide. By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One you killed on a cross, the One God raised from the dead, by means of his name this man stands before you healthy and whole. Jesus is ‘the stone you masons threw out, which is now the cornerstone.’ Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one.”
The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take Away: I want you to consider for a moment that you visited a sick person recently and you prayed with them while visiting, and you heard over recent visits that the person was miraculously healed! I want you to consider that a lame person came to your church yesterday and from all accounts, after prayer over them, the person walked out of the building on their own, without even a limp. I want you to also consider that the friend you visited in prison last week, and prayed with about his release, is now back in town living and worshipping with his family. I’m sure you will agree that these things will ‘light up’ any church service, as it will open the doors to much celebration. However, today being Monday, as it is, you walk into your place of employment and notice the smile on your coworkers faces, as they ask you to explain how your weekend went, and did anything exciting happen for you over the past few days. Do you feel like you are ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’, and would use the opportunity to share the precious intervention of Jesus Christ in the areas of your life touched by the above incidents? Will you be bold enough to attribute every success of these things to God, and not to mere circumstances, or a new drug that one of the sick individuals possibly switched to? It is very evident that Peter ‘jumped all over this opportunity mentioned in today’s scripture’ and used this wide-opened opportunity to share not only the source of the healing power of Jesus Christ, but went on to tell the leaders how they might know that Jesus of whom he spoke! Is there anything in the scripture that gives you the impression that Peter got nervous about his exhortation? Do you have preconceived ideas about what would hinder you from sharing with your non-Christian coworkers? What would really come under question by your coworkers, is the ‘religion’ that you have been claiming to them all along. Is it for real? Is it real enough that you would speak up under intimidation? Friends, this may seem like a very simple and possibly unrealistic scenarios that I have given to you, yet we face similar situations every day. Friends, if it’s really in you, there should be a freedom and boldness that will enable you to freely express yourself to anyone that asks. If not, may I encourage you to seek power from on high that would enable these open doors for you? After all, would there be any regrets sitting at the friend’s funeral knowing that you failed on an opportunity to share Christ with that person? Let’s learn to not live with regrets!

Prayer: Dear God, thank You for Your awesome power, and for Your willingness to work in the lives of individuals that we touch daily. Thank You for allowing us to be a witness to these miracles, and thank You for the opportunities that will arise today that will challenge the sincerity of relationships with You. Please embolden us to be Your witness in spite of the challenges we might face with our pride. Lord, as we bear Your banner and lift You up in our churches, may we also use that same boldness to share with our unsaved loved ones and friends as they question. May You be Lord in every aspect of our lives, not just in those comfortable and convenient places, and may You receive glory for every word or action that may come from us today. I ask these things in the STRONG name of Jesus, 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. 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 www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org 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!

2016

Biblical Qualities of a Growing Church

On By Ed AlgreenIn Church growth, The Church2 Comments

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Acts 2:42-47
Today’s Bible Text: 42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper*), and to prayer. 43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity*—47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: Without giving the appearance of being too repetitive, I wanted to highlight some of the things that made the very early church a very successful one. This is in hopes that we may see something that might help us to do the same today. Friends, let me say at the very outset that I am not referring to the BIG church down the road who seems to be flourishing already, or the small to medium church that seems to be catching the BIG church up pretty quickly. I’m talking about the church of our Almighty God, for I believe that it should always be our objective to see His church added to daily (evidence of the unsaved world being reached with the gospel). So here are some things worth taking note of:

  • Those that were saved, devoted themselves to the apostles’ teachings. What beautiful choice of words! Being ‘devoted to my wife’ means that I will do everything to be with her, listen to her, try to please her and will go with her even when a good football game is on or the fish are biting good! Therefore attending church, or Bible teaching, would have similar priorities to those things just mentioned, or as mentioned in Acts 2. There would be nothing with greater priority;
  • Fellowship – I believe that when these Acts 2 believers spent tIme together under the teaching of God’s Word, they learned some things that helped them really get along with each other, so they enjoyed times of fellowship together. I bet they learned to overlook one another’s faults, and also their individual peculiarities!!
  • Sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper) – The mention of ‘food’ will normally bring folk out to church, but what a challenge to get those same folk to join you for a Bible Study that follows, or the Lord’s Supper that may only occur once per month or quarter. Knowing that God sees the heart, I wonder what He must see as the ‘devotion’ of these folk?
  • Prayer – Similar to the last item, this is probably one of the least attended services at a church. Analyzing this from a human perspective, means that folk either struggle with talking to their Father, fellowshipping with other believers while they talk with their Father, or simply sees no importance in publicly talking with their Father with hopes that others might be encouraged or blessed to hear of your answered prayer. I wonder which!
  • Shared everything they had with those in need – In other scripture, God shows where the church was designed to handle this through tithes and gift giving, or through handing out food and clothing to those in need. Oh that we would be done with the excuses of assuming that the church abuses this privilege, therefore we will not give to the church as God directs. These folk sold everything they had so that others might be blessed. May I suggest that the giver was probably more blessed than the receiver?

You may be asking why God would have all this included in His Word for us. I believe that it was very intentional in mentioning that the church grew daily. Again, this refers to God’s church – regardless of what denomination tag may have been placed on it on earth. Friends, our churches are dying rapidly today, so may I encourage you to not worry about inviting the church growth division of your state to discuss and help you analyze your church problems, but rather look inside your own heart and see how well you are doing in the above items? God will add to His church when he sees people who are serious about Him. Let’s take care of these things personally, and I believe that God will take care of the rest!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, in appreciation for all that You have blessed us with, we want to recommit ourselves to the proven qualities of this early church. I believe that You placed things like this in Your Word so that we might be best equipped to help grow Your kingdom in and through the many churches that we are involved in. Please help us to cut through the church politics, and the conclusions we tend to jump to about how our churches are run, and just do our part, knowing that You will add to Your church daily when Your children follow Your prescription for church growth. Thank You oh Lord for loving us enough to point us in the right direction. May we now be obedient, so that Your work might be accomplished before it’s a day too late. For I ask these things in the precious name of Jesus, 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. 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 http://www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org 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!
2016

The Gospel Message

On By Ed AlgreenIn Boldness, Gospel, Hope, Preaching1 Comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Acts 2:38-41
Today’s Bible Text: 38 Peter said to them, “Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Then God will forgive your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is for you. It is also for your children and for the people who are far away. It is for everyone the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 Peter warned them with many other words; he begged them, “Save yourselves from the evil of the people who live now!” 41 Then those who accepted what Peter said were baptized. On that day about 3000 people were added to the group of believers.
The Bible Translation: Easy-To-Read Version (ERV)

My Take Away: These verses form the whole jest of the gospel, or the purpose for churches today. The gospel is preached, or shared with individuals, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, their hearts are stirred, and they accept Jesus as their Lord. I know that this sounds extremely simple friend, but in and of our sinful selves, we want nothing to do with Jesus, or anyone else that will challenge us or the way we live. Conversely then, whenever we hear the Word of God taught or preached, and it prompts us to question or to want to change our way of life, it is at that point that we need to listen to Peter’s response in verse 38, for it is God speaking to us. I believe that the church today is just as relevant as it was in Peter’s day. I believe that people need the Lord today as much, or more than, anyone ever needed the Lord before. I believe it is more critical than ever before that Christians, and church leaders, be sincere and persistent about preaching the Word of God in its simplest form, so that the world will know without a doubt who Jesus is. I can assure you friend, that Jesus really loves you, and so do I! I’ll be praying for all who might read this devotional today that God would be active in your decision making, for only He can change the heart of a sinner. Praise God He did it for me, so I know for sure!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for making a way for us to one day see You and spend eternity with You in heaven! Thank You for those, like Peter, and our current-day pastors who diligently deliver the message of Truth from Your Word. I pray that more of us, as recipients of that message, will share our faith with others, for the same gospel message that impacted our lives can be enjoyed by many others that we come into contact with, if we will be bold enough to share. Bless us this day with Your grace the boldness and power to share that which we have been blessed with. Please touch our pastors this weekend with power from on high, so that the world might hear and believe. In deepest appreciation for Your love and Your message of hope, I ask these things today, 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. 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 www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org 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!

2016

Be Sure To Elect The One The Lord Chooses

On By Ed AlgreenIn Biblical Decisions, Jesus led decisions, VotingLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Acts 1:23-26
Today’s Bible Text: 23 They put two men before the group. One was Joseph Barsabbas. He was also called Justus. The other man was Matthias. 24-25 They prayed, “Lord, you know the minds of all people. Show us which one of these two men you choose to do this work. Judas turned away from it and went where he belongs. Lord, show us which man should take his place as an apostle!” 26 Then they used lots to choose one of the two men. The lots showed that Matthias was the one the Lord wanted. So he became an apostle with the other eleven.
The Bible Translation: Easy-To-Read Version (ERV)

My Take Away: What if men chose church leaders like this today? What if Christians presented nominated officials for government offices in this way? In this example, the disciples had more than one man that they thought could fill the seat left empty by Judas, but they didn’t want to choose the man most favored by the apostles, nor did they want to choose the man who wanted the position most or the man who spoke the best in his bid for the position, but rather, they wanted to get their minds into the hearts of the men, and there was only one way possible to achieve this. They pleaded with God, who knows the hearts of all men, and who knows what that position would be faced with throughout its tenure, and therefore the best man to hold that office, with all things considered. Friends, may I remind you that this is still the case with our God today? He still knows who will be best suited for offices this year, and who will best lead His children into the times that He knows we must face. I would highly suggest that you read Romans 13 any time that you feel like the people may have messed up in electing our ruling officials. I believe that these verses serve to show us how important it is that we depend on God, the One who knows the hearts of those we will be asked to vote for. And while He may not choose to cleanse every heart of those nominated, I know that He will point us to the ‘Matthias’ that we must elect to serve God’s purpose in serving us over the next few years. Let us plead for clear minds to ask God; clear hearts to hear His will and direction; and sincerity and honesty to obey His perfect will in every election we have the privilege to vote in.

Prayer: Lord, we tend to vote for nominations purely on the premise of our personal views and desires, instead of seeking Your face and Your decision on who should be elected for such a time as this – whether it be in our churches, our city, our state or even our country. If we are to truly take part in electing the servants You desire for our churches or our cities, states or country, then we MUST learn to follow the example of the disciples in today’s scripture, and humbly put our selfish desires aside, and seek Your face. Thank You Father for being such an awesome and powerful God that can direct Your children beyond what appears to be the obvious in our minds, towards Your heart’s decision for our churches, cities, states and country. I believe that we will only succeed in electing Your chosen leaders as we seek Your face and know Your heart. We need You precious Savior. Please speak to Your children as we nominate and as we vote, for it’s in the name of Jesus that I ask, 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. 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 www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org 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!

2016

Our God Is Awesome!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Awesome God, Beyond Description, Miraculous, Praise-worthy1 Comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Isaiah 40:25-26
Today’s Bible Text: 25-26 “So – who is like me? Who holds a candle to me?” says The Holy. Look at the night skies: Who do you think made all this? Who marches this army of stars out each night, counts them off, calls each by name – so magnificent! so powerful! – and never overlooks a single one?
The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take Away: If I was able to post a photo with my blog this morning, I would open our minds to the beauty of the heavens at night. It would not show a photo of a dark sky void of any color, or one filled with white spots, but rather a sky spotted with clouds, yet filled with stars twinkling in the night sky that are precisely placed – some even in specific groupings to form certain shapes so that we might easily identify the ‘Big Dipper’ or others. In fact, this beauty will draw us to God with such significance that we would look in amazement and quickly conclude that only God can do this! Friends, it’s just one more reminder of how awesome our God is! When we take our largest problem before Him today, one that may seem so very impossible to us, can I encourage you to stop and reflect on the picture I’ve just painted and just praise God first for the few million stars that you can see from your viewpoint? Would you praise Him for making those beauties individually, and for placing them just right in that part of the sky? Wait just one minute, did I just say placing them in the sky? How do they stay up there? I do believe that its yet one more miracle that you can add to your list of praises, for it causes us to look heavenward where all of earths hidden treasures were created. Oh, and don’t forget to praise God for His awesome creativeness in making that otherwise pitch-black sky to not only illuminate, but to give direction and light to that mariner who sails the dark seas at night. Friends, there is no one like our God, no matter how science might try to reason Him out of the equation. Won’t you take time to praise Him today for yet another reminder of His existence, His creation; His miraculous touch to the beauty of this earth that we are blessed to be a part of? Won’t you stop and consider how very capable He is of handling even our largest issue today? Won’t you just take a moment to praise Him for who He truly is? ‘Awesome’ is just one of the many words I chose to title this blog with today. I’m sure you can find a thousand other adjectives to describe our supernatural God today! In this song Phil Wickham described Him as ‘Amazing – this King of Glory’, click listen as you continue to meditate on this thought today!

Prayer: Thank You Father for Your amazing love, Your amazing grace, Your miraculous touch to our world! This truly is Your amazing grace! Please forgive us for running to You with such minor things in this life, but Lord, thank You for understanding our helpless state and for the small glimpse of what we gather of Your awesome power and grace to help us. Lord, as we worship You today and draw close to You, may we be reminded of Your love and availability to us. May we learn to savor in Your grace and Your awesomeness more. We need You Lord, please show us more of Your power and grace today, I pray in the name of Jesus, my Savior and 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. 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 www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org 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!

2016

The Clay vs The Potter

On By Ed AlgreenIn Clay, Obedient, Pliable, PotterLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Isaiah 64:8–9
Today’s Bible Text: GOD, you are our Father. We’re the clay and you’re our potter: All of us are what you made us. Don’t be too angry with us, O GOD. Don’t keep a permanent account of wrongdoing. Keep in mind, please, we are your people—all of us.
The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take Away: There are some aspects of being ‘clay’ in the ‘Potter’s’ hands that could be frightening, but yet some that could be encouraging. Let’s look at each thought:

  • Frightening: I’m sure you have seen potters who would get so fed up with the clay that they chose to work with, that they just smashed it, after being convinced in their mind, that there is no hope of improvement, or correction, or transformation. What if God gave up on us like that? Isaiah had just relayed in prior verses that our best efforts are often no better than filthy rags, compared to the majesty of our Father (our Potter). So as we reflect on this scripture and we look to our Creator, who are we but the image of clay, that we might ask our Father to please try again. Please forgive our imperfections and our inabilities, and simply look at us as His humble creation that is modeled after His likeness with every desire to be more like Him in every way;
  • Encouraging: In spite of a potter’s ability to smash an imperfect first attempt at a piece of clay, it is very encouraging to consider that the potter could then take that same piece of clay and start over, to produce the most perfect thing that anyone could imagine. I believe that often we are at stages in our lives where we feel like we have messed up so much that we wish God would just start all over again with us. There are also times that we may beg God to please smooth off our rough edges; improve our speech; give us more boldness and understanding, so that we might be more productive witnesses for Him. I feel like what is really encouraging, is that we don’t have to enter the battle, or this world, in a weakened form, or unprepared, or with attitudes that might hinder the gospel, as we have a Deliverer, a Counselor, a Savior who wants to see us at our best for Him, so that the world might know…..

I feel like the greatest thing to remember today friends, is that we are not the Potter, so let’s not enter into battle unprepared or with broken pieces. Let’s look to our Potter – the Lord himself, and ask Him to prepare us for the battle, which is against all that He stands for.

Prayer: Lord, this scripture helps us to place into perspective the awesome God that we serve, or for the unbeliever, I believe they could see the tremendous power of the One who created them and who stands ready to re-mold them, should they decide to seek help before it is eternally too late. Father, You made perfect humans, yet in giving us self-will we have chosen to wander away from You and do our own thing, or the popular thing that the world expects. Please forgive us Lord, and once again speak to the very hearts of your children that are so desperately in need of re-molding. May we be as pliable as clay in your hands so that You might direct us and love us back into Your good graces. Please help us to be more like You each and every day, and may we encourage others to do the same, for I ask this in the name of Jesus, Your blessed Son, 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. 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 www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org 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!

2016

Our Unchanging God!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Assurance, Provider, Unchanging2 Comments

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: James 1:16-18
Today’s Bible Text: 16 My dear brothers and sisters, don’t be fooled about this. 17 Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same. 18 God decided to give us life through the true message he sent to us. He wanted us to be the most important of all that he created.
The Bible Translation: Easy-To-Read Version (ERV)

My Take Away: It seems like we easily find God when we have needs or wants. In fact, I sometimes wonder if we don’t have a nickname for God, such as ‘sugar daddy’, because we believe that all we need to do is ask and it will be given. Friends, I believe that you will find throughout the Word of God that He responds more to our relationship with Him. For we read over and over again how He blesses those who know Him intimately, but that He curses those who despitefully abuse His name. But friends, I want us to really concentrate on the message in these few verses and how they can be applied to us today. Often when we see good things happening to ourselves or our friends, we attribute them to things like: good luck; the recipients deserve that; they’ve worked long and hard towards that; this couldn’t have happened to better people than this; etc. However, I want to draw your attention towards the words declared in these verses, for we are told who the creator of all good things are. This helps us to consistently look to the Father for the things that we need, and it reminds us of the One that deserves our praise and our thanksgiving. We are also given a peaceful and calm assurance that although our earthly fathers may be moody or perhaps unwilling to give to his children, our heavenly Father NEVER CHANGES! May I encourage you today to draw close to God and watch Him draw close to You? Watch Him bless you with so much that you will be ‘blown away’ with His goodness! In Psalm 59:10 we are told that God is changeless. Let’s cling tightly to the unchanging hand of God, knowing that He will provide for His children in ways that we might only imagine, but never dream to be possible for us!

Prayer: What an awesome God that we serve! Thank You Father for watching out for us, Your children. Thank You for not giving us mixed signals, but for consistently loving us and blessing us with undeserved goodness and mercy. In an ever changing world, You are unchanging. In a world where resources are always tightening, yet Your love and Your gifts abound. Thank You dear Lord that Your love and devotion to us has nothing to do with worldly changes, but all to do with the relationship that we have with You. Please touch Your children today and empower us to stay true in our relationship with You, regardless of the circumstances around us. You always deserve our praise! Thank You Lord for who You are and for everything You mean to us. We love You 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. 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 www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org 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!

2016

Temptation – Jesus’ Greatest Concern?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Guidance, Protection, Temptation2 Comments

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Luke 22:39-40; 45-46
Today’s Bible Text: 39 Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. 40 There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.”
45 At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.”
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: I believe that the passage surrounding these verses probably relate one of the most challenging times in the life of Jesus. I find that when we have a lot on our minds about our health, security or life in general, we tend to be concerned about the welfare of others we love at the same time. And this is exactly what happened to our Lord, for He shared with His disciples what His greatest concern was for them. In fact, I am sharing two sections of Luke 22, because in each case Jesus shared the same concern – “pray, pray, pray that you will not give in to temptation”. That tells me that Jesus knew there would be temptation, and that it would be one of the greatest challenges for His disciples to contend with. Just as I was reminded, I want to also remind you, my readers, that this is probably one of our greatest challenges each day also. I believe that we tend to think of temptation in the light of inappropriate thoughts or actions towards the opposite sex. But friends, let’s remember that Satan is out to tempt us away from the path God has designed for us in every aspect of our daily walk. Every aspect. Satan uses our family, friends, coworkers or even casual acquaintances to tempt us to lie, cheat, steal, look the other way, speak inappropriately, or any other temptation you can think of. Just as Jesus was concerned about this particular problem with His disciples, I am certain that He is also holding His breath in concern for us also. So what’s our role, you might ask. Let us keep our hearts and minds fixed on Jesus at all times. Let’s ask Him to direct our thoughts, our minds, our speech, our attitudes, our eyes and our hearts so that they may all lead us towards Christ, and not in the opposite direction. With God’s help, we can do this friends!

Prayer: Dear Father, please lead us not into temptation, but deliver us – every fiber of our being, from the evil one. For thine is the kingdom and the glory, for ever, and forever, 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. 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 www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org 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!

2016

The WARNING Signs

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Decisions, Don't Procrastinate, signsLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Luke 21:25–28
Today’s Bible Text: 25 “And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. 26 People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory. 28 So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: I am not a meteorologist, but it seems like there are computers that are constantly analyzing the weather events of the past, so that based on certain wind flows and other conditions today, our favorite weather announcer could be prized with being the first to warn us about a predicted upcoming event, for our safety and security. Jesus shared with us in these verses today about various (obvious) WARNING signs that the Holy Spirit will cause us to stand to our feet and look up in full awe and anticipation to welcome our King, our Savior, our Messiah as He comes to take us with Him! Friends, when events such as this occur, there are often some folk who are waiting for the moment and are ready to go with their Master. However, there will unfortunately be those who have procrastinated, or refused, to surrender their life to our Savior. Please consider me your biblical ‘meteorologist’ today, as based on God’s Holy Word, it is written that the first group mentioned above will be taken with Jesus to reside with His Father, our Almighty Father, to live and reign with Him, to worship and adore Him throughout all eternity. This same good book also tells me to warn you that the second group will cry aloud for the Savior at this time, but because the decision was not made prior to His coming, He will have no choice but to disclaim them at that time and leave them behind with their earthly master, Satan. Friends, until the actual return of the Savior, you still have time to surrender your life to Him. However, because His return could be any minute now, you could very easily be totally out of time. May I encourage you to not tarry; please do not procrastinate, but instead make this a priority over anything else you have planned for today. Not sure how to handle this? Please read my ‘footnote’ for further instructions, or respond to me and I will personally give you guidance. This is way too important to procrastinate friend, please heed the WARNING!

Prayer: Father, I am grateful that Your Holy Spirit visited with me and prompted me of the warning signs regarding my eternal destiny. Thank You for convicting me of my sin, and convincing me of my need for a Savior. I hurt today because of the multitude of friends and family that are playing with their commitment because they are not convinced of the warning signs. Lord, Your Word has been so clear and proven so true in so many ways. Please tender the hearts of my readers and those that are near and dear to each one of us today. May this devotional lead to a time of decision making by many as they listen to Your still small voice regarding your return and the certainty of eternity. We can only depend on You oh Lord, our Master and King, 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. 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 www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org 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!

2016