|
Post Date: |
Tuesday, 2017-09-12 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Luke 22:46 (ERV) |
|
Text: |
46 Jesus said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray for strength against temptation.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| At a time when Jesus went up to the garden to pray, He gave His disciples an assignment to pray about also: Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. Because this is something that we all can pray for, I wanted us to take a deeper look into this… | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I found it interesting that Jesus did not say to His disciples, pray just in case temptation comes your way. Jesus knew what was about to happen, and He knew that it could mean death for His disciples if they stuck to their witness of the Master that was so close and intimate over their time of close ministry with Him. Things are no different today friends, for we leave our times of spiritual enrichment through great praise and worship services, and awesome reminders from God’s Word, and we reenter the world of constant bombardment by Satan to turn our heads and return to the ways of the world. So what’s so wrong about that, you might ask – seeing that we have to live in this old world. Good question! I believe that it is appropriate that we be reminded that Jesus was so different to the world, that He became the center of attention for attacks by the people. I know, that’s the last thing you want, right? Well, I believe you made a mistake in wanting a part in Christianity, for the teachings and example of Jesus is totally opposed to the teachings and example of this world. You see, if you are not led by the Lord Jesus Christ, and asking Him daily to guide your life, then you have a different leader – Satan. There are many examples of where Jesus was totally different, or opposite to the ways of the world. Sometimes it made Him stand out like a sore thumb, but it’s who He was and still is. ‘Going with the flow’ often means that we wait around to see what the crowd decides to do then we will do the same thing. When Jesus asks us to stay awake and pray against temptation, I believe He is telling us to seek the face of Jesus about the best course of action for us today, not what the popular person/people does. We were told at a very young age by our parents that following the crowd will get us into trouble. Jesus declares the same thing to be true today – stay awake and not be led into temptation by the crowd, but seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and His righteousness. As Christians, we are to look like Jesus, sound like Him and act like Him in every way. In fact, we should easily be mistaken for Jesus because of our likeness of Him in our character and in our love. Let’s pray for one another friends, so that the world might see, know and believe in the same Lord that we adore and are led by. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, we all face temptation from this old wicked world, but we want to be more and more like You every day. We can only do this with Your help and our determination. Please touch the hearts of Your children and help us to not only proclaim our allegiance to You in the presence of our pastor or other church members, but even at times when temptation knocks for an open door of opportunity. Lord, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and for ever, 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! | |
Tag: Bible Fellowship Church of Sebring FL
Learn to Praise God, Even In The Storms of Life!
|
Post Date: |
Saturday, 2017-09-09 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Psalm 57:5 (CEV) |
|
Text: |
4 I live among lions, who gobble down people! They have spears and arrows instead of teeth, and they have sharp swords instead of tongues. 5 May you, my God, be honored above the heavens; may your glory be seen everywhere on earth. 6 Enemies set traps for my feet and struck me down. They dug a pit in my path, but fell in it themselves. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Even among his troubles David took time to recognize God and to offer up a sacrifice of praise right in the middle of his challenges. We face challenges all the time, so let’s see how this might help us…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I want you to particularly notice that we are very much like David was, in that he suffered insecurities, and that he felt like his enemies were out to get him at every turn. In verse 4, some translations use the word ‘enemies’ in lieu of ‘lions’. In verse 6 David continues to emphasize how much his enemies are out to get him. Yet right in between these two verses, David stopped to give honor to God! I believe that we can conclude that David was sharing his heart with God about how he really felt in this world in verses 4 and 6, but he wanted God to know that in spite of his challenges and the way that he felt others were treating him, he wanted to praise God anyway. I believe that God placed these verses before me today for a special reason, for in verse 4 I could easily share about my concerns about hurricane Irma that is approaching us from the south, and there is so much concern about safety, security and survival because of the awesome strength that this hurricane brings and all of the tornados that will spawn from it. In verse 6 I can easily worry myself silly over what life my look like after this storm. But I believe that God wanted me to recognize that in the middle of all these worries, I need to stop and remember who’s in charge; who created us; who causes the winds to blow; and who will guide this storm and keep a watchful eye over his children. When I think about all of this and take a reality check on who also guides me through the storms of life every day, I am reminded that I serve a risen Savior who watches, protects and loves me, every day, so there is nothing to worry about! I want His will to be accomplished in and through my life every day, whether in the heat of the summer, or the coldest winter, or on the mildest day of summer enjoying the beauty of the beach or the mountains, or even through vicious storms, such as the approaching hurricane. Friends, let’s learn to praise our God in all phases of life – on the good days or the days that we feel could be better. Then when the storms come, we will look for the works of our Master and find reasons to praise Him even then. Of course I want you to be safe during the storms of life that will come your way, but let me also encourage you to always praise God in the good times and in the challenging times of life. Remember, He’s still God and He will watch over you in every circumstance of life! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord, please help us to be more like David and praise you in the midst of the storms of life that seem gigantic to us. Oh to be reminded that You are creator over all things and watch over us on the good days and on those days that seem hopeless to us. We are but a spec of dirt in the overall master plan of this earth, but yet we serve a God who considers us heirs, and sons and daughters of His! What a mighty God we serve! Please help us to keep our head up; look to the Master of this universe for all things, and give thanks in all circumstances of life, 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! | |
Heeding The Warnings
|
Post Date: |
Thursday, 2017-09-07 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Luke 21:34-36 (TLB) |
|
Text: |
34-35 “Watch out! Don’t let my sudden coming catch you unawares; don’t let me find you living in careless ease, carousing and drinking, and occupied with the problems of this life, like all the rest of the world. 36 Keep a constant watch. And pray that if possible you may arrive in my presence without having to experience these horrors.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| In the preceding verses Jesus shared some of the signs that He will give us as indicators announcing His return to earth. However, I believe that Jesus knew beforehand how distracted and over-committed we would become here on earth. There are songs written by great Christian writers that remind us to ‘Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus’; ‘It Is Well With My Soul’ and many more. The bottom line, is that we know Jesus is coming back to take His church on home to glory. We know that He will give us indicators of His return, and we know that only those who are ready to meet Him, will actually be caught up in the air together with Him. Let’s look closer into how seriously we take all of this…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I’m sure that most of us can recall times that we were so engrossed in something that we totally missed an appointment, or perhaps never heard our loved one talking to us. Often times, devices are now taking more of our time than face-to-face conversations, so we are getting worse at ignoring others when they are talking to us. In our Scripture today, we are being reminded by Jesus that His Word is true and it is super accurate, so we are to listen to it and enjoy it’s benefits, or bear the brunt of disobeying the commands of God through His Word. Some of my readers will be in a similar position as I am right now, where we are being told about a large hurricane that will pass pretty close to us. We could be careless and do nothing, or we could take the warnings seriously and protect our lives from the possible onslaught of this huge, powerful hurricane. Our Scripture today gives us the warning signs to look for that will indicate the return of Jesus. Let me encourage you to be sure now that your life is under the control of our Savior and Lord. This will not only give you a desire to help others along the way, but it will give you a sweet sense of anticipation about the return of Jesus, when we hear and see the signs happening. You have a choice friends. You may not have seen the signs spoken of in the Word of God, but God has already made the provisions for us to secure our eternity with Him. Just like shopping for special occasions, often we will procrastinate until the very last moment, however in the case of Jesus’ return, He told us in His Word that not even He knows the day or the hour when that will happen. I didn’t want to take the chance of Jesus returning unexpectedly and find me unprepared, so I surrendered my life to Him back in 1976. Since that time I have enjoyed learning more about Him; experiencing His rich blessings; and sharing the joy that fills my heart, with others! I’m ready to leave this world and be with Him, whenever He makes that call! Friends, if Jesus returns and you are still in procrastination mode, the Word of God declares that your decision will place you in the pit of hell where you will suffer anguish and damnation with your leader, Satan, throughout eternity. If you have money, you probably have it safely secured and invested. Your soul is much more important, why not know that you know where you will spend eternity right now? Carefully read my Footnote and look at the Scriptures recommended for reading, through the link ‘To Know Jesus’. Perhaps the Holy Spirit will either give you that assurance of your salvation, or lead you to the throne of grace to settle your account with Jesus – TODAY! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Precious Savior, Jesus my Lord! Thank You for loving us enough to sacrifice Your own life as a token of our salvation. Lord thank You for not giving up on us, but instead giving us warnings to help us know the way that You would have us to go and the decisions that are super important to us. You did that for me in the years leading up to 1976, I pray that You will mightily use these words shared in this blog to encourage someone who needs You in their life. We are heeding hurricane warnings at this time, but I truly believe that heeding the warnings from You about decisions that will have an eternal impact, is way more important. May today be the day of decision for all who will read this blog and still unsure of their heavenly position. I earnest pray and ask these things in the name of Jesus, the Christ, 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! | |
Don’t Worry, God’s Got You!
|
Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-09-06 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Luke 21:14-19 (CEV) |
|
Text: |
14 Don’t worry about what you will say to defend yourselves. 15 I will give you the wisdom to know what to say. None of your enemies will be able to oppose you or to say that you are wrong. 16 You will be betrayed by your own parents, brothers, family, and friends. Some of you will even be killed. 17 Because of me, you will be hated by everyone. 18 But don’t worry! 19 You will be saved by being faithful to me. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Having a crowd gathered, Jesus thought to share with them that not all will appear ‘peachy’ for those who choose to follow Him. In fact, things will get very uncomfortable, as even to close relatives will betray them. In fact, everyone will hate them. However, their peace; their comfort; and their overriding joy in Christ should help in committing them to stand strong in the faith and be faithful to God in all circumstances. This is still very applicable to us today, so let’s examine this more closely…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Often it appears like we are fair-weather Christians. In other words, as long as everything is going well, we feel comforted that Jesus is on our side and taking good care of us. But as soon as we see things happening that we didn’t expect, we immediately wonder why Satan entered the scene and is trying to destroy us. Friends, I have seen some ‘terrible’ things happen which brought unsaved relatives to the Lord. My dad was a good example of that, His nephew fell from the top of a street-side electrical pole to his death. My dad’s eyes were opened to the condition of his soul and he surrendered his life to Jesus. A young man serving on the battlefield promised God that if He would see him safely through the gunfire that was killing his buddies all around him, that he would serve Him for the rest of his life. This Brother just retired from the ministry after a number of faithful years serving/leading local churches through which he led many unsaved people to the Lord. Jesus tells us in our focal Scripture today that those who are faithful to Him will be saved. You know, I believe that means that if we truly know God; if we truly trust Him with everything; and if we are solid in our faith; then we will look for the ways that God is working in all of life’s circumstances and not concentrated at all in poor me, or what God could do better for us. Let’s be encouraged friends that if the God of this universe accepts us as His very own child, and if He allows us to participate in His miraculous work here on this earth, then we should not hesitate in saying, ‘Yes Lord, thy will be done’. Let’s remember Brothers and Sisters, those who remain faithful to the end will be saved. Will you be considered among those saved? | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, please allow Your Word to work in our lives today. Please open our hearts to accept You fully and to be totally faithful to You until You call us home to glory. We have every reason to trust You and to depend on everything that You have promised to us. Lord, may we be faithful to You til the very end. AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
Who’s Responsible For Your Faithfulness?
|
Post Date: |
Tuesday, 2017-09-05 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Judges 8:33-35 (TLB) |
|
Text: |
33 But as soon as Gideon was dead, the Israelis began to worship the idols Baal and Baal-berith. 34 They no longer considered the Lord as their God, though he had rescued them from all their enemies on every side. 35 Nor did they show any kindness to the family of Gideon despite all he had done for them. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Through Gideon’s faithfulness, commitment to God, and his dependency on God to do all that He said He would do, God was very faithful and brought Gideon and his people through many difficult and challenging times. As long as the people were reminded of the love and power of God, they listened to Gideon and followed him. The real proof of their faithfulness came when Gideon passed from the scene and was no longer with them. We are challenged by this, because we also face similar times as the Israelites faced, so let’s see how we should apply this….. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Vacation time is probably one of the greatest tests of our faithfulness. Of course we should sleep in, we’re on vacation! We won’t have to worry about the embarrassment of having to respond to the pastor when he calls to check on us, and because we told the Sunday School class last week that we would be on vacation, no one will call us. If we are vacationing near the beach, why the ocean waters have not been this calm since we started our vacation. The skies are clear and the beaches are extremely inviting. Oh but wait a moment, you slipped it out in conversation with another couple in the pool that you attended XYZ church back home, and they might question where you went Sunday morning while on vacation? Friends, what about your commitment to God? In return for hearing the gospel message and feeling a tug on your heart’s door, to accept Jesus as your Lord, you surrendered your life to Him. Now when you are looking for excuses to escape being in His presence, and He sends circumstances your way to make you question your whole relationship with Him, don’t you know that He makes Himself even more aware to you and causes you to re-evaluate your true commitment to Him? The Israelites were face with a very similar decision, and they decided to do it their way. What about you friend? Will Satan win the battle, or will you stay true to the Master and be a witness for Him even on vacation? Remember, when we cave in to our old desires, not only do we stand in question by God, but also those who are following our example and our lifestyle. Are you leading them astray, or towards a closer and more committed relationship with their Savior? Another consideration is that the source of the Israelite’s encouragement disappeared when Gideon died. Before you condemn the Israelites, be careful that you are not one who will run when that charismatic preacher is no longer in the pulpit, or that fun and powerful voice is no longer on the praise team, or your best friend who invited you to church moves away. Always reflect on the reason that you got saved; the reason that you go to corporate worship; and the ones who are using your walk with the Lord as their example and encouragement. Remember also that Jesus would have gone to the cross if you were the only one that needed the forgiveness of sin. He never doubted or wimped out for a moment or looked for excuses. Oh that we may be as committed and faithful to Him! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord You are so good to us and Your mercies endures forever and forever. Please forgive us when we falter and fail. When we look for excuses to not follow You or worship You. You have always been good to us, always been faithful to us and went to the extreme to show Your love for us. Lord, please help us to always do the same in return. We have no reason to turn our backs on You, please help us to not listen to the enemy and look for ways. I ask these things in the powerful and almighty name of Jesus, my Savior. 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! | |
Reassurance To Participate In God’s Work!
|
Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-09-04 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Judges 7:13-15 (TLB) |
|
Text: |
…. “I had this strange dream,” he was saying, “and there was this huge loaf of barley bread that came tumbling down into our camp. It hit our tent and knocked it flat!” 14 The other soldier replied, “Your dream can mean only one thing! Gideon, the son of Joash, the Israeli, is going to come and massacre all the allied forces of Midian!” 15 When Gideon heard the dream and the interpretation, all he could do was just stand there worshiping God! |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| In order to encourage Gideon that everything was aligning just as God said it would for the battle against the Midianites and their allies, God told Gideon to sneak down by their camp and he might overhear something! This was the last piece of encouragement that Gideon needed, but before he proceeded to battle, he first stopped and worshipped the Lord God for being so patient with him and for the awesome God that He was! A great lesson for all of us…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I would encourage you to read the whole chapter on this, because Gideon was just like us in doubting that he was really hearing from God, and about His mighty works. God went through a time of testing by Gideon, that allowed him to prove that it was really God telling him to go to battle. Then Gideon put together the size army that he thought he would need, around 32,000 men. In verse 2 God told Gideon that He wanted to make sure that his army would never boast of their own works in this battle, so God ordered Gideon on how to reduce the army to…. 300 men! Can you imagine how blown away Gideon must have been? But Gideon was very obedient and did as God said. Just in case Gideon was still having some doubt, God gave him yet another piece of encouragement, by sending him to the outskirts of the enemy camp so he could overhear how they were feeling. Friends, I know that we read story after story in the Bible that might frighten us about our lack of faith in the all-powerful God that we serve, but this story reminded me of the peace that we can have in our totally patient God. He is awesome in power and could independently win battles with, or without us. His love for us is outstanding. His patience for those that He created is strikingly amazing! There is no god like our God! There is no love, like the love He has for us! Praise God that He encourages us through our humble pittance that we could attribute to His work, knowing full well that more often than not, we probably just get in His way. Yet He is patient and willing to teach us each time that we are willing to participate in His work! Friends, if we are going to be the image of Christ to unbelievers, we must be engaged in His work. Yes, we know that we are not able to do a whole lot using only our God-given talent, but just as God told Gideon, He wants it to be evident that God performs the miracle, or the work, even though He may have allowed us to be involved here on earth! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, You are awesome in every aspect of life! It blows us away that You would even use such simple folk as us to accomplish Your work, and that Your mighty work can be accomplished through us, if only we would humble ourselves and let You. Just as we read about the miracles you performed through Gideon, I have faith to believe that You can also do the same through Your servants today. Many who will read this devotional today know You personally. Please use us in Your work here on earth in some form, so that Your work might spread throughout the earth even through us. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, 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! | |
Proud To Be A Christian?
|
Post Date: |
Saturday, 2017-09-02 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Judges 6:27 (Voice) |
|
Text: |
27 So Gideon took 10 of his servants and did as the Eternal had told him; but since he was worried about what his family and the people of the town might think, he did it at night while they all slept. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Gideon was an interesting character. He asked for God to clearly prove Himself when He first spoke to Gideon. Now when asked to prove his allegiance to God by completing an order to destroy the idols of his dad and his town, he agreed, but he completed the task in his own time, to be the least possible conspicuous. Do we try to hide behind something when we serve God, so that we are not faced with challenging questions about our belief? We will discuss this further…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Do your family and friends know that you’re a Christian? Do you know if they are? They are perfect as a practice target! If you can’t speak with them about their faith, how will you manage with a complete stranger? You might remember that Peter, one of the close disciples of Christ, was challenged about his relationship with Jesus, and he did exactly what he had earlier told Jesus that he would not do, he denied being associated with Jesus or even knowing Him. Gideon never said anything, but what do you suppose that his actions said? Perhaps: I value my life way too much than to be killed by my own people for tearing down their gods; or what will these people, that I’ve known all my life, think of me when I rebel against them by replacing their gods with my own altar of the living God? What does your words and actions say to others about your faith? One of the most challenging things in living a life pleasing to God, is that the ways of the world is often totally opposite. Are you bold enough to ‘go against the grain’ and show that you are different because of Jesus? Another challenge is that you show that you are different, in complete humility. Not to show the other person up. You never put down an unbeliever so that you might look better in your beliefs. Simply live the life that God expects from you and allow Him to do His work in the lives that you are impacting. Words of encouragement and trying to be available for an unbeliever might be a start. Following the example of Christ is the best witness. Friends, Gideon did what he was asked to do, but he also wanted to stay on the good side of his family and townspeople. In being willing to obey God, we may have to obey God’s commands in spite of any sort of compromise. Are you willing to try that today? | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord, we are challenged every day with all that we should do, but way too often we allow our pride to override, or our desire to keep all parties happy. Please help us to be so committed to You Lord, that we will be willing whatsoever You ask of us. We need Your power, strength and boldness every day. Please help us to be images of our God who loves us beyond everything else. 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! | |
Nothing Is Hidden From God
|
Post Date: |
Friday, 2017-09-01 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Psalm 139:1-6 (CEV) |
|
Text: |
1 You have looked deep into my heart, Lord, and you know all about me. 2 You know when I am resting or when I am working, and from heaven you discover my thoughts. 3 You notice everything I do and everywhere I go. 4 Before I even speak a word, you know what I will say, 5 and with your powerful arm you protect me from every side. 6 I can’t understand all of this! Such wonderful knowledge is far above me. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| David shared his heart with us in these verses, because he realized that his actions, his thoughts, and his motives were all known to God. There were no secrets that he may have figured were totally private and that no one else knew about. I believe the same thing occurs today in even the best of us. Let’s see how we should apply this Scripture…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| How often we have been outside of our city/state/town or country and gone to a place that we stopped and made a wish, hoping that no one would know you there? Or perhaps, said something that made you quickly looked around to make sure that no one from church was within ear shod of you? Or wished evil on someone who always agitates, aggravates and annoys you? There may be times that you may have looked for ways to take revenge on someone that hurt you or a family member, or you wished the very worst for them because of what they did to you. These are some of the occurrences of life that we like to keep very private, because we don’t want friends or family to know about the ‘worst’ parts of us. Now, may I suggest that you stop and read today’s Scripture again? Can you see where it may be possible to hide things from parents, spouse, children or even very close friends, but nothing is hid from our Almighty, All-knowing, All-powerful God? Furthermore, when you are saved, God send’s His Holy Spirit to reside inside of us to guide us towards Truth every day and at all times. When you act in those ways contrary to God’s will, don’t you know that you are exposing the Holy Spirit to your sin and those places that may be totally oblivious to the Word of God, or our precious Savior who died for them? Friends, living a life for God, requires help from God or one of the equal parts of the Trinity. Why not just make it a point to ask for God’s guidance each and every day? Why not ask Him to guide your thoughts and your words? Ask Him to guide you into being an individual that others might mistakenly take for Jesus, because you sound and act so much like Him. Let Jesus rule in you friend. As you invite Him in daily, then words and actions that spill from you are bound to be anointed by Him. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, we need You to love, direct and protect us every day. Living in this sinful world often fills us with words and actions that we realize may not be an indication of, or pleasing to, You. When we accepted You as Savior and Lord of our lives, we wanted to put aside the sinful things of this world. But to do that, we need You today and every day to be our guide and our everlasting strength and hope. Fill us Lord with Your Holy Spirit so that we may portray our Lord and Savior in all that we say and do. All for Your glory and Your honor dear Lord. 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! | |
Your Church – House of ‘Prayer’?
|
Post Date: |
Thursday, 2017-08-31 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Luke 19:45-47 (NLT) |
|
Text: |
45 Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people selling animals for sacrifices. 46 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”47 After that, he taught daily in the Temple…. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| In the verses immediately preceding these, Jesus entered into Jerusalem and wept over the city because of all that He saw going on there. The sadness stirred His anger as He walked into the temple, a place set aside for prayer, as declared in Isaiah 56:7. Jesus immediately thought of the prophecy by Jeremiah where he declared that the house of God would be turned in a den of thieves (Jer. 7:11). Let’s see how this impacts us today…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| In our study yesterday, we looked at the results of the Israelites ‘crying out to God’. My interpretation of that is: they were pleading earnestly with God in prayer for Him to rescue them. Throughout the Bible we see example after example where successful, dedicated men of God pleaded earnestly with God for His protection, guidance and wisdom. Would you dare say that each of our churches are more dedicated to prayer than anything else in our ministry? I believe that I can safely say that churches today are more geared towards praise and worship, preaching the Word, youth and children’s programs and adult ministries that may, or may not, be linked to a Bible Study or prayer. For those churches who still have prayer meetings, it is one of the least attended services of the week, with very few exceptions. So this makes me question, can God look at our church as a real Isaiah 56:7 church? I believe, that we can attribute this to the heart of our people during the week. If we pray and meditate during the week, we will certainly miss that, and demand it for the church at large, during corporate worship, or even that we hold special prayer meetings. I heard one old saint say that if all we were going to do on Wednesday nights is pray, he just won’t come, for he wanted to hear the Pastor teach! This may be the heart set of many, but yet we call it ‘Prayer Meeting’! Jesus said in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that ‘if my people would humble themselves and pray, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven….’ Friends, I believe this is telling us that we need God’s help to turn from our wicked ways; we need His power to heal our wicked, sinful land; and we know for sure that He is the only one capable of touching the heart of mankind and creating within them a desire to accept Jesus as Lord. This all starts with prayer! Please give this a much higher priority in your home, in your church, and in your life! As God heals our land, you will be among that crowd! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, just as You cleansed the temple before You taught, please cleanse me of all my sin so that You may also teach me Your truths and give me opportunities to share that with others. Lord, I would also ask that You work in the lives of our church leaders to assume the primary focus of Your intent for the church, that it be a place of prayer, where we sometime preach, and teach, and have fun times, and have great praise teams, etc. May the main thing be the main thing in my church oh Lord, my Rock, my Redeemer; and soon coming 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! | |
God Hears and Acts on the Cry of His People
|
Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-08-30 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Judges 3:9-10; 15 (NLT) |
|
Text: |
9 But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord raised up a rescuer to save them. His name was Othniel, the son of Caleb’s younger brother, Kenaz. 10 The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge…..
15 But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord again raised up a rescuer to save them. His name was Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed man of the tribe of Benjamin. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| God overcame many obstacles for the Israelites and provided them a land that they described as ‘flowing with milk and honey’. However, when they settled and became happy in all that they had, they assumed their old habits and turned their face against God. When they did this, God allowed them to become servants of the very ones that God left in the land to teach them, by opposing their religion and their beliefs. When they felt like they could take no more, they made 2 Chronicles 7:14 their very own and sought the face of God. In just a few verses we recognize the fact that God never gives up on us and hears our cry when we cry out to Him. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| When I meditated on these verses, I was reminded of a popular verse that is often quoted in times of national or large scale crisis, 2 Chronicles 7:14, where the Lord told us that if we humble ourselves and pray and seek His face, then we can be assured that He would hear from heaven and heal our land….. In our Scripture today, we see where God was teaching the Israelites a very difficult lesson, and I might add that it very much applies to us today. God rescued His people from Egypt in a miraculous turn of events, and allowed two men whose main qualifications were trusting in God and allowing Him to lead their every move. God brought these thousands of people through some very testing and challenging times, but He lovingly took care of them for 40 years as they plundered through the wilderness to their final destination near the Jordan River. By the time of their arrival, God was dealing with a whole new generation, so there were some important lessons that He needed to teach them. So He left some of the original inhabitants in place, while giving some strict rules to the Israelites about their interaction with them. In very similar fashion to most of us reading this blog, the Israelites had their needs met by God, and very soon they fit right into the culture and sins of those that God warned them about. Unfortunately, I believe that we are more like the Israelites, that we read about in the Old Testament, than we might care to believe. In our times of crisis, we know where to run. But as soon as we see that God is in control, we lessen our commitment to Him and wander off again. Friends, Jesus said that not even to He knows the day and time of God’s return to take His remaining saints home to glory. However, what we all know, is that He will come to take only His saints with Him. These are ones who have surrendered their lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ and are seriously committed to Him. Do you remember the day that you made that commitment to Jesus? If you have never done this, then you are unprepared for that great evacuation. Yes, God sent a savior for the Israelites when they cried out to Him. God also sent a Savior for those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. In both cases, only those who believe in the mighty works of the one sent, will be saved. If you have any doubt at all about where you will spend eternity, if Jesus returns today, please read my Footnote and look up the Scriptures quoted in the link for ‘To Know Jesus’. Please follow my suggestions, and then contact me so that I might pray with you, and rejoice with you about your decision! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord, You took the Israelites to their knees after suffering for years under the leadership of the enemy. Many in our family and network of friends have drifted off to the leadership of the enemy – Satan. Lord we cry out to You today for saints to be totally committed to You, if they have truly surrendered their hearts to You. Please show them how important this is in their witness to unbelievers. I also ask that You would once again humble the hearts of those who need to make a decision to accept You today. Lord, may this be the day – PLEASE? I ask these things in faith and through the wonderful name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 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! | |
Nuggets From God's Word 