Answers to Life’s Dilemmas

On 2017-05-092017-05-09 By Ed AlgreenIn Acknowledge God, Eternal Life, Heaven, Know and Believe, Know Jesus, Salvation, SecurityLeave a comment

Post Date:	Tuesday, 2017-05-09
SCRIPTURE
From:	Psalm 32:6-8 (TLB)
Text:	⁶Now I say that each believer should confess his sins to God when he is aware of them, while there is time to be forgiven. Judgment will not touch him if he does. ⁷You are my hiding place from every storm of life; you even keep me from getting into trouble! You surround me with songs of victory. ⁸I will instruct you (says the Lord) and guide you along the best pathway for your life; I will advise you and watch your progress.
OBSERVATION:
Clicking on the Scripture reference above will give you all of the verses in chapter 6. You will see that before David went into telling his readers what they should do, he shared his own personal experience. David knew from first hand experience that a life fully surrendered to God is one that rests peacefully in the arms of Jesus, blessed by, and enjoying His love and protection both here in this life and in the next.
APPLICATION:
The words of many preachers ring in our ears, “if ever we needed a Savior like the one described by David, it is now”. I believe we hear those words and quickly brush them off our shoulders convinced that they are meant for the person behind us or besides us, because of all the issues they currently have. However, I have also heard saints of God rejoice in the fact that they are ever so thankful that they had a loving and caring God by their side as they went through various aspects of life that might otherwise have taken some people under. Friends, because of my relationship with my Savior, I can safely say that it is well with my soul. My sins have been forgiven, and I am not only a child of the King of all kings, but He has given to me His very own Protector and Guide, through the Holy Spirit that has taken up residence within me. I am destined for a perfect place with a perfect God, and regardless of anything that might come my way here on this earth, nothing can change my eternal destination nor my Master and Lord. With that kind of peace and eternal security, I am constantly concerned for those in my family and circle of friends who have decided to do this life on their own. I can therefore identify with David in verse 6. For I too am concerned about all that are outside of the fold, without hope, without security and without relationship with the Savior of the world. Friends, know God and be convinced about who’s in charge of your life today and throughout eternity. Without God, your suffering and complexities of life are only beginning, for there is no mercy, no love and nothing to look forward to under Satan’s control.
PRAYER:
Thank You Father for making provisions for us to find peace in this world through Your Son Jesus. Thank You also for the bright hope that we have in tomorrow when we have a personal relationship with Your Son. Please touch the hardened hearts of family and friends who have yet to accept You as their Savior and Lord. Please don’t give up on them for, like David, it is my desire to see them overcome the tug of Satan on their lives and to see them give total control to You. Lord, please find ways to once again speak to them today. May this be the day of salvation for all in need of You, who will read this and need the hope of eternity. May they find peace in knowing You, AMEN!
FOOTNOTE:
There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

How Easily We Forget

On 2017-05-08 By Ed AlgreenIn God's Power, Miracles, TrustLeave a comment

Post Date:	Monday, 2017-05-08
SCRIPTURE
From:	Mark 8:1-5 (MSG)
Text:	^1-3At about this same time he again found himself with a hungry crowd on his hands. He called his disciples together and said, “This crowd is breaking my heart. They have stuck with me for three days, and now they have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they’ll faint along the way—some of them have come a long distance.”⁴His disciples responded, “What do you expect us to do about it? Buy food out here in the desert?” ⁵He asked, “How much bread do you have?” “Seven loaves,” they said.
OBSERVATION:
Many crowds followed Jesus because of all the miracles they had heard of Him performing, and at times these crowd would stick around for days on end. Those closest to Him – His disciples, were with Him on two occasions when the crowds stayed overnight without food. The disciples had personally witnessed and participated in the first miracle, yet when the second opportunity presented itself, they acted as though it had never happened. Let’s look into whether we do any better today.
APPLICATION:
Right up front I want us to be reminded that Jesus is not like Santa Claus who will give us a treat once a year, if we’ve been good. Neither is He a puppet that will respond the same way in every scenario at our every whim. He is God and He knows exactly what we need and when we need it. What is very much the same for us today is that the credentials of our Lord, are nothing less that miraculous and totally outstanding! What this means for us is that we should have learned by now that God is in control, and not we ourselves. Based on His record of miracles in the Bible, and what we have heard from fellow believers, we should come before Him asking in the name of Jesus, in accordance with His perfect will, knowing that He has the power to do whatsoever we might ask. To simplify this thought, imagine us praying that God would make a blind person to see, if He has an awesome ministry for that person to achieve – especially because of their blindness. Imagine us praying for our daughter to marry a prince, when God already has everything aligned for her to marry a future president of a very large country, or marry a young man whom God will use powerfully in ministry with an awesome young lady by his side, like our daughter! I believe the impact of this story is that in spite of the mountains, or impossibilities that may blind us from seeing all that God can do, we should never forget that He’s in control, and that there is absolutely nothing that is impossible with God. His timing is perfect, so please don’t ask Him to do something next week that He may see better results from in handling the situation today. Let’s learn to quote past occurrences of miracles such as the one we are asking for, and let’s not limit our God to the restricted use of our humanly vision. He is God, and if He fed over 5,000 before with just a few fish and loaves of bread, we have confidence that He could do it again, if this is His will. Let’s be the cheerleaders to a God that can, not sinful doubters that something might be beyond His reach. If He walked on water before, we have no reason to doubt that He could do it again!
PRAYER:
Although we limit our requests of You to what seems possible in our eyes, oh Lord, I pray that as Your dedicated, loyal followers, we might learn to stay attuned to all You have already accomplished, and the wide opened possibilities that are Yours because of who You are. Please help us to remove doubt and our limitations from the equation, knowing that ALL things are possible with our God. Please grant us faith to place our trust whole heartedly in You Lord, so that all doubt will be removed and instead Your children be filled with power from above to simple trust and obey. 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!

What The Lord Hates

On 2017-05-06 By Ed AlgreenIn Pleasing to GodLeave a comment

Post Date:	Saturday, 2017-05-06
SCRIPTURE
From:	Proverbs 6:16-19 (ERV)
Text:	¹⁶The Lord hates these seven things: ¹⁷ eyes that show pride, tongues that tell lies, hands that kill innocent people, ¹⁸ hearts that plan evil things to do, feet that run to do evil, ¹⁹ witnesses in court who tell lies, and anyone who causes family members to fight.
OBSERVATION:
The Bible is very clear on what displeases God. We know that He hates sin, so I believe that we can conclude as we look at each item listed in our Scripture that they are either sinful acts, or a result of sinful acts. As in any relationship in which we love someone, we should endeavor to always avoid the things that God hates.
APPLICATION:
In the case of our parents, our spouse or even best friends, we would do our very best to always avoid doing those things that they hate, despise, or dislike. So having read that God hates to see certain things going on in our lives, what then shall we do about that? I know you can read the verses above, but let’s just break these things down and have a closer look: Eyes that show pride – generally refers to the actions of one whose heart is filled with pride. With their eyes, they tend to look down on people, and think less of them than they do of themselves; Tongues that tell lies – referring to the one who, as part of their normal speech, tells untruths to promote self, or deceive others; Hands that kill innocent people – this is self explanatory; Hearts that plan evil things to do – hearts filled with wicked imagination that often lead to actions that are evil; Feet that run to do evil – From the content of the heart the mouth speaketh and the feet will be anxious to rush to scenes that will lead to evil doings. Notice how investigators often find criminals who escaped prison, they find them at scenes where evil, or criminal things occurred? Witnesses in court who tell lies – a false witness is one that has no value for truth and justice and they will do anything to help like minded individuals escape due justice, including lying for them; One who causes family members to fight – God created the family to be an example to the world of His relationship to his Son. He also created man and woman uniquely to bring mutual happiness to each other. Children born to that union demonstrates necessary leadership by the father and obedience by the child. This makes it easier and understandable when we are taught that we are to obey our heavenly Father. Yet we see many cases of folk deliberately trying to destroy families and cause strife between family members. God hates this. All of these things are understably hated by God. If we have a personal relationship with God, we will do everything within our power to love Him and please Him. Therefore, if He hates the above things, we are to avoid them at all cost. He can help us with that if we struggle to do it on our own.
PRAYER:
Lord, there is nothing we would like more than to please You in every aspect of our lives. Yet as we read this scripture, we are reminded that we sometimes fall into the trap of displeasing You. Please give us strength and wisdom to overcome our weaknesses. In return, please direct us towards pure hearts and minds that are so filled with Your goodness that we would strive to please You in everything we do and say. We want the world to see You in every aspect of our lives, and we know that this would be impossible without them seeing evidence of Your teachings in every fibre of our being. So we beg for Your filling today oh 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!

How To Prove Love For God

On 2017-05-052017-05-05 By Ed AlgreenIn Love God, The love of God, Unconditional loveLeave a comment

Post Date:	Friday, 2017-05-05
SCRIPTURE
From:	1 John 4:19-21 (MSG)
Text:	¹⁹We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first. ^20-21If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.
OBSERVATION:
John gives us a way to prove if we truly love God. God proved His love for us when He placed His very own Son on the cross at Calvary as a substitute for our sin. John explains how we prove back to God that we love Him in return.
APPLICATION:
Many people will tell you to prove that you love them by….. (doing something very special for them). Generally that’s when a friend wants you to do them a favor. However that is not love, that’s doing a favor for a friend. Often we substitute the word ‘love’ for infatuation, or lust or even being impressed with someone. Throughout the Bible God showed His love for us, and for those who know God personally and live each day in appreciation for all that He still does for us even today, we learn that His love is deeper and more sincere than anything we could describe, understand or duplicate. So what lessons have God provided for us so that we might love like He did? Although many, I want us to concentrate on the one lesson that John shares with us in the Scripture referenced above. This will be challenging for us to grasp, especially in light of the church splits we have seen, or Christian families that have parted ways with each other, or perhaps another church family. However, throughout the Word of God, we are taught to do the things that Christ taught us and was appropriately recorded in His Word. The lessons that stand out most to us, is the awesome, unconditional love that Jesus showed for us, especially when He went to the cross for all mankind, even those who scorned, mocked and hung Him on the cross. His sacrifice was for all mankind willing to surrender their lives to His lordship, yes even us , who came from awful lives of sin and self destruction. In surrendering ourselves to the lordship of Jesus Christ, we committed to a life that imitates the life that Jesus lived and exampled before us. So when we are at odds with a believer, or if we ever digress to a state of saying how much we hate another proclaimed Christian, are we not proving the Word of God in these verses by showing that it is impossible for us to say that we love God, if we truly feel ill will towards another believer? The Word tells us that for those who concede to such hatred, prove that we are not children of God, for we cannot love Him and hate a Brother or Sister in Christ. So when you find yourself getting upset with a believer, may I encourage you to examine your relationship with Jesus Christ? Let us learn to prove our love for Christ each day, by the way that we love, respect and treat His children!
PRAYER:
Father, You loved us enough that You gave….. You gave everything so that we might one day be with You and Your Father in heaven. As Your children – Your imitators, we will not only love You in return, but we will also love those who love You. Holy Spirit, please impact our minds whenever there is concern about our love for others. Please help us to stay committed to Your Word every day, so that we might be reminded of our shortcomings and then seek You more earnestly so that we may enrich our lives with more of Your character and Your desire for Your children. May others see so much of Jesus in us that they will desire to know the source of our good works and our love for others. 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!

What Makes Us Unfit For God

On 2017-05-04 By Ed AlgreenIn Follower of Christ, Hypocritical, Perfection, Spiritual FitnessLeave a comment

Post Date:	Thursday, 2017-05-04
SCRIPTURE
From:	Mark 7:20-23 (TLB)
Text:	²⁰And then he added, “It is the thought-life that pollutes. ²¹For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts of lust, theft, murder, adultery, ²²wanting what belongs to others, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, pride, and all other folly. ²³All these vile things come from within; they are what pollute you and make you unfit for God.”
OBSERVATION:
Jesus had to get the Pharisees straight on their line of thinking, for they went out of their way to criticize Jesus and His followers for not following lots of manmade rules, while all the while harboring awful thoughts inside of them. As we study this today, I can assure you that we are no different, and would therefore recommend that you do some soul searching and honestly consider whether you are truly fit for meeting the God of this universe.
APPLICATION:
Before we think too critically of the Pharisees, please allow me to challenge us to think about the many unwritten rules that we use when analyzing (judging) the behavior of those that we come into contact with. Often this really gets into our pious minds as to whether we think a person is fit for the kingdom of God. We tend to consider whether the place a person visits make them unfit; the words they say that might offend God; the people they hang around, that makes them guilty by association; the church they attend or the frequency of their weekly visits to that place of worship; or even the duration of their time meditating on God’s Word. Does this sound familiar friends? What do you think, do we really need God to judge our friends? So what exactly is it that God is teaching us here? He certainly is not teaching us how to judge someone, so we could erase that thought! Instead, I believe that God is teaching us to: Be careful of what we fill our minds with. If we seek God’s face on a regular basis, then we will quickly conclude that we are so unworthy. If we humble ourselves before Him and seek His guidance and His direction for our lives, and we become submissive to His perfect will, then perhaps we will see Him steering us in right paths. If we fill our minds with godly things, then we will begin thinking like God and depending on Him more and more. His Word will help us to flush out those evil thoughts and desires that bombard us every day that we are in this wicked world; Be the eyes, hands and feet of Jesus to those that we come into contact with. Let’s remember that each one is so valuable in the eyes of Jesus that He actually ‘gave up His life for us’. What does that mean? Friends, He had the power to raise the dead, heal the sick and make the crippled to walk again. He also had the power to wipe out the whole bunch of those that beat on Him and took Him to Calvary to be hung on a cross in mockery before the world, yet He made the sacrifice anyway. If He thought enough of each one of us to do that, how dare us to exclude some from that love? If they are special in God’s sight and worthy of the sacrifice of His precious Son, and we are endeavoring to be examples of that same Jesus, then we must look on the best and worst of mankind in the same light as He did. All are precious in His sight, and so should they be in ours. Use the list of items quoted in these verses to help identify when we are off-track in our minds. To arrive at this point, we have probably already gone through many of the things I have already mentioned. Let us therefore present ourselves to God and ask Him to cleanse us and give us a new mind – one that is so filled with His grace and His mercy, so that our minds might be renewed, and refilled with the things of God and not of this wicked world. This Brother cannot tell you what you need to do to align yourselves properly with God. So present yourselves to God and ask Him to assume, or resume leadership in your life. Ask Him to fill you with His power and His grace, so that others will see Jesus in everything that you say, hear or do, knowing that He will ultimately reflect in the way you speak or act around others.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, who is man that You would sacrifice Your life for us? Who is man that You would use us to minister in Your name and share Your gospel with others? Lord, we want to be fit vessels that will represent You well before a lost and dying world, but we can’t do it on our own. To be filled with You, we must totally surrender ourselves to You and ask You to assume control. Please work in and through us to accomplish Your perfect will for mankind, especially my family and friends within my realm of influence. The glory belongs to You as Your perfect will is accomplished oh 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!

Holiness – Because God is Holy

On 2017-05-03 By Ed AlgreenIn Christ's Representative, Holy, Holy Living, Representation of the Master, Representative of ChristLeave a comment

Post Date:	Wednesday, 2017-05-03
SCRIPTURE
From:	Leviticus 19:1-2 (CEV)
Text:	¹The Lord told Moses ²to say to the community of Israel:I am the Lord your God. I am holy, and you must be holy too!
OBSERVATION:
God had shared with the Israelites that they were His chosen people. He showed this in the way that He brought them out of slavery in Egypt and into a land filled with milk and honey – the Promised Land. He disciplined them when they did things contrary to His commands. However God also took care of their needs and loved on them in many different ways. Now, God wanted to see them go off into the Promised Land in a manner that might show respect, honor and praise to the One who brought them to this point. This is very much in line with what God expects from us today!
APPLICATION:
If I was a carpenter, I would teach my son a trade – and guess what that trade might be? In teaching that son what might best align him with the teachings of my Lord, I would steer him towards a humble, but yet glorifying life dedicated to Jesus Christ. My greatest lessons would be through my actions and not just through my words. I would be careful in not demanding that he lives in a manner that I have never been able to accomplish. Moses went on in the rest of chapter 19 to teach the Israelites some of the ways through which God might be glorified in their lives. I believe that it is super important that we grasp hold of this teaching friends, for God not only says in John 3:16 that whosoever believes in the Son of God will become children of God, but there are many other verses in the Bible that teach the same principles taught in this chapter. The God in whom we place our faith and our trust is a Holy God. To say that we believe in Him, or that we are His followers, or that we are Christian, and then continue to live like the world, is a huge conflict and contradiction of our beliefs. We then become hypocrites of God and distract the witness for Christ. That’s totally opposite to what we are called to be, for in us the world should see enough of Christ that they would desire to know our source of truth and help – Jesus Christ, in a very personal and meaningful way. So friends, what are others seeing in you even when you don’t have an opportunity to witness to them verbally? I pray that Jesus is so prominent in your life that the whole world will know the driving force behind all that you do and all that you are. I pray that Jesus Christ might be glorified daily because of your actions and your witness for Him! To God be all the glory!
PRAYER:
Great is thy faithfulness Lord, to even me! Thank You for the opportunity to be called a child of the King of all kings – Jesus Christ. Lord may Your saints be so appreciative of this attachment to You, that Your character will be displayed through us in everything that we do, so that You might be glorified in all things. Have Your will and way in us today oh Lord – our Rock; our Redeemer; our Savior and our 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!

We Have HOPE!

On 2017-05-012017-05-01 By Ed AlgreenIn Eternal Life, Eternity, Hope, Salvation, SaviorLeave a comment

Post Date:	Monday, 2017-05-01
SCRIPTURE
From:	2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (TLB)
Text:	¹⁶That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our inner strength in the Lord is growing every day. ¹⁷These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and won’t last very long. Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us forever and ever! ¹⁸So we do not look at what we can see right now, the troubles all around us, but we look forward to the joys in heaven which we have not yet seen. The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.
OBSERVATION:
As Paul looked on at the troubles that his people were having and how despondent they became of the dismal outlook on things, he encouraged them to think beyond the temporary things that they were bombarded with each day and instead, keep their eyes focused on what lies ahead for those who have accepted Jesus as Lord, and the One who has gone to prepare a place for us when we graduate from this world to the other shore where we will live forever with the Father, Son and Holy Ghost!
APPLICATION:
Just over this one weekend, I was reminded that life here on this earth is very delicate, where we could be enjoying life to the fullest and the next hour be in hospital struggling for breath to stay alive. I visited a place where dust and drought was taking its toll on cattle, wildlife and plant-life. I met friends who are very challenged with continued life here on earth, yet they have made no provision for their existence after expiration here. I know of individuals who are uncertain how they will make it through life financially, yet expenses hit them hard every day. I’m glad that you haven’t stopped reading because of all the bad news. Let me assure you that there is help and hope for everyone, because Jesus is available to everyone, as promised in John 3:16. Paul is advising us that although we deal with the struggles of life here on this earth, like partially listed above, yet there is ‘H O P E’ available to those willing to make a conscious, personal decision. No, it really isn’t automatic, it’s the other ‘a’ word – it’s available! In the Word of God, He proclaims that for all desiring this new life, and this hope for eternity, there is a Savior who laid the way for us to spend eternity in heaven. Being available to us means that, we must be willing to surrender our weak selves to Him and ask Him to be our Savior, Lord and Director of all aspects of life remaining here on this earth. In return for that, we have assurance of our salvation for all eternity! We have a heavenly home prepared for us where there will be none of the things I first mentioned! His Holy Spirit will be our personal guide while we finish up our time here on earth! The God of this universe, together with His Son Jesus, will be our welcome party and our heavenly hosts as we graduate from this world to the next! So can you please tell me again, why you would settle for struggling along in this life, alone and without any hope at all? My Jesus can be your Lord today friend! He will be your HOPE for today, tomorrow and throughout eternity! This is the ultimate achievement in life, and you deserve God’s very best that He put in place for you and I! Contact me using the information below, or see a local Bible teaching pastor for direction on how to accept Jesus as your Savior. I can only imagine that you would like to be comforted with ultimate hope for today and tomorrow!
PRAYER:
Dear Lord, how grateful we are for the many blessings You shower on your children each day, and for the sacrifice You made at Calvary so that we might live a life of HOPE, no matter what today brings, or that tomorrow might hold. A hope and a joy that will last throughout this life and even through eternity! Lord You are our HOPE and we are eternally grateful for that assurance as we hold Your hand and walk through the trials and chores of this life here on earth. We look forward to THAT DAY in awesome anticipation! 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!

Closed To The Message Of Christ?

On 2017-04-29 By Ed AlgreenIn Deliverer, Pastors, Preaching, TeacherLeave a comment

Post Date:	Saturday, 2017-04-29
SCRIPTURE
From:	Mark 6:1-3 (Voice)
Text:	¹ Jesus went back into His own hometown where He had grown up, and His disciples followed Him there. ²When the Sabbath came, He went into the synagogue in Nazareth and began to teach as He had done elsewhere, and many of those who heard Him were astonished. Those in the Synagogue: Where did He gain this wisdom? And what are all these stories we’ve been hearing about the signs and healings He’s performed? Where did He get that kind of power? ³Isn’t this Jesus, the little boy we used to see in Joseph’s carpenter shop? Didn’t He grow up to be a carpenter just like His father? Isn’t He the son of Mary over there and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, Simon, and their sisters? Who does He think He is? And when they had thought about it that way, they became indignant and closed themselves to His message.
OBSERVATION:
Jesus knew that in ministry we would face opposition, just as He faced when He ministered in the synagogue among the Pharisees. They closed themselves to His message’ and I’m afraid that this may be all to familiar to us today….
APPLICATION:
All the time we hear stories of people that don’t like church, or would rather not hear of our Lord, and this may often discourage us. However, had we not have been just as stubborn, we might struggle in overcoming the disappointment in trying to witness to those kind of friends. The struggle faced by the Pharisees was that the same Jesus who stood teaching them, was the same one born to their neighbor, or hometown friends. The same one who may have run around playing with their children. In fact the kid, whose brothers are known around all of the neighborhood circles. Some of us might have similar experiences, where one of our own have returned from seminary to minister among us. Are you accepting of them? When one has been radically changed and returns to minister to you, are you accepting of them, or do you struggle to see beyond their past? Would you have been able to accept the apostle Paul, after all he did in his life before Christ as Saul? Friends, God changes things, and He also changes people way beyond anything we can do for ourselves, or anything we could imagine. Please remember that when we pray for our pastor and teachers that God might speak through them to us, we must look beyond the inabilities of the man standing before us and look to the God who created this world and each of us. The God who gave His all for our eternal appointment with He and His Father in heaven. It’s not about us, or the man who stands in the pulpit, but its about the Master who has a word to share with us, encourage us with and/or direct us towards. Please don’t allow anything to close your mind to what our God has to share with you.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for loving us enough to accept our plea for forgiveness. So often we allow the vices of Satan to affect us and distract our listening to You God and the blessings that You have in store for us. Please forgive us for allowing the forest to blind our vision from the awesome blessings You have in store up ahead for us. Thank You for still radically changing the hearts of mankind and using even the most challenging ones to declare the kingdom of God to us, so that we might otherwise turn our eyes to the Savior of this world. Please continue to minister among us so that all may come to a saving knowledge of the Master. 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!

Oh The Limitations We Place on Jesus!

On 2017-04-28 By Ed AlgreenIn Christ's Representative, Faith, Faith in Action, Genuine Faith, Representation of the Master, Representative of ChristLeave a comment

Post Date:	Friday, 2017-04-28
SCRIPTURE
From:	Mark 5:39-42 (Voice)
Text:	³⁹Jesus and His three disciples went inside. Jesus: Why are you making all this sorrowful noise? The child isn’t dead. She’s just sleeping. ⁴⁰The mourners laughed a horrible, bitter laugh and went back to their wailing. Jesus cleared the house so that only His three disciples, Jairus, and Jairus’s wife were left inside with Him. They all went to where the child lay. ⁴¹Then He took the child’s hand. Jesus: Little girl, it’s time to wake up. ⁴²Immediately the 12-year-old girl opened her eyes, arose, and began to walk. Her parents could not believe their eyes.
OBSERVATION:
It is obvious that after the daughter of Jairus closed her eyes in death, the visitors immediately gave up on the miracles of Jesus. Notice how they sent for Jesus while the child was alive but extremely ill. However, as soon as she died they sent word to Jairus that there was no further need for Jesus to come, as the child had died. Praise God that Jesus is not limited by the small ‘boxes’ we surmise about Him or build around ourselves and our circumstances!
APPLICATION:
It is so easy for us to look at these visitors to the home of Jairus and criticize them, but are they truly that much different to us – to what we would’ve done in that situation? We pray for friends who are sick; we tend to pray harder when they are forced into hospital; and we pray out of desperation when we hear that their condition is critical and possibly life threatening. But would we even allow a visitor in the room of the deceased? What if Jesus came by to visit with, and possibly raise our loved one from that death bed, would He be allowed anywhere near the room or the bedside? Notice in our Scripture how it speaks of the mom and dad being filled with amazement and awe, but said nothing of the disciples who accompanied Jesus? Could it be that they had seen these kinds of things already and that they never doubted for a moment that Jesus could raise that dead girl to new life? So what’s different with us? We read in the Holy Word of God that these miracles occurred. We believe that Jesus is alive and powerful in much the same way that He was when these Bible accounts occurred. So what stops us from calling on Him for miracles today? Are we limited by faith alone? Have we drawn a ‘box’ in our minds that Jesus can only do so much, and for whomever we fix in our minds on? Friends, may I remind you today that our Jesus loved us so much that He obediently went to the cross, having all the power necessary to destroy the whole bunch of His accusers, and He did that so that ‘whosever believeth on Him’ (John 3:16) would have clearance to the throne of grace and eternity in heaven with He and His Father! I don’t believe that He made that sacrifice in vain. I believe that His love for us is beyond anything we can comprehend, and that whatever hurts us, must also bear heavy on His heart. He wants us to communicate (pray) to Him about our hurts and disappointments, so that He could intervene as necessary to relieve our pain and bring glory to Himself. Hopefully our faith is large enough to allow God to accomplish His work in our lives and our situations.
PRAYER:
To the Creator of this universe; to the God of all, in heaven and on earth; to the Savior of the world; our Deliverer; our Healer and our everlasting Lord; we stand in awe of You today, recognizing that You are so much greater than we are; exceedingly more powerful that anything we can imagine with our earthly eyes, yet You are our King and our Heavenly Father! Oh how miniscule we are in comparison to how awesome You are! We are nothing to compare to Your great love and power, yet we often place You in a ‘box’ of limitations that extend only as far as we could see and understand. Please forgive us for our short-sightedness and lack of faith. Thank You for working a miracle in the home of Jairus thousands of years ago, so that we might be reminded today that there is no limitation to Your power and Your grace. Thank You for our inkling of faith, please continue to increase our faith so that we might properly represent You to a lost world. 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!

Faith Enough For Healing

On 2017-04-27 By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Faith in Action, Genuine Faith, Healing, PersistenceLeave a comment

Post Date:	Thursday, 2017-04-27
SCRIPTURE
From:	Mark 5:25-29 (GNT)
Text:	²⁵There was a woman who had suffered terribly from severe bleeding for twelve years, ²⁶even though she had been treated by many doctors. She had spent all her money, but instead of getting better she got worse all the time. ²⁷She had heard about Jesus, so she came in the crowd behind him, ²⁸saying to herself, “If I just touch his clothes, I will get well.” ²⁹She touched his cloak, and her bleeding stopped at once; and she had the feeling inside herself that she was healed of her trouble.
OBSERVATION:
Jesus was surrounded by a crowd, but it didn’t stop the persistence of a lady who had heard about Jesus and knew His power to heal even her disease that doctors had failed to stop or control. She was humble enough that she didn’t want any fanfare, however, she was convinced that if she could press through the crowd just enough to touch some part of Jesus’ garment, that would be enough for her to be healed. It turns out she was right on target, but she also unexpectedly got the attention of the Master!
APPLICATION:
There are various stories in the Bible about how different folk were healed in the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry. I’m sure that each one appeals to the various needs of folk even today who meditate on the Word of God and desire healing of some sort in their bodies. I noticed that the lady’s name was not even disclosed, so I don’t believe the intent of the writer was for us to lift her up as a great godly woman, although I’m sure she probably was. Instead, I believe that God would have us recognize in this story a few things that we might learn and apply to our lives today: Invitation. Someone loved and appreciated this lady enough that they told her about Jesus walking near enough that she could go out and see Him about her need. This sharing led to her meeting the Christ, and being healed. This should be a reminder to us to invite those we know, those we live nearby, and those we really care a lot about, to church with us. Excuses. It would have been easy for this lady to find excuses about the impossibilities of her getting through the crowd to get anywhere near to Jesus. Imagine the excuses that people use when we invite them to church with us. Let’s learn to take those excuses as incentive to cry out all the louder to our Lord on their behalf, as they could be missing their opportunity for their healing that day. Persistence. Many of us give up real easy, but this lady was persistent in ‘moving mountains’ to get to Jesus. The big, the tall, the small, the disabled, the rude and the smart-mouth people in the crowd didn’t stop this lady from getting to the front and within reach of Jesus. Isn’t it interesting how we will fight many storms to get to work, yet just a cloudy day will keep us from church? Can you imagine us saying that we could’ve been healed if we weren’t so lazy and stayed in our bed? However, that could be a reality many times. Faith. Notice that this lady’s healing was quite different than the others told about in the Bible? She didn’t wait by the healing waters for Jesus to come by and put spittle on her then follow with washing. She followed no previous stories, for she knew that the power came for Jesus, not in the actions of the individual. I believe that we must be so careful in following traditions, instead of following Jesus Christ. It’s through faith in Him that we are saved. Faith in Him that brings healing to our bodies. It’s Jesus! Humility. This lady didn’t seek to make a scene or look for any special recognition. She didn’t say who she was related to, or how long she may have served in the synagogue, it appears like she would have been fine just creeping up to Jesus and touching his robe ‘like a fly on the wall’ and not be seen or noticed by anyone. This was a personal encounter for her, and I don’t believe that she really cared about who else was represented in the crowd. Friends, God looks at your heart. He knows your intent before you open your mouth or show off any pride that might be evident. In all sincerity, go before Him with thanksgiving and praise as a one-on-one meeting with the Creator of all things! He wants to be your Redeemer; your Lord; your Deliverer; your Healer; your Friend and Your soon coming King! Won’t you accept Him today and learn to depend on Him for every need in your life, friend?
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, we need You a whole lot more than we will ever stop to admit. Many reading this blog may not need healing, such as the lady in our story today, but their need may very well be more serious in nature and indeed desperate to them. Being reminded of Your power, and the faith of this lady, brings renewal to our souls Jesus. Please remind us each day of our need for the Savior, and the awesome power that’s always available to those in a relationship with You. Lord, You are awesome, and we are so proud of being Your humble servants. Please help us to be sincere witnesses for You today, so that the world might know that Jesus lives, and indeed You live in our hearts! 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!