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Post Date: |
Friday, 2017-04-14 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Mark 1:40-45 (HCSB) |
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Text: |
40 Then a man with a serious skin disease came to Him and, on his knees, begged Him: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched him. “I am willing,” He told him. “Be made clean.” 42 Immediately the disease left him, and he was healed. 43 Then He sternly warned him and sent him away at once, 44 telling him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go and show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Yet he went out and began to proclaim it widely and to spread the news, with the result that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. But He was out in deserted places, and they would come to Him from everywhere. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| God blessed this leper for the faith he showed in presenting himself to Jesus for healing. However, in his zealous and joyful heart after his healing, he wound up doing exactly what Jesus told him not to do, and this disrupted the ongoing work of Jesus. |
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| APPLICATION: | |
| This is a challenging one for us to learn, for the question becomes: How often do we override the commands of God, to do what we feel is best? Yes, even when our plan is to supposedly honor and glorify God. This reminds me of what we do when someone tells us a secret and asks us to keep it between us two. What’s the first thing we do? We find someone who we feel is trustworthy and we preface our gossip with: “Now ‘Tom’ told me to keep this between us two, but I know you won’t say anything, and I really believe you should know this…”, right? Now I know that God never made a mistake, so I’m sure that He knew this leper would instinctively go and tell the world that a man whom they despised and rejected is now perfectly whole again, and it was Jesus, the Christ who healed him. However, look at what happened to the ministry of Jesus when the healed leper allowed his will to be done, instead of the will of the One who just healed his body. Jesus said up in verse 38 that His whole reason for coming to earth was to preach the Word of God in all villages, then in just a few verses later we see where Jesus’ ministry was then restricted to to isolated places outside of the city. I wonder what impact our cruel, unthoughtful words; or our selfish and often bitter attitudes; or our prideful and arrogant treatment of others; must have on the work of the Lord in our circles of influence? Remember, that our knowledge and our vision of what lies ahead in a situation is restricted by what we can see in that present moment, compared to the eternal God who knows and sees all things, including what the future holds for those involved. He has a purpose in commanding us to follow His Word, even when it seems so strange to us. Oh may His perfect will be done, so that His glory might be revealed, resulting in awesome praise and worship to the Father, for ‘Our God Is an Awesome God!’ |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Father, please forgive us for the times that we deliberately jump out in front and decide to do things that totally disrupts Your work. Yes, we always think that we know enough to make sound decisions or recommendations, but oh how limited our knowledge truly is. The leper in our story today probably thought that he was doing the best possible thing, for he was promoting the name of Jesus by telling the world that He is the one responsible for his healing. However, Jesus didn’t tell him to go and do what he thought best, which is exactly what we tend to do way too often. Please open our eyes to the innocence of raw humility and strict obedience to You oh Lord, so that You might accomplish Your will and Your work in our midst, without us erecting stumbling blocks along the way. Your way is perfect, please help us to always be mindful of that, AMEN! |
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| 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
Share The Amazement of Jesus
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Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-04-12 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Mark 1:25-28 (TLB) |
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Text: |
25 Jesus curtly commanded the demon to say no more and to come out of the man. 26 At that the evil spirit screamed and convulsed the man violently and left him. 27 Amazement gripped the audience and they began discussing what had happened.
“What sort of new religion is this?” they asked excitedly. “Why, even evil spirits obey his orders!” 28 The news of what he had done spread quickly through that entire area of Galilee. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| The New Testament is filled with accounts of awe as many people witnessed the power, the love and amazement of our Lord Jesus. There are many accounts of eyewitnesses going and spreading the good news of all that this Son of God was capable of doing, as they had witnessed it with their own eyes, or experienced it personally. Our story today is one such story, as it shares the power of Jesus to even demand evil spirits to leave a troubled man. |
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| APPLICATION: | |
| Walk in to any sanctuary in your area and I’m sure you will find people in attendance for various reasons. For some, it’s just the place to be on Saturday or Sunday mornings – tradition; for others, it’s the music that blesses your soul and you look forward to the next service to participate in and be blessed by the music; others might find comfort in being around nice people; while others are blessed beyond measure to hear their pastor speak. Can you think of any other reason why people show up for church services? Notice one thing missing from all of the reason I shared? How many actually show up for church to meet Jesus there, or are excited to be there because they want to be the first to celebrate what Jesus will do again today in our midst? Wouldn’t it be neat if people would walk in the doors of our churches and be looking all around to see where Jesus is at work, in response to their prayers? Friends, our churches are probably more needful than patients in hospital, for there are some burdened by sin; some hurting very badly from a bad marriage or sibling rivalry; there are some who are hurting terribly because of the pain in their bodies; some overwhelmed by finances or by kids who are headed in the wrong direction; and praise God, there are some who are ready to shout for joy and share an experience of Jesus being active in their life during that week. Let me ask you to ponder, what might our community hear about if each of the above groups returned home with their ‘cups filled and running over’ from God meeting their needs at church that day? What would be the difference to the neighbors in what they saw in the past, to what they might witness when we go to church expecting to meet God there, expecting a miracle? Friends, God did precisely this many times before in stories related in the Bible, and there is great satisfaction and excitement in Christians not only knowing that God is alive, but that He is actively at work in each of our lives still today! Is this possible? Of course it is, our God is alive and ready to work in our lives if we will pray to Him, search Him out, expect to find Him, and make ourselves truly available to Him. The world will believe and accept this when they see it for themselves through God’s messengers here on earth. That’s you and I, Christian Brother and Sister! |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, thank You for loving us enough to not only make a way for us to enter heaven’s glory and spend eternity with You, but also to be actively involved in our lives each and every day. Please helps us to constantly be in a state of recognizing Your involvement in our lives, and even more, help us to never be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the miracles of our awesome God! Praise God that You are alive today precious Jesus, and praise Him that You are alive and active in my life. Please be especially visible to my friends who will read this devotional and to all my family and friends that I will touch in some way today. Glorify Your name oh Lord! AMEN! |
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| 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! | |
Good News!
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Post Date: |
Tuesday, 2017-04-11 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Mark 1:14-15 (NLT) |
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Text: |
14 Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News. 15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| The order of events shows that Jesus showed up to be baptized by His forerunner, John the Baptist; He was then ordered to the wilderness to be tempted by Satan; then He returned to begin His earthly ministry of sharing the best news ever – God’s Good News of the home He has prepared for His saints to settle in one day with He and His precious Son, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. There is nothing that would match this good news when shared with people of this earth! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| This great news that Jesus shared with the people of Galilee, is still the greatest news that we can share with the world today, friends! Pastors do this from our pulpits, teachers do this through Bible studies and/or Sunday School and those who have that assurance of salvation – Christians, we share this each and every day through our words and through our actions. Ever stopped to ponder what message you are unconsciously getting across to those you work with or associate with every day? Unfortunately the unsaved have chosen to reject the Bible and its teachings, but they are constantly looking for a life, or a witness, that appears happy and successful to them, so that they may seek the source of that joy. And that’s where Christians come in, it’s not how often we attend church, or how good we are at quoting parts of the Bible. Friends, they are looking for changed lives – ones that stand out and are sincerely living a life that imitates everything they have heard about Jesus. I believe that our takeaway from this Scripture today is that the Good News must still go out to the unsaved today, if they are ever expected to know and believe on Jesus. Are we conveying that message through the lives we live? May our words be reflective of the Good News of Jesus Christ that we live our lives by, so that the world might know. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ and the salvation of those that believe on Him, was of super importance to Jesus. If we are to live like Him, then we must follow in His footsteps and fulfill the ministry of the saints to share the love of Jesus and the saving grace that comes form Him alone. The world needs this, but how will they know unless we tell them? Lord, please direct Your children today. As you share the Good News, may we follow in doing the same today. 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! | |
A Test of your Belief System
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Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-04-10 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Matthew 28:7-8 (NLT) |
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Text: |
7 And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”
8 The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| The women referred to in verse 8 witnessed a second earthquake in just 3 days, for they were at the cross when Jesus died and the first one occurred, now as they arrived at the tomb to check on the body of Jesus, another earthquake occurred as He arose from the dead. Ordinarily this would put folk in a panic, but these ladies waited for the message from the angel, then ran to give the message to the disciples! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
There were three types of hearers in this resurrection story:
Friends, as you celebrate this Easter season, I pray that in all honesty, your eyes will be opened to placing yourself in one of these categories. My prayer is that God will convict you to move up the above list in your belief and conviction system, and that you will be open to the gospel message one more time. Although Jesus arose from the grave many years ago, I pray that He will truly come alive in your life this year! |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, the Bible speaks very clearly about Your death and resurrection, and from eyewitnesses, the evidence is clear that You are alive! Thank You Father for the evidence of Your mighty works in my life – clear evidence of a heavenly Father who loves me and, through Your precious Son, prepared a way for me to approach You as my Father! Lord, may my experience with You be such that others may see You and have a greater desire to know You better, and this is my prayer in deepest sincerity, 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! | |
See Us As We Are, Not Past Failures
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Post Date: |
Saturday, 2017-04-08 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Psalm 25:7-10 (Voice) |
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Text: |
7 Do not HOLD against me the sins I committed when I was young; instead, deal with me according to Your mercy and love. Then Your goodness may be demonstrated in all the world, Eternal One. 8 IMMENSELY good and honorable is the Eternal; |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Like many of us, David felt like approaching God in the light of who he was as a teenager, might be a hopeless case. However in light of who God is, and the mercy and grace that He is known for, David knew that there was hope for himself and for all who commit to serving Christ and obeying His commands. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| It is so easy for us to listen to Satan and believe there is no hope for us because of all that we were. I found it refreshing to be reminded that when I committed my life to Jesus and accepted the outstanding grace that He offers to His children, that He not only cleansed me of my sin up to that point in time, but that He looks on me as a sinner saved by His grace. Sure I make mistakes still, but with the Holy Spirit living in me and prompting me to the way of the cross, I am constantly reeled back in and redirected to the King who reigns over me. Friends, I don’t believe I am alone in feeling this way at times, for I’ve heard from many how hopeless they feel at times. May I implore you to be encouraged by the words of David in this Psalm today and be renewed in knowing that those whom Jesus has welcomed into His fold, will never be released to any other Master. Think of your earthly mother and father – you can’t undue the fact that they are your blood parents. Jesus would never accept you into His family and then push you away every time you mess up. He wants you to seek His face daily and realign your will and way with His, every moment of every day. He loves you beyond anything you could every imagine and He wants to see you in glory one day around His throne. Would you commit to follow the last verse of our Scripture today and remain true to God’s Word and keep His commandments? The promise is that He will remain kind and true to you Brothers and Sisters! There is no better companion than to have Jesus on your side while here on earth and when we see Him face to face in heaven! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord You are so good to us. Praise God that You are able to see us as ‘white as snow’, because of being redeemed by Your precious blood. Most of us have nothing that we could brag about from our past, and absolutely nothing that we can place before You as redemption for our sins. Thank You for Your enormous sacrifice, and for Your uncompromising love for us, in spite of who we used to be. In being cleansed by Your blood, because of Your amazing grace, we are united with You in spirit and filled with the promise of eternity around Your throne. Oh what a Savior! Lord teach us daily to live like who we are, and not like who we used to be. 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! | |
On Recognizing Jesus
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Post Date: |
Friday, 2017-04-07 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Matthew 27:54 (AMP) |
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Text: |
54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, they were terribly frightened and filled with awe, and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Scripture mentions a few of the people on the scene at Calvary where Jesus was crucified. Of course there were guards on hand to make sure that Jesus, who some thought was a criminal, would not escape from His destiny, to die on that Roman cross. The guards saw the heart of God in His Son throughout this whole ordeal, especially as Jesus died, for at that very moment, they concluded that, surely, ‘this truly was the Son of God’. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| There comes a time in our lives that Jesus becomes ‘real’ to us. For some, it might be through the proclamation of His Word in a church service, but for others it might be through something in nature, or a miracle that you witnessed in response to earnest prayer by a saint of God. Some folk respond to these first experiences with Jesus by bending of the knee, seeking His face in prayer, asking for forgiveness of their sin and surrendering leadership of their remaining life to Him. Others become distracted by trying to apply some other phenomenon that may have contributed to the miracle they just witnessed. Friends, for all of us there will come a time that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will recognize God for who He is. We will immediately respond to that experience in one of several ways: Try to ignore it; Try to reject it; Try to reason it away from our minds; or stand in awe of the presence of the holy Son of the living God because of His awesome and powerful Holy Spirit convicting us of our need for a Savior. You may have done one or more of these things already in your life, and you are still remaining with us here on this earth for another opportunity. Just yesterday I heard of two men who went into eternity very unexpectedly. In fact, so quickly that they would not have had time to ask for acceptance by Jesus. If at some point in their lives they stopped making excuses and accepted the tug of Jesus on their heart, then their spirits united with Jesus yesterday, otherwise they are facing the damnation of Hell for all eternity. The choice is exactly the same for you today, friend. Your decision today affects where you will spend eternity. If you have read this blog, then you are making a decision again today. If you have never accepted Jesus as Lord, and you do not invite Jesus into your heart today, then you have made the decision to spend eternity in Hell. I would not wish that on anyone, especially you my friend. Know Jesus today and know eternal peace, won’t you? | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Father, You created us to love, honor and follow Your commands as Your loving children. I pray that hearts will be softened and reopened to the truth of Your Word today as this blog goes out to the world. Please allow those who need a Savior to happen across this blog, and may Your all powerful Word return fruit as it is read and understood. Please allow the excuses to cease and acceptance and commitment to prevail. I ask these things solely for Your glory 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! | |
Tips For Living Right
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Post Date: |
Thursday, 2017-04-06 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Psalm 25:4-5 (Voice) |
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Text: |
4 DEMONSTRATE Your ways, O Eternal One. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| David had such a relationship with God that it seemed natural for him to speak his heart to God. David realized how much he had messed up, but He also knew where perfection came from, so he pleaded his case of need before the only Perfect One. |
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| APPLICATION: | |
We could learn a lot from David, for we are so quick to beat up on ourselves, or seek help from every other source, before finally conceding to the One who could lead us to all truth, knowledge and understanding so that we could obediently follow the ways of our Lord and His written Word. There are a few keywords in these two verses that I wanted to expand on, that I believe will help us get to the bottom of David’s plea before his God:
When all is said and done, make it known to God that there is nothing more important in your life than to obey His Word. Honor Him in everything that you do and say, and allow Him to work miraculously through you to reach the lost in your circle of influence for His glory. God referred to David as a man after His own heart, so I believe that as we follow this prayer of David’s in all sincerity, we would also show our desire to have a heart more like that of Christ. May it be so even today dear friends! |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Dear Lord, we want to be just like You! However we have so much that separates us in that quest. There is so much that we need to surrender to You so that we might be filled with Your Holy Spirit completely and therefore be led in total surrender to Your will and Your way for us. Lord, this wicked world needs to see more of You in those who claim You as Lord. Begin with me Lord. Allow me to be so filled with Your grace and Your mercy that those in my realm of influence might desire to know the One who influences my life every day. Thank You for the lesson taught through Your servant David, may all who read this blog be encourage to follow in the steps of David – towards being recognized by You as a person after Your own heart. May You be glorified in and through Your precious children today, is my prayer in deepest humility, AMEN! |
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| 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! | |
Committed to Give!
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Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-04-05 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Exodus 35:4-5; 36:4-7 (NCV) |
|
Text: |
35:4 Moses said to all the Israelites, “This is what the LORD has commanded: 5 From what you have, take an offering for the LORD. Let everyone who is willing bring this offering to the LORD: gold, silver, bronze….
36:4 So all the skilled workers left the work they were doing on the Holy Tent, 5 and they said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than we need to do the work the LORD commanded.”
6 Then Moses sent this command throughout the camp: “No man or woman should make anything else as a gift for the Holy Tent.” So the people were kept from giving more, 7 because what they had was already more than enough to do all the work. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| In preparing to build the temple, Moses shared with the people what God had commanded them to do as their contribution to the project. Their response was so overwhelming, that Moses had to soon stop them from bringing their gifts. Seems just the opposite to what the response Moses received when he commanded them to stop worshiping idols. Perhaps God got their attention when over 3,000 was killed after the last incidence of disobedience. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I found this to be quite the contrast to the half hearted giving of God’s people today! Often when volunteers are needed, the able ones are the first to avoid eye contact and scoot out the back door of the church, because they just don’t have time. When teaching jobs are open, it is extremely challenging to find someone willing to commit the time to the job. Most would rather see the church pay for building repairs or yard work, as they simply don’t have time to do such things. If you read yesterday’s blog, you will remember that we were encouraged to always respond with the words “I just can’t make that a priority”, rather than “I just don’t have time”! I believe that it will be much closer to the truth and reflect more accurately that your priorities are elsewhere. Oooch! I know that hurts, but friends I want you to learn to be 100% honest with yourself, for God already knows your heart! This same attitude of commitment and priority also flows over to the act of giving financially to the Lord. To the able bodied brothers and sisters who may read this blog, may I suggest that you ask a handicapped person who is unable to work, “how much would they be prepared to give to the Lord, if He healed their body and gave them a job?” and I would assure you that they will probably respond 100%. My point is, friends, that in God’s Word He gives us a command to give at least 10% as a tithe to His work at our local church. In today’s peer pressure and wanting everything our neighbor has, how good are we doing with that command? Is it done before any other expenses are taken out of our income? God doesn’t give us the remains of a beautiful day, or half blessings in any way, but He gives us His very best, way more than we deserve. Giving more of self and even in our financial giving, are ways to express our gratitude to God for all that He does for us each and every day. The Bibles says that we will receive in accordance to how we have given. How are you doing friend? | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, thank You for giving of Your very best so that we may have forgiveness of our sin and one day join You in glory! You’ve not asked us to give of our only son, like You did, so Lord may we learn to be in constant awe of all that You give to us each and every day, and may we give in return as You have commanded, or even more. As we express our appreciation through our giving, may it be obvious to You that our hearts are filled to overflowing. May this be reflected in all phases of our lives so that You may use this appreciation to open the eyes of unbelievers and draw them to Yourself. I ask these things in all humility and great appreciation for Your love and Your mercy to even me, 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! | |
Get Away With The Lord
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Post Date: |
Tuesday, 2017-04-04 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Exodus 34:23-24 (NIV) |
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Text: |
23 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. 24 I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| This is an interesting meeting Moses had with the Lord. After the last similar meeting, Moses returned to his people, and became so angry at finding them worshiping idols again, that he threw down the stones upon which God had written the Ten Commandments. God had Moses write the Commandments on the stones this time, but He also ordered Moses to gather the men together and meet with Him (God) three times per year while they attended festivals. It sounds like God wants time together with His leaders! |
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| APPLICATION: | |
| At a time when it is extremely challenging to get men out to church on the weekends, and especially at midweek prayer and Bible study, we were able to take a group from our church to a Bible based, Spirit led, prayer conference for approximately two full days. These days were filled with the Word of God, as Scripture was given to each participant; songs prompted by the Holy Spirit; and prayer from the heart of each attendee, as prompted by God. No agenda, just waiting before the Lord and obeying the leading of His Holy Spirit. What might seem amazing to many, is that the crowd doubled in size the second year! What a sweet, Holy Ghost filled, time with the Lord! We returned to our church fired up, renewed and ready for the Lord to continue His work in and through us. This helped me to identify with what God was telling Moses to do. I wonder, if your pastor organized a get-away at your church: How many men would sacrifice vacation time to go and spend devoted time with the Lord? How many wives or girlfriends would encourage husbands or boyfriends to please go and participate? How many employers would welcome the time off for employees that they suspect would return and pray for the success of their business? Friends, I wonder how many gods we place before the God of this universe when we can’t find time for church services over the weekend or a discipleship class during the week? We tend to blame it on ‘time’, but may I recommend that you use the word ‘priority’ when explaining why you couldn’t participate/attend? Especially use that word when praying to God at the end of each day. Imagine: Lord Jesus, please forgive me for not making it a priority to hear from You through reading Your Word today? Lord, please forgive me that I made it a priority to take my family to the beach today/took my wife shopping today/went to have lunch with old friends today; played golf today…. but didn’t make it a priority to take my family to church. Can we, in all good conscience, add to the end of those excuses: ‘but bless me anyway and guide the thoughts of my troubled son this week’??? Friends, I believe that we are either all for God, or we’re not. I know that we can’t be at every single church gathering, but sincerely before God, we must be ready to answer His question on the priority of our day/time. Please consider taking time away to draw close to God, so that He might draw close to you. I don’t believe that there could be one thing more strengthening for your relationship with God, which will also enrich your relationship with your family and coworkers. |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Lord God, please forgive us for the many excuses we come up with regarding our priorities. Too often You are placed at the bottom of the list, or as a last resort. This must be turned around if we ever expect to draw close to You, or encourage/convince an unbeliever. Please give us strength, boldness and self-determination to serve You wholeheartedly and without excuses. You gave up Your life for us, how much more can we do in return? Give Your children boldness and commitment today I sincerely plead dear God, AMEN! |
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| 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! | |
Faithful to the End
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Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-04-03 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Exodus 32:31-32 (NCV) |
|
Text: |
31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “How terribly these people have sinned! They have made for themselves gods from gold. 32 Now, please forgive them of this sin. If you will not, then erase my name from the book in which you have written the names of your people.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| I believe that this is probably the boldest that I have seen someone approach the Lord. Probably the most sold out I have seen a leader to his people. The most daring act of unselfish sacrifice that I have seen a leader willing to do for the people placed in his charge. Moses had just witnessed the most despicable act that any group of people could probably do in the face of an almighty God, who had been so good to them and brought them through such terrible times. Yet as a leader who felt placed appropriately by God, he was willing to put even his eternity on the line for his people. Wow! |
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| APPLICATION: | |
| I’m pretty sure that unless I clarify, the first person you will think of that identifies with Moses, is your pastor. And while I agree with you that he is probably one that leads the charge of the church overall, some of you reading this blog have also been placed in positions of leadership with the church of Jesus Christ. You might be an elder, a deacon, a department leader in charge of teachers, a teacher, a small group leader, a Christian leader at your job or a Christian husband/leader in your home. Let me ask you to stop and take personal inventory of exactly what you feel like God is holding you responsible for. Friend, please don’t stop and quickly respond that it was just the Sunday School director who asked you teach, for if you felt led of God to accept a position to share His Word with others, then my belief is that He wants you to take responsibility for their eternity. Let me encourage you to read Exodus 32 and 33. You will find in 33:17 that God conceded to the request of His servant Moses, because He (God) had a personal relationship with him and knew his heart intimately. If you went before God after reading this blog for those who have been placed in your charge, will this be a continuation of daily prayer that you have been petitioning before God for a long time, or will this be a ‘new’ request? You have to start somewhere friend, but please be constant in prayer for those whom God has placed in your care. Are you so convinced about what you are teaching, that you are willing to place your life on the line for your students? |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, it is so humbling that You would choose mere humans to do the holy work of teaching others about You, whether verbally or through the very life that we live. We have been shown by Moses that when we are confident that we are obedient to Your will and obeying Your commands, that we would have no regrets, no fears of what others might say, or have any fear of standing before You and being held accountable by You. Thank You Lord for entrusting us with Your work. Lord, may we be found faithful until the very day that You call us home to glory. AMEN |
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| 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 