Don’t Miss God’s Goodness

On 2016-01-302016-01-30 By Ed AlgreenIn God's Goodness, ThankfulLeave a comment

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

Today’s Bible Reference: Psalm 73:1-5
Today’s Bible Text: No doubt about it! God is good – good to good people, good to the good-hearted. But I nearly missed it, missed seeing his goodness. I was looking the other way, looking up to the people at the top, envying the wicked who have it made, Who have nothing to worry about, not a care in the whole wide world.
The Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take Away: I find life so interesting sometimes, for those who have – wish they had more, and they may even say that THEN they would be happier. For those who don’t have, they may look at those who seem to have material things as ones who are ‘blessed of God’. We have to be careful that we don’t get hung up on this friends, because when we do, we may very easily overlook what God has truly blessed us with. The Psalmist was caught in this trap, for he was looking at the blessings of others and feeling sorry for himself, like he was not blessed at all, just because he didn’t have what they had. It is truly amazing how spoiled we have become! If it rains, we have fewer people in church. Can you think about how blessed we are to have an automobile that can take us to church – dry from the outdoor weather! Can you imagine what our ancestors did who either walked or rode a horse to church, if they were blessed enough to have a horse? Think about us cancelling a church service because the air-conditioning may not be working! Would anyone show up if we planned a tent meeting? Friends, we must never place ourselves in the shoes of another man or woman, for we are rich in God’s blessings just as we are. Unless we center our thoughts on God, and recognize Him as the author of all things around us, we could very easily walk around in this world feeling deprived of God’s goodness – His blessings. Consider the air that you breathed in this morning, the ability to stand up and walk, the ability to see what you are doing, the love of family and friends that surround you, the comfort of your home – even if it is not as palatial as the mansion bragged about by a friend at work. Friends, without any worldly belongings, still we are blessed of God. Can we learn to praise Him for His awesome goodness to us, no matter what state we may find ourselves in? Let’s not overlook the goodness of God to us individually – in spite of what we see going on around us. If you have accepted Jesus as Lord of your life, then because He is King of all kings and Lord of all lords, that makes you an heir to His throne – you are a prince or princess – royalty! It just don’t get any better than that, and it all happens without even qualifying for a bank account!! Trust on the Lord friend, with all your heart, soul and mind, and prepare yourselves for the royal treatment! Read my ‘Footnote’ below if you have yet to surrender your life to Jesus. He is waiting and longing to hear from you!

Prayer: Lord, You are good and Your mercy endureth forever! How can we say thanks in enough ways to show our appreciation and gratitude to You for all that You do everyday for us? Please forgive those that You have created, those that You have blessed, those that You watch over and provide for everyday, for the times that we whine and complain because it may appear to us that a Brother or a Sister may show evidence of being blessed more than us. Wow, what an ungrateful bunch we are oh God. Please be patient with us while we come to our senses and recognize all of Your goodness towards us. May we seek and find reasons to praise You everyday for Your goodness oh Lord. May we truly recognize the Potter and how good You are to those You have molded in Your image. With a grateful heart, I give You thanks oh God. May You be praised today by a multitude of thankful people who recognize your goodness, AMEN!

Footnote: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

2016

A Prayer For Our Leader and People

On 2016-01-292016-01-29 By Ed AlgreenIn King, Leader, Prayer, President, RighteousnessLeave a comment

Today’s Bible Reference: Psalm 72:1-5
Today’s Bible Text: Teach the king to judge with your righteousness, O God; share with him your own justice, so that he will rule over your people with justice and govern the oppressed with righteousness. May the land enjoy prosperity; may it experience righteousness. May the king judge the poor fairly; may he help the needy
and defeat their oppressors. May your people worship you as long as the sun shines,
as long as the moon gives light, for ages to come.
The Bible Translation: The Good News Translation (GNT)

My Take Away: With this being a year of election for my country to elect a new president, I believe that while we must be diligent to vote for the one God directs us to as our next leader, we must also be diligent to read God’s Word about what is expected of us (Christians) before, during and after our elections. For interspersed throughout God’s Word we are cautioned in each of these areas. In this scripture today, King David is praying for the Israelites’ new king, his son Solomon. I believe that if we take note of David’s prayer, and acknowledge that God had very good intentions and reasons for placing this prayer as part of His Word, and endeavor to pray similarly for our leader, then perhaps our people will humble themselves and pray, and seek God’s face. Watch how this prayer is all about our leader and us, being more like God and placing Him in His place over us. David prayed:

That the king would judge with ‘righteousness’;
That he would rule/govern with the same justice and ‘righteousness’ experienced from God, especially to the poor and oppressed;
That as a result of the above the people would enjoy prosperity and ‘righteousness’;
That the king would judge the poor fairly and be willing to stand up to the oppressors;
That the people would never fail to worship God today and all the days to come.

Friends, as children of God, I believe we are called to be living witnesses of what our God expects of us. I have just listed some ways that we are taught to pray for our leader and for our people. What do you suppose would happen to our country if Christians chose to pray like God expects of us, and to do it on a regular basis? Let’s remember this year that we are called to be Christ followers first. Let’s not get so carried away with worldly politics that the unsaved lose total recognition to whom we truly belong. The unsaved is looking for what God has done in our lives, not how little difference there is between us and the world. We are to be ‘light’ in this world of ‘darkness’. Please example, teach and preach the Word of God, even during a time when the world around us is so caught up in, what often turns out to be, the hatred and evil of politics. Please remember that God loves all of his children, not just us and our look-a-likes!

Prayer: Lord God, may Your people be Your faithful and true people even during a very passionate time of placing what we believe to be the right person in leadership over our country. May we be so faithful in prayer, trying to ensure that we hear your voice clearly, that we will not have time to step into the filth and ugliness of earthly politics. We are Your ambassadors looking to win as many to the kingdom as possible. May we not lose sight of that mission in things we say, write or portray, especially this year. You loved us in spite of our sin, may we in turn, show that same love to all Your children, by staying on mission for You, and not allowing the political views of the world around us to divide us from, or distract us in, our mission for You. I ask these things in love and because I want You to be foremost in our lives at all times, Lord Jesus, even during a year of elections. AMEN!

2016

Hope For Our Greatest Fears!

On 2015-12-142015-12-14 By Ed AlgreenIn Fear, Hope, Reflection, RememberLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – ^29–33I tried to relieve your fears: “Don’t be terrified of them. God, your God, is leading the way; he’s fighting for you. You saw with your own eyes what he did for you in Egypt; you saw what he did in the wilderness, how God, your God, carried you as a father carries his child, carried you the whole way until you arrived here. But now that you’re here, you won’t trust God, your God—this same God who goes ahead of you in your travels to scout out a place to pitch camp, a fire by night and a cloud by day to show you the way to go.” ~ Deuteronomy 1:29-33 ~ _{The Message (MSG)}

THOUGHTS: I believe that we can all easily identify with the fears of the Israelites, and that we all need a ‘Moses’ word every now and then to reassure us and get us back on track! As I meditated on the Word today, and saw the fears that Moses had to deal with, God reminded me that we are still very much like the Israelites, as we worry a lot about everything that God has not answered yet, at least in the way that we have instructed Him to. Think about it friends, God has been so merciful, kind and supernatural to, and for us. In fact, if we stop to consider the ways, we will quickly ascend to the clouds in awe and thanksgiving. However, for those things that really concern us, and for those things that God has yet to answer in the way we have asked Him to, we unfortunately fall into depression, thinking that God turned a deaf ear to our requests. I believe we need to quickly remind ourselves who is really in charge here. Whose timing is best? Why would God place a ‘pot of gold’ in our hands today when He knows so well how we will gloat in our accomplishments? In His time He will make everything beautiful. We belong to Him friend. Our lives are His, our family is His, our church is His, our country is His, including our government leaders, and truly our future is His. Will He really send us down the wrong path? Do we think for a moment that He has lost His power and can no longer handle everything that goes on in this old world, in our lives and every other concern that we might have? Moses reminded the Israelites, and I believe God is reassuring us today through the words He gave to Moses, that we are to reassure ourselves, based on His accomplishments this year, that we can anticipate even greater works in 2016, yes even in spite of how dismal things may appear to the carnal man right now. Let me remind you friend, that Our God Reigns, we just need to align our thoughts and our ways with His, and allow Him to reign in full power and majesty. Let’s prepare ourselves to meet Him and receive His blessing for having trusted Him fully each and every day. Let our times of reflection on all that He has already done, be our comfort for tomorrow, God being our helper!

PRAYER: Father God, You are so awesome, and You shower us with Your love each and every day, even in spite of our tendency to doubt and fear. Thank You Lord for being our awesome, Great BIG wonderful God! We’ve seen time and time again that it was not just the Israelites that You parted the waters for, and provided water for them from a solid rock, but Lord You are still God, and You have worked miracle after miracle among us also! Unfortunately, we have allowed the clouds of doubt and worry to overshadow the mighty works that You have performed in our lives, our families, our churches, our communities, and even in our country. May I humbly ask Your continued patience with us while we adjust our mindset to the awesome power of our wonderful God? Satan has no place in our lives, please give us strength and fortitude to stay so focused on You Father, that the doors to temptation, discouragement, lying, cheating and sin as a whole will find no footing in our lives. Lord, You are Good, and Your mercies endures forever! Praise be to the wonderful name of Jesus, in whose name I ask all this, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

The Main Attractors

On 2015-11-102015-11-10 By Ed AlgreenIn Evangelize, WitnessLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – John 12:17-19 – New Living Translation (NLT): 17 Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. 18 That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign. 19 Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him!”

THOUGHTS: Like the folk in Jesus’ day, we also have many folk today who are anxious to know what this ‘Jesus’ is all about, that they keep hearing friends talk about. But I wonder, what are they seeing? Are they seeing any difference in Christians than what they see in their sinner friend from work or in their friends they meet at the local bar? Let’s take a moment and consider some of the similarities and/or differences between the folk in the story told by John and in our particular scenario today. Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the grave, and they were spreading the good news to others they came into contact with. Now granted, most of us may not have actually seen someone brought to life, but what about the answer to prayer for various challenges in your life that you have no explanation for, other than a miracle from God? Here’s my challenge for you: how many family or friends have you shared the good news about this miracle? If like me, I bet you’re ashamed to respond that you have shared no where near as much as you should have, considering the unbelievable miracle(s) that occurred in your life. So friend, what have we done to encourage those in our realm of influence to gain a desire to want to see, or meet our Jesus? Just like the Pharisees did, wouldn’t it be exciting to hear Satan’s cohorts give up in disgust, or throw their hands up in surrender, because there is nothing else they could think of that would help them regain their power over God’s children? Friends, the unsaved will be encouraged to see our Jesus, if they believe that we have enough value in our relationship with Him that might be attractive to them. But how will they know, if we don’t make that known? I was challenged in reading this because I realized that the welfare of others may be contingent upon my openness to share the goodness of my Savior. How about you?

PRAYER: Lord God, thank You for hearing our prayers and answering so powerfully in so many ways and in so many circumstances. Please forgive us for keeping that awesome news to ourselves and not sharing that openly with our friends. Just as John shared how the crowd showed up to see You because of the publicity by those who saw Your miraculous works, I pray that the ‘crowds’ today will have a greater desire to meet You and know You, because of our witness and the awesome story of Your great works. I ask all this in the wonderful name of Jesus, the great healer and miracle worker, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! 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!

Are You Known as a ‘Christ-Follower’?

On 2015-11-092015-11-09 By Ed AlgreenIn Committed, Imitate Jesus, Take a standLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE 1 Peter 4:12-16 – Easy-To-Read Version (ERV): ¹² My friends, don’t be surprised at the painful things that you are now suffering, which are testing your faith. Don’t think that something strange is happening to you. ¹³ But you should be happy that you are sharing in Christ’s sufferings. You will be happy and full of joy when Christ shows his glory. ¹⁴ When people say bad things to you because you follow Christ, consider it a blessing. When that happens, it shows that God’s Spirit, the Spirit of glory, is with you. ¹⁵ You may suffer, but don’t let it be because you murder, steal, make trouble, or try to control other people’s lives. ¹⁶ But if you suffer because you are a “Christ-follower,” don’t be ashamed. You should praise God for that name.

THOUGHTS: I believe that when we accept Jesus as Lord, we tend to think more about what the benefits might be, than thinking about what additional controversy our decision might create, or what additional persecution might arise in our lives. Think about it, when folk are really struggling, we tend to convince them that they need Jesus. What if we told them that what they are presently going through is only a ‘drop-in-the-bucket’ compared to what will be brought on them after conversion? Do you suppose that anyone would agree to surrender their lives to Christ? However friends, we must be honest in evaluating what happened to Jesus, for He healed the sick, raised the dead and caused the blind to see, yet He was sought after like a criminal. This same Jesus is to be our role model friends. I feel like what we are taught here is that we are to do good, and be a shining example of Jesus, even if we know that controversy will arise. On the way to a business party one time I was asked by an executive why Christians abstain from drinking alcohol. I believe that it was asked to embarrass me because it was asked in a jeering way hoping to get laughter from the other executives present. I responded honestly as I believe God would have me do, and although I waited for the repercussion, it seemed like my honest response was well accepted. I recently heard a request for prayer about persecution on the job at a local company. It really surprised me, but after reading this scripture this morning, I am convinced that although we are not expected to go out and be deliberate rebels in our workplace or at local diners, or any other place that we go, we are expected to let our lights shine for Jesus and not hide that light for the sake of popularity or because of possible persecution. In fact, I love the suggested attitude in verse 14 – when we feel persecuted, or picked on, or laughed at, or made fun of, because of our faith, it is a great time to praise God knowing that others are impacted by the Christian stance we just took on a matter or the Christ-likeness that our audience just witnessed. It’s not a show-off thing, it’s our every-day Christian life being displayed in all aspects of our life. Is this always easy for us? Absolutely not, but when done in sincerity and under the direction and power of the Holy Spirit, we will see great things accomplished for God. In fact, I would go as far as saying that if we feel forced into making a stand, then we need to question if it truly is a ‘God-thing’, or are we doing it to impress someone about us and our strengths and abilities.

PRAYER: Dear God, You gave everything You had so that we might have eternal life in glory with You and Your Son. Thank You Lord for Your goodness to me and Your invaluable gift! Lord, I pray that Your children who will meditate on this devotional today, might catch a glimpse, as I did, to the value of living our faith and making our witness known to all mankind, so that they might be convinced of our relationship with You. This witness will sometimes convince mankind of their need for a Savior, but it will sometimes offend those who are led by Satan and his demons. May we be strong in all circumstances, so that the world might know to whom we belong, and that we might be convinced in our heart that we are truly Yours, without a shadow of doubt. Lord, please have Your will and way in our lives today, and may Your glory shine through us as we stand firm in our faith in You. I ask these things in the powerful and awesome name of Jesus, and for your sake, AMEN!

Your Faithfulness Will Prove To Whom You Are Faithful

On 2015-10-312015-10-31 By Ed AlgreenIn Disciple, Faithful, Obedience, TeachingsLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Living Translation – John 8:30-32): ³⁰Then many who heard him say these things believed in him. Jesus and Abraham ³¹ Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. ³² And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

THOUGHTS: I believe that the phrase where I bolded two items (in verse 31) is really very applicable to many areas of life. For one will be fired if they were not loyal to their employer; or military authorities would not permit a soldier to serve unless he could be loyal to his/her country. So why then would we ever think that the God of this universe, the Creator of everyone and everything, would sit idly by and permit us to serve any god we want, or to blatantly disobey His teachings and still be acceptable in His sight? Friends, in the very words of Jesus, the evidence of whether we are His followers, or His disciples, is whether we remain faithful to His teachings. So what is your evaluation about yourself? Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? Often a good accountability partner would be very helpful to you with this, for they will look beyond your excuses and compare your actions with the Word of God – God’s teachings. If you don’t have an accountability partner, may I suggest that you look for one? Make sure this is not a ‘Yes’ man or woman, because you need their honesty and you need them to help you draw closer to God and His Word, not make you feel better about what you are doing. Friends, the time for us to meet one on one with Jesus is drawing near, for the signs of the times are very near. Please look closely into God’s Word and be obedient to His teachings. It’s for your own good! Based on your actions yesterday, to whom do you suppose the world think that you are faithful to?

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your awesome Word – Your directions for righteous living and for testifying of Your love and care for mankind. Please work in my life today that I may be honest in all my ways and may my actions be a true reflection of You and show obedience to Your teachings. For all my readers, family and friends today, Lord may their eyes also be opened to the importance of declaring their loyalty to You through the things they say, do and practice. You know our hearts Lord, so You know where we stand. May it be evident to our family and friends through our actions today, I pray. I humbly ask these things in the wonderful and outstanding name of Jesus, my Lord, Savior and soon coming King, AMEN.

Light Your Path

On 2015-10-302015-10-30 By Ed AlgreenIn Light, Truth, WayLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Contemporary English Version – John 8:12): 12 Once again Jesus spoke to the people. This time he said, “I am the light for the world! Follow me, and you won’t be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life.”

THOUGHTS: Having recently had surgery, the doctor was emphatic about making sure there was adequate light at night to make sure I didn’t trip on anything. Earlier this week I was working on a project that involved using a screwdriver. Once it got dark enough I could not continue, because without light I just could not find the screw-head. I believe that you are probably getting the point, that without sufficient light you just cannot do a whole lot. But what about in other aspects of life where we don’t necessarily depend on natural light versus the absence of light? There are times when we need to make decisions, and we feel totally blinded because we just don’t know what impact our decision will have on us. For example, retirement. We may want to begin retirement at age 50, so we could enjoy our dream vacations and destinations while we still have fairly good health. However, we worry about there being enough money in our retirement fund to keep us out of poverty, because who knows how long we will live into retirement? There seems to always be a part of decision making that is impacted by the unknown, so we stumble around in the dark, hoping that we will make good decisions. For those who read their Bibles, we know that there are two final destinations that awaits us after death from this world. If we have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, then Jesus has lifted the vail and showed us what our eternal kingdom will look like, and who will be in charge there. God created this universe, so we know He is there, and His Son, Jesus, is already there waiting for us. For those who have not made a decision like this, then the Bible is also clear on their destination, and who will be in charge there, for Satan and his angels awaits those who have deliberately chosen to walk in darkness. Unfortunately folk, if you are like many here, who have already had your share of earthly sufferings, please allow me to gently break the bad news to you: ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet’. Won’t you consider being obedient to the Light of this world today friend? Jesus loved us and suffered on a cruel cross just so that we might have the keys to heaven, or know the pathway to heaven. He has provided light to the dark path that we are traveling, for He is the Light of the world. Why go on blindly as if in total darkness, when we know who the Light is, and where we can find it/Him? Jesus loves us way too much to see us plunder around in darkness and lose our battle to Satan, but He also loved us enough to allow us to make the choice of whether we will invite Light into our dark pathway of life. The choice seems plain, and obvious to me. Will you please do me a big favor and make the right choice, for I really want to see all of my friends and family in heaven on celebration day, especially you, friend!

PRAYER: The picture is clear dear God, for You have provided the Light that this world needs. Not only to prevent our stumbling around in the dark here on earth, but also for providing a clear, lighted path to heaven, where we are told that no light will be necessary there for You are the light. Praise God forever and forever! Please touch the lives of the unsaved today dear God. Please light their path so brightly that they will recognize their need for the Savior. Thank You for so adequately providing the Light of the world Heavenly Father, to be my Savior from Hell and damnation. My deepest desire is to see my family and friends do the same, so I am humbly placing this request at Your feet, praying that Your perfect will might be accomplished today. I ask these things in the precious name of Jesus, THE Light, THE Truth and THE Way, AMEN!

May Only The Sinless Accuse The Sinful

On 2015-10-292015-10-29 By Ed AlgreenIn Acceptance, Righteous, Sin, SincereLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Living Translation – John 8:4-7): 4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” 6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”

THOUGHTS: We are so easy to ridicule others, but yet our own lives are so riddled with sin also. I believe that our pastors’ offices would be very manageable if they truly took the stand of Jesus and posted a sign on their doors that only those who have no sin are allowed in to talk about another member! What if we practiced that in our everyday lives? Don’t you suppose that there would be a whole lot less gossip among so called ‘Christians’? Friends, we can clearly see why Jesus taught this lesson. It totally agrees with everything else He taught about how to treat your Brother. For there were many lessons on love; good works; encouraging one another; lifting up one another; praying for one another. Don’t you know that for Jesus to have taught all these great and positive things, then to turn around and entertain such an accusation from individuals who were practicing sin themselves, would be a very strong contradiction? So is it any different with us today friends? Why do we entertain gossip, and worse still, why do we nod our heads in agreement when one is clearly putting down or accusing another of sin? I had a pastor who encouraged us to not even mention out loud the reason we were asking for prayer for another person, because often the prayer meetings would become a huge gossip center around all that’s wrong with another person. Our God knows way more about the needs of the individual than we could ever attempt to inform Him. Just mention the name, God knows the needs. Let us learn to care for one another and pray for them by name, while allowing God to meet all their needs. Let’s be sure to ask God’s forgiveness for our own shortcomings and sin so that we might come boldly before His throne in prayer. There’s a wonderful own hymn I love to sing “Cleanse Me Oh God and Know my Thoughts I pray, see if there be any wicked way in me”. May this be our prayer today I pray!

PRAYER: Father only You know how truly sinful we are. Yet we have the audacity to come before You with the sin of others. We pester our pastors with accusations about one another. Please Heavenly Father, touch the hearts and lives of Your children today and help us to be more like You in every way. We have a full-time job on our hands trying to keep ourselves in line with Your teachings and following in Your footsteps. Yes, I believe we should care enough to pray for our Brother and our Sister and the many things that beset them, but please help us to not be critical and accusing, but to lovingly pray for their welfare and to seek Your desire for their lives. Lord, may be be so busy about Your work, and have such a desire for the Godly attitudes of Your children that we will have no time to accuse others or point fingers to their shortcomings. I need You each and every hour of each and every day so that I might be more like You, dear God. Please touch the lives of my readers in a similar way, I pray. For I ask these things in the wonderful and precious name of Jesus, my Lord, AMEN!

Be Filled With Mercy

On 2015-10-282015-10-28 By Ed AlgreenIn Imitating Christ, Mercy, WisdomLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Living Translation – James 4:17-18): ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. ¹⁸ And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

THOUGHTS: The love of God, and the wisdom of God combined with the sweet Spirit of God that indwells us, helps us to overcome the evil desires of this world and to live a life filled to overflowing with mercy that produces wonderful fruits of good works and deeds. How is this accomplished? Jesus said that if we abide in Him and He abides in us, we will be capable of doing many mighty things! So we must learn to call on, and depend on the source of our power, Jesus Christ. In these two verses we are told that God’s wisdom is:

Pure – when I think of this I think of our lives being free from the impurities of this world that is filled with hatred, jealousy and strife. Scripture refers to us presenting ourselves blameless before the Master. Pure!
Loving – Our Role Model loved everyone, even those who despitefully used Him. With God’s help, we must strive to do the same, for scripture tells us that even the adversary can love those who love and follow him. It takes God’s power to love those that seem to strive towards destroying us.
Gentle – I believe that God would have us approach others in a respectful and loving way, that will show consideration for the other person, and that you are looking out for their best interest. In this way, our approach and our handling of situations involving others will be filled with gentleness.
Yielding – Others first, you last. Be willing to give in to what the other person wants, if it aligns with God’s will and purpose for you. It doesn’t have to always be done your way!
Not showing favoritism – Similar to the characteristic of ‘yielding’. Treat everyone with the same respect as you would expect. Treating one sex, or one race or one nationality any different will not reflect the love that God has for ALL His children.
Sincere – Don’t do the above things because Brother Ed told you to do them, or your mom may have taught you to act that way since early childhood. Let these characteristics melt your heart and your way of thinking. Our natural character will reflect the ways of the world, however if we are truly a child of God, we will display the character of God.

Please be conscious of these characteristics each and every day. Ask God for a fresh indwelling of His Holy Spirit every day, so that you may think like Him and act like Him. Be filled with the holy wisdom of God, friend!

PRAYER: Father, as I listed those characteristics above, I was reminded of the awesome God that You are, because these describe Your very nature, yet they highlight our ungodly weaknesses. We need a touch from You Father. We need Your Holy Spirit to constantly work on our hardened hearts and to fill us with Your wisdom and Your grace. If others are to see Jesus in every aspect of our lives, we need help badly. I acknowledge that we will never be God, but I humbly plead for Your grace and Your power, so that we may consistently display the qualities taught and modeled by Your Son Jesus. I believe that the world must see a difference in Christians, if we ever expect them to see the need to change their evil ways. May we be Your ambassadors today Lord, is my humble plea that I ask in the name of Your awesome, powerful Son, Jesus, AMEN!

What God Wants From You

On 2015-10-232015-10-23 By Ed AlgreenIn Believe, Love, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Contemporary English Version – John 6:28-29): ²⁸ “What exactly does God want us to do?” the people asked. ²⁹ Jesus answered, “God wants you to have faith in the one he sent.”

THOUGHTS: When someone does something special for an appreciative person, the first thing they try to think of is “what might I do to show my appreciation in return”. A humble person is often left with an unworthy feeling when someone does something special for them, because they realize how many other people are so much more deserving of the good works than they are. So let’s look at what the God of this entire universe desires of us in return to the greatest gift ever given. After all, He not only created us and the world in which we live, but God also saw the terrible time that mankind was having in trying to obey the law in order to stay free from sin, so He took the ultimate step of also sending His only offspring, Jesus, as a baby. He worked many recorded miracles through Jesus while here on this earth, but He also realized that He had to make things real simple for humans to ever see the light of heaven, so instead of the many sacrifices that mankind knew since the beginning of time, He decided to make one final sacrifice to prove His ultimate love, and to provide the clear path/access to heaven. This came through the sacrificial death of God’s only Son on the cross at Calvary. However, in the same way that we see many doubters and nay-sayers today, John shows us that their doubt is fed from those who doubted long before our time. Jesus proved His sovereignty in many ways while here on earth, yet in this passage of scripture today we hear, through minds filled with doubt, a question that many will eventually have on their mind, and that is: “what exactly do You want from me Jesus?” Notice how simple the response was in our scripture, and how simple the answer has remained. God simply wants us to acknowledge that we have come to a point where we realize that we cannot personally do anything in and of ourselves to gain righteousness and freedom from this world’s sin, so the only choice is for us to surrender ourselves to the One He sent for the redemption of our sin, His precious, only, Son, JESUS. Having accepted Jesus as my Savior and Lord, my heart is filled with the desire to make sure that no one that I know and hold dear to my heart is left behind. This includes family, friends, coworkers, and yes, ‘YOU’ friend, for you are reading this devotional today because of God’s design for you, and through me as His humble servant. You are therefore very special in His eyes, and mine, and I would be overjoyed to know that because of God’s precious Word today, you and I will have a central meeting place – at the feet of Jesus in glory! See you soon? Only God knows how soon! Please take time to read the ‘Footnote’ for help on taking the next step towards becoming a Jesus follower.

PRAYER: Dear God, Your love is beyond anything I can think or imagine, for You provided a way for filthy sinners to see the gates of heaven, by sacrificing Your one and only Son, Jesus as our eternal sin sacrifice. Thank You Heavenly Father! Thank You Jesus, Son of God, Redeemer, Deliverer and everlasting Savior! Lord, I pray that today will be the day of salvation for many who will meditate on this devotional and that they would be reminded once again of Your precious love and provision for them. May the words of verse 29 echo in the hearts of many that You will work on today “God wants you to have faith in the one he sent”. This is not just a statement that You are wanting us to be aware of, but it is a statement of love and desire to have us decide today to be with You, as badly as You want us to be with You. Thank You for expressing love in its purest and unselfish way, just for us. I love You Lord, and I ask all these things in faith, in the name of Jesus, AMEN!

Nuggets From God's Word

Tag: Bible Fellowship Church