Actionable Reminders

On 2015-05-042015-05-04 By Ed AlgreenIn Example, LoveLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Good News Translation – Hebrews 13:1-3): ¹Keep on loving one another as Christian brothers and sisters. ²Remember to welcome strangers in your homes. There were some who did that and welcomed angels without knowing it. ³Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them. Remember those who are suffering, as though you were suffering as they are.

THOUGHTS: In this chapter of Hebrews, we are being reminded what followers of Christ should look like in our everyday life. In these chosen verses, we can see where the following is dealt with:

Love one for another (especially our Christian Brothers and Sisters) – I believe that this is totally related to the extent to which we love our Savior. For when we are totally in love with the Creator, how can we but love all that He has created;
Hospitality – While we often look at Genesis 18 when we see Abraham entertaining angels, I believe it would be good for us to look at this from the point of view of the stranger also. What impression did the stranger get of God when he visited our home? Was he rejected because of the smell or looks of the stranger, or was this stranger accepted in the same love that Christ showed to us when, in spite of His awesome power to overcome, yet He accepted the cross for ‘low-lives’ such as us – sinners;
Those who are in prison – we are to remember them as if we were right there with them. Too often we say that we know how someone feels, and we might be tempted to say the same thing about someone in prison. But we are instructed to remember them as if we were there ourselves. This tells me that I should visit the prison and understand what it is like to live in there so that I could truly remember my incarcerated friend and truly identify with his needs and his hurts – or perhaps his victories;
Those who are suffering – This especially refers to those who are suffering for their testimonies. Paul was beat and imprisoned for his testimony, and no doubt this is still happening to our Brothers and Sisters who minister in troubling parts of the world. We are instructed to imagine that we are right there with them. So let us pay more attention to that missionary who visits our church next time and tries to tell us what it is like in the part of the world in which they are ministering. Let’s try to identify with them so we could truly feel what they feel and adequately pray for them.

PRAYER: How easy it is for us to fall into the trap of our own little ‘world’, where everything may be going along well. However, Father God, You have shown us through Your Word today that for Your children to truly follow in Your footsteps, we are to love like You loved, and feel empathy for our Brothers and Sisters who might be going through something totally foreign to us. Please tender our hearts oh Lord, and help us to make every effort to identify with each other – or show that we care about them, so that we may more diligently pray for them, meet their needs and/or love them unconditionally like You first loved us. Please bless those who will meditate on this devotional. Draw them closer to You dear God, so that they may desire to know and love their family and friends in such a way that the love of God would be evident to them. These blessings I plead before You in the name of Jesus, Your Son – my redeemer and King, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or 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 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!

Important Things To Pray For Each Other

On 2015-04-292015-04-29 By Ed AlgreenIn Christ-Like, PrayerLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Century Version – Philippians 1:9-11): ⁹ This is my prayer for you: that your love will grow more and more; that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love; ¹⁰ that you will see the difference between good and bad and will choose the good; that you will be pure and without wrong for the coming of Christ; ¹¹ that you will be filled with the good things produced in your life by Christ to bring glory and praise to God.

THOUGHTS: Just as Paul had a deep desire for his church members at Philippi, I believe that God would have us do the same for each other. Please allow me to break down the above verses to show us two important end results that we should pray for each other:

That we present ourselves to God at His second coming without spot or wrinkle, and to help with that we should pray:
- That our love will grow more and more. This reminds me that we will never attain perfection in this area here on earth, because of our selfish desires and personal greed. However, this is of utmost importance to us when considering that one day we will come face to face with our Savior. This also tells me that this particular attribute should be a daily prayer of ours so that we might love more today than we did yesterday, and that we love sacrificially as Jesus did for us on Calvary;
That we bring glory and praise to God:
- In addition to the evidence of God’s love being reflected in our lives, I believe that verse 11 is pointing us to live a life that exudes a sweet savor of goodness, ordained and blessed by Christ. I believe the latter is important to avoid our selfish pride, and the possibility of doing good for personal attention and/or gain. I believe the type goodness referred to here is the same as mentioned in other scripture as ‘fruit’. In other words, our lives will produce ‘fruit’ or ‘qualities’ that immediately reminds the world of Jesus. When this type goodness, or ‘fruit’ is evident, not only will we honor and praise our Creator, but those to whom we minister will also praise Him.

Living Christian lives that please God, will be evident to those we come into contact with. This only happens when you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and personal Savior, for there is not enough ‘good’ in you alone to please God. Only the work of His Son in us produces the kind of life acceptable to God. If you have not taken this leap of faith yet, may I introduce you to my Lord today, please? It’s the best thing that could ever happen to you! Read the ‘Footnote’ below for more information on how you might go about accepting Christ, please?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, without You we would be forced to pattern our lives after the ‘good’ we see in each other, which would lead to chaos, greed and selfish desires. Thank You for showing us the way to pure happiness and a life of purity that would be pleasing to You. Thank You for touching the life of Your saint, Paul, and the desire You gave Him to share these words, looked at this morning, with the saints at Philippi first, then made available to so that we might gleam truth and direction for our lives. Lord, we want to be just like You. Thank You for showing us what that entails, and thank You for the assurance we have of Your willingness to help us achieve that. I place my life in Your hands and pray that You might cleanse me of all sin and characteristics that displeases You, and that You continue to bless me with the way to true perfection through Your Word. Please touch the life of each friend that will read this devotional today and draw them closer to You because of Your Word. Without full surrender to You we are way too much like this old world, please keep us focused on You every day, is my sincere plea, that I ask in the name of Jesus, my Lord and precious Savior, AMEN!

Choosing God Is Worth Far More

On 2015-04-282015-04-28 By Ed AlgreenIn Rewards, Surrender, Worth it allLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Good News Translation – Hebrews 11:24-29): ²⁴ It was faith that made Moses, when he had grown up, refuse to be called the son of the king’s daughter. ²⁵He preferred to suffer with God’s people rather than to enjoy sin for a little while. ²⁶He reckoned that to suffer scorn for the Messiah was worth far more than all the treasures of Egypt, for he kept his eyes on the future reward. ²⁷ It was faith that made Moses leave Egypt without being afraid of the king’s anger. As though he saw the invisible God, he refused to turn back. It was faith that made him establish the Passover and order the blood to be sprinkled on the doors, so that the Angel of Death would not kill the firstborn sons of the Israelites. ²⁹ It was faith that made the Israelites able to cross the Red Sea as if on dry land; when the Egyptians tried to do it, the water swallowed them up.

THOUGHTS: Choosing God Is Worth Far More Than …. Can you think of anything that is more important? This chapter of Hebrews is filled with so much of the faith our forefathers displayed in the King of all kings and the Creator of all things, that our lives should be impacted to the extent that nothing will ever cause us to stray in our faith. For because of their faith we saw where mere, humble, man stood before a very powerful earthly king and demanded that the majority of his people that were being held in slavery, should be freed and surrendered to the leadership of one who had absolutely no experience with leading a mass of people. Because of his faith in, and obedience to God, Moses saw where the king crumbled to the overwhelming power of God and gave in to the demands of Moses. We see where this one miracle of faith led to many more, as Moses followed in obedience to God. The masses were fed, when there was no food source in sight; they drank water from a fountain when there was nothing visible other than a shepherd’s stick and a rock; they faced death with the natural eye, but yet saw the waters divided and a path provided for them to cross between two lands, then looked back in human panic to see how the opposing enemy was gaining on them, only to witness the battle being won for them as the divided waters collapsed on the enemy and drowned them all. Friends, in these verses it is plain to see that Moses placed his trust in God, rather than any other earthly treasures or resources available to him, because he saw that his present obedience and future rewards could only come from, and lead to eternity with God. I believe this is a wake-up call for us to reexamine our lives to determine if we are placing our faith in something, or someone that leads us to this type of eternal rewards that Moses chose, or are we struggling to turn loose of the earthly assets, or clinging to earthly values, or placing our faith in mere man rather than God? If you are misguided in your faith, then I pray that God would quickly open your eyes to show you what your eternal rewards might be. If you are misguided, I believe that, based on the Word of God, I can safely tell you that you might currently be so earthly minded that you will be of little Godly use in the life to come. Unless you plead with God to intervene and help you to turn your life around, may I ask that you be careful not to take on the guilt of others who might be following you? Please read Ezekiel 3:17-20 to understand how God threatened Ezekiel with the sentence of bearing the guilt of all he led, if he was disobedient.

PRAYER: Thank You for Your Word dear Lord. Thank You for loving us enough to show us the results of obedience to You and the effects of disobedience. We are again reminded of the rewards of choosing You as our personal Lord and Savior and being obedient to Your Word and Your commands. I know that “It Will Be Worth It All When we see Jesus“, so help us to live our lives in light of that truth and therefore surrender our lives totally and wholeheartedly to You in every aspect of our lives. All to You I Surrender. Thank You for hearing my heart and my prayer dear Lord, for I ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, AMEN!

The Evidence & Results of True Faith

On 2015-04-252015-04-25 By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, HopeLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (The Contemporary English Version – Hebrews 11:13-16): 13 Every one of those people died. But they still had faith, even though they had not received what they had been promised. They were glad just to see these things from far away, and they agreed that they were only strangers and foreigners on this earth. 14 When people talk this way, it is clear that they are looking for a place to call their own. 15 If they had been talking about the land where they had once lived, they could have gone back at any time. 16 But they were looking forward to a better home in heaven. That’s why God wasn’t ashamed for them to call him their God. He even built a city for them.

Thoughts: I believe I was renewed in my faith as I read this scripture, and was reminded of the faith shown by our forefathers. The writer reminds us that all the faith shown by these powerful men of God, such as Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Jacob was not necessarily on the promises that would be revealed to them during their lifetime, but because their minds were not fixed on eartly things and/or places, God was not ashamed of their human failures and instead prepare a heavenly home for them that, no doubt, was their ultimate goal. I am reminded of a saying that often we are so earthly minded that we are of no heavenly good!! It sounds just the opposite for these great saints, and I believe that this may be much of the reason why they were particularly made a part of the scriptures – to help show us what 'true faith' really looks like. To my readers, let me encourage you to join me in re-evaluating the level of our faith. Let's begin with evaluating our priorities – are they more earthly minded than heavenly? Do our actions reflect the qualities learned from our relationship with Christ, or those inherited from our earthly interactions? Would God be ashamed for us to say that He is our God, or would He be proud of His children? We have a hope friends! We have a heavenly home and a gracious heavenly Father that awaits our arrival in His presence. Are you ready? Let's make Him proud of us as long as we are allowed to remain on planet earth, and may others be drawn to our Savior through the faith they see in us!

Prayer: Father God, I thank You for the awesome experience of knowing You, and being blessed by the many ways that You have already touched my life. Please help my readers and I to place our relationship with You as our very top priority, and please help us to learn from the faith of our ancestors, while giving us the urgency to also allow our faith in You to be so obvious in us that those following in our footsteps would see more of Jesus than of our sinful selves. May our lives be so focused on You, oh Lord, that You would be proud to hear us call You our Father and our God. May all who come behind us find us faithful! I ask this in humility and in the wonderful name of Jesus, my Savior and Lord, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com 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!

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The Secret To Success

On 2015-04-182015-04-18 By Ed AlgreenIn Success, Trust, WisdomLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Century Version – Proverbs 2:6; 3:5-6): ⁶Only the Lord gives wisdom; he gives knowledge and understanding. | ⁵ Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don’t depend on your own understanding. ⁶Remember the Lord in all you do, and he will give you success.

THOUGHTS: I bet that there have been many books written and quickly sold, with titles such as the one chosen to describe this study today! However, many of the books probably led to ‘get-rich quick’ schemes and promises. Friends, in these verses I believe it is evident that we discern the source of true wisdom in the first place, and 2:6 plainly and adequately describes that source. So immediately we need to humble ourselves and accept the Truth that it all starts with God. In 3:5-6 we are told that when we realize that God is the source of wisdom, and when we learn to depend on Him, instead of thinking that our wisdom could be attributed to something we did, or some college that we attended, then we will have true wisdom available to us and manifesting itself in us. Friends, thinks about it: what good is there in depending on our own wisdom when we have no idea what the next moment holds for us. Not only will God bless us with the wisdom needed, but through His knowledge of all that will come, He can and will lead us into using His wisdom, His knowledge and His direction to lead us in a path that can be successful in every way. Have you attained the self-will to let go and let God have His way in your life? Only then will you find lasting success and peace of mind! Of course, this wisdom and awesome peace is only available to those who have place their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, so as in anything in this life, please take care of the preliminaries first, so that you will know, and be acquainted with the source of all wisdom and truth. Notes in my ‘Footnote’ below will help you in drawing close to God, so that He can draw close to you. Do it while you still can, friend

PRAYER: Thank You dear Father for the love, knowledge and wisdom that You offer to Your children. We badly need Your wisdom dear God, because we have no idea what the next moment holds in store for us. However, I praise You today, because as Your special, chosen child, I know who holds the future and I know who has all wisdom, and that You are willing to share it with me, if only I would humble myself and let you. Thank You for loving me enough to not only be my King, but to lead me and direct my path for ultimate success. May You always receive honor and praise from all that is achieved through Your children! Please bless those that don’t know You and therefore have no idea of all that You can offer. May they be drawn to You today and be humbled into making the most important decision in their lives. May this be the day of salvation for someone touched by this devotion today, and may You receive all the praise, because I ask all this in the wonderful name of Jesus, AMEN!

What’s Your Plan of Action?

On 2015-04-172015-04-17 By Ed AlgreenIn Heaven, SalvationLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Good News Translation – Hebrews 9:17-28): Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God. In the same manner Christ also was offered in sacrifice once to take away the sins of many. He will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are waiting for him.

THOUGHTS: In the business world we are required to have a Disaster Recovery Plan. It must be a documented plan, tested at least annually, and audited by our regulators, as accountability that the ‘Plan’ is a workable and proven one. In our family life here in Florida, it is highly recommended that we have a plan in place that we can quickly implement in the event of an approaching hurricane. Some of us take these plans seriously, while others look at the odds of ever needing such a plan. Some businesses and families survive disasters because of their plan, while others are destroyed because of the lack of planning. This scripture reminds us of another aspect of life that can bring totally different results, depending on whether we take certain actions while we are alive, or not making any plans at all. I would like to challenge you with a very important question today that will help you know, in advance, what you will face when life here on the earth draws to a close. “Have you surrendered your life to the lordship of Jesus Christ yet?” You see, we are all born into a sinful world and while there is hope for us and a bright eternity, it is required of us that we personally seek a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who sacrificed His life so that we might, through Him, have new life, and a living, vibrant relationship with the Creator, Master, Loving Savior of this world. In doing so, we will secure our action plan for a future filled with hope, love, peace and everlasting joy, because we will then be assured of the One who holds our hand and leads us into the Promised Land – Heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ and His Father. Our decisions today will have eternal effects. Doing nothing, and assuming life as it is, leads to eternal damnation with Satan and his cohorts. I want you to join me in deciding today whom you will serve, and what eternity will bring for you! You can button this up TODAY, friend! If you are willing to do so, please read carefully the information in my Footnote and take steps towards securing your future! Your family, your God, myself and ultimately you, will be comforted by your decision and celebrate before the throne with you! I’ve seen the importance of this decision and have secured my future, I pray that all who are reading this devotional will either rejoice with me on having done the same, OR make this a priority decision TODAY!

PRAYER: Father, I thank You for providing Your Book of Instructions, Your Holy Word, to clearly remind us of the results of our life-choices today. You’ve reminded us that we have no assurance of tomorrow, therefore TODAY is the day we must make sound life-changing decisions – about our salvation; about eternity in Heaven with Jesus and His followers; or are we satisfied knowing that we are bound for Hell, with Satan and his evil workers of damnation? It is also clear that no decision towards these questions, or failing to accept the truth of Your Word, leads to eternity with the Evil one, Satan. Thank You for prompting me to accept You as my Savior some 39 years ago. Please touch the hearts of those reading this today and encourage them to actually make a decision about their eternal future. I am concerned that many of my family and friends have not taken this seriously, and I want so badly to be comforted that one day we all will stand before You as a prepared people ready to spend eternity with You. Thank You Jesus for loving us so much and providing the means by which man shall be saved! I love You Lord and look forward to being with You whenever You are ready for me to make the transition! I rejoice in this assurance, yet plead for those that don’t know You as Lord, in the precious and sacrificial name of Jesus, AMEN!

The Facilitator – From Unrighteous to Holy

On 2015-04-162015-04-16 By Ed AlgreenIn Forgiveness, Love, SacrificeLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – Hebrews 9:11-14): But when the Messiah arrived, high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven’s “tent”—the true Holy Place—once and for all. He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out.

THOUGHTS: In the beginning books of the Bible we see where there were many examples of sacrifices of animals for the forgiveness of sin. We also see where this was pretty much a routine or a tradition, that did absolutely nothing towards bringing the individual closer to the God of this universe. In His infinite wisdom, God saw that this was not working, so He sent His precious, only Son into the world through miraculous means, with an awesome, miraculous kingdom agenda of being the ultimate sacrifice for mankind – the only channel available for leading the unrighteous to the Righteous One, God! Friends, I really want you to grasp the depth of love by our Maker in this scripture today. Imagine, He created us to worship Him. We saw no importance in this, so we went our own way and did our own thing. Our ancestors felt such grief and remorse for their sin, that they followed with a sacrifice of something near and dear to them, as a blood offering in lieu of their ugly sin, hoping that God, or sometimes ‘the gods’ would accept their sacrifice and see fit to forgive them of their sin. God saw this was not working as a long term goal towards drawing His children to Himself, so He intervened and sent His Son, Jesus, as a once for all sacrifice for the sin of those who simply accept Him as Lord. Jesus, became the facilitator for us who would forgive us of our sin and cleanse us of all unrighteousness so that we might stand before God as one who has been made whole, or eternally ‘clean’! Yes, we have an Advocate who has bridged the gap between our sinful nature and our Holy God! Where do you stand today friend? Have you asked Jesus to forgive you of your sin and bridge the gap for you? The Bible says that He will accept you just as you are and whomever you are, for all are welcome (John 3:16). Please consider surrendering to the One who sacrificed His very life for the forgiveness of your sin.

PRAYER: Praise the wonderful name of Jesus for your sacrifice on the cross for my sin, and the sin of all those who will read this devotional today! As I am reminded of the purpose and the ultimate sacrifice made on my behalf, I am eternally grateful and, considered blessed by the amazing love of my Father. I sincerely pray for all who will be reminded of this today, and ask that you humble their hearts so that they might actually see beyond their selfish desires and sin, and actually see the love of the Savior who sacrificed Himself so that we all might live eternally. May this be a day of surrender by folk who are ready to accept the love and sacrifice made available to them? I would be eternally thankful Father! I ask all these things in the name of Your Son, Jesus, AMEN!

At The Core of Our Life-Decisions

On 2015-04-142015-04-14 By Ed AlgreenIn Heart Knowledge, Jesus LedLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – Hebrews 8:10-12): This new plan I’m making with Israel isn’t going to be written on paper, isn’t going to be chiseled in stone; This time I’m writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts. I’ll be their God, they’ll be my people. They won’t go to school to learn about me, or buy a book called God in Five Easy Lessons. They’ll all get to know me firsthand, the little and the big, the small and the great. They’ll get to know me by being kindly forgiven, with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean.

THOUGHTS: I believe that we have all recognized that hiring the person who was perfect in college may not always be as valuable to us as an employee who was a good student and have some work experience, or just lots of common sense – practical and able to apply all that they have learned! It seems like this principle came from some of our earliest ancestors, because in this scripture today God declared that merely having His commands available in print, or even shared by His priests, would not necessarily get to the heart of man and result in obedience, like God desired. With the wisdom and power of our God, He instead instilled His Word upon the hearts of the Israelites. Something that is impressed upon our hearts will be remembered all during our lifetime and, with the power of God, will be practiced throughout our decision-making processes and recognized in our life-principles. Now I believe you might ask how you would receive such an endowment of knowledge. Friends, please never forget that we serve the same God that already proved himself by doing this exact same thing for the Israelites, and I have no doubt that He can do it again for you. In fact, we serve the same awesome God that did many other miracles for His children throughout the Bible, so our faith and our belief system is reinforced in many different ways, as we consider asking God to impress His commands upon our hearts. I believe that those things that are impressed upon our hearts form the core of our decision making, so I would challenge you to look deep inside of your innermost beings and see how prevalent God is. Remember, this is reflected in the things you say, the things you do and the decisions you make. Is it obvious that God is at the center of your very being, like He should be? If you’re not proud of your outward self, then I encourage you to draw closer to God and ask Him to draw closer to you. Others must see Jesus in and through us for them to be impacted by us for the kingdom’s sake. God will only work through clean earthly vessels who have invited Him into their lives! Do You know Him in this very personal way friend? If there is any doubt, please read through the ‘Footnote’ and especially follow the link ‘To Know Jesus’. Button this up today so you can be assured of your eternal destiny!

PRAYER: Thank You Father for not giving up on the Israelites, and going the extra step to impress Your Word upon their hearts. Thank You for the assurance that You could do the same thing for me today, in spite of the chaos and worldly efforts to fight against You and Your loving cause for humanity. I would humble ask that You fill me with so much of Yourself that it would be clear in my decision-making and the stands that I take, that You are in control and leading my every word and action. I don’t believe I am alone in needing this kind of leadership Lord, so I plead with You to also touch my readers today so that they too might be drawn to You and desire full leadership by Your sweet Holy Spirit. Use us Lord for Your kingdom work here on earth so that others might be drawn to You and desire life totally led by Your Holy Spirit. We will be careful to praise You as we see lives impacted and drawn to You Father, and I ask all this, in faith, in the precious name of Jesus, AMEN!

Business as Usual Won’t Cut It

On 2015-04-102015-04-10 By Ed AlgreenIn Forgiveness, Joy, SalvationLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – Hebrews 7:11-19): ^11-14
If the priesthood of Levi and Aaron, which provided the framework for the giving of the law, could really make people perfect, there wouldn’t have been need for a new priesthood like that of Melchizedek. But since it didn’t get the job done, there was a change of priesthood, which brought with it a radical new kind of law. There is no way of understanding this in terms of the old Levitical priesthood, which is why there is nothing in Jesus’ family tree connecting him with that priestly line.

^15–19 But the Melchizedek story provides a perfect analogy: Jesus, a priest like Melchizedek, not by genealogical descent but by the sheer force of resurrection life—he lives!—”priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek.” The former way of doing things, a system of commandments that never worked out the way it was supposed to, was set aside; the law brought nothing to maturity. Another way—Jesus!—a way that does work, that brings us right into the presence of God, is put in its place.

THOUGHTS: This appears to be a complex passage for a layperson to try and explain to anyone, or give you the theological meaning of, so I won’t try to do that!! However, I am a firm believer that God’s Word is in place for us to meditate on and allow God’s Holy Spirit to minister to our hearts so that we may be drawn to a closer relationship with the Father. Here’s how this impacted me: I was reminded recently that to understand a passage, try and picture the audience for whom it was written, the time in which it was written and by whom it was written. So for a brief moment, let’s think about the audience, a people who had been used to the leadership of Levitical priests. Then came this new priesthood of Melchizedek, who was radically different to anything the people were used to – a perfect analogy of the ‘priesthood’ of Jesus Christ, the One known as our great High Priest; our spiritual leader; our mediator with God the Father! I believe that God prompted me to share that we must be careful about allowing anything or anyone to be our sole leadership spiritually. Not the church – no matter how much we love our church; and not the pastor/priest/bishop/etc – no matter how much we respect and love them. For, although we should take the teachings of the church and our leaders to heart, what really matters is our personal relationship with the Son of God – Jesus Christ. To have a relationship with Jesus, we must go before Him in reverence and fear, Admit that we have sinned and desperately need a Savior; Believe that Jesus is God’s Son and only He who can forgive us of our sin; and Confess that we can do nothing to save ourselves, short of accepting Him as Lord and Savior. Yes, confess our unworthiness, but seek after His righteousness. Friends, we are told in God’s Word, that no tradition taught by our ancestors could facilitate our righteousness or relationship with Jesus Christ, it is only through us personally Admitting; Believing and Confessing of our sins that we totally surrender ourselves to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Yes, this may be very radical for some who have followed various traditions over the years, like the Israelites did with the Levitical priests, but let me challenge you to examine the Word of God and validate this for yourself, then take the appropriate action to sure up your eternal salvation. Jesus loves us dearly, sacrificially and wholeheartedly. There is nothing greater He would desire of us than to know that we have accepted His great love for us. Do it today friend, before it is eternally too late.

PRAYER: Thank You Fathpossibility for us. As with the Levitical priests back in the day, and with our various denominational beliefs and practices today, they attract us to follow their various twists on what they understand from Your Word, however You clearly made a way for us to come straight to the source – the only Biblical way for us to be saved from our own sinful selves. Thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the cross, but thank You even more that Jesus arose – an expression of the true life that we have in You when we become one with You. Please help us to be a people of the Book, so that we may be led to be servants of Your Son Jesus, who will lead us to all Truth with lives pleasing to You in every way. Our churches and our pastors/leaders are excellent resources for us to grow in our relationship with You, but continue to impress upon us that our true strength comes from You, and it’s You that we should live for every day of our lives. Thank You Father, and I ask that You hear my cry, increase my joy, and answer all my requests today so that I and my readers may be drawn closer to You now, and throughout eternity! AMEN!

We Must Continue To Follow God

On 2015-04-012015-04-01 By Ed AlgreenIn Follower of Christ, ObedienceLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Good News Translation – Hebrews 3:7-11): So then, as the Holy Spirit says: “If you hear God’s voice today, do not be stubborn, as your ancestors were when they rebelled against God, as they were that day in the desert when they put him to the test. There they put me to the test and tried me, says God, although they had seen what I did for forty years. And so I was angry with those people and said, ‘They are always disloyal and refuse to obey my commands.’ I was angry and made a solemn promise: ‘They will never enter the land where I would have given them rest!’ ”

THOUGHTS: One of the biggest obstacles a person might have when they read the chosen verses today, is pondering how they will know when God is speaking to them. I believe that when sinful man is normally looking out for self, tempted in every evil way to do the selfish and all inclusive things to benefit self only. When this person senses a need to change his/her ways and instead be drawn to a holy and righteous God, or the things in which He is present, then God is speaking to that sinner. I believe that when a person is in deep despair and, after calling on the name of Jesus, they feel a sudden peace that they just can’t explain, then God is speaking to that despondent person. I believe that when a person lives life without any regard for God, yet suddenly they have an urge to attend church or do some other Godly exercise, then I believe that God is speaking to that person. There are times when we feel like we just don’t know what to do or where to turn next for relief from certain life-situations, then after praying about it, we receive a peace that passes all human understanding, then I believe that God is obedient to our cry for help and delivers us. In this passage today, the above scenarios are likened to those of the Israelites traveling and depending on God in the wilderness for 40 years. They had a choice to call on the God that proved Himself faithful in many situations for them, however, at every opportunity they chose to turn their backs on God and return to their idols. Friends, God became angry at the Israelites, how do you suppose He is feeling about you? Are you causing this same anger to rise up in Him because of your constant disobedience, or are you following His commands and accepting His loving direction for your life? God loves us so much that He wants to see His very best for His children, but we must be willing to not only call on Him, but to accept His help and follow His direction for us. Our obedience would make Him happy, and willing to continue helping us. How about joining me in continuing to follow Christ and therefore anticipate His rich blessings on our lives?

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us and being so patient with us. Thank You for being available to us when we call on You, but also thank You for the warning given in these verses today. Please forgive me for the times I have turned my back and expressed my dependence on self, rather than on You. Please speak to the hearts of my readers one more time today Lord, and show them again how much You love them and care about their future, provoke them to a full commitment to continue following You. For those who are strangers to You, please soften their hearts one more time today so that they are willing to brush aside self, and look full into Your wonderful eyes and fully surrender their life to You. May this be a day of pure joy for You and my readers Lord, so that there will be no need for Your anger to rise against them. Thank You for Your love, yet firm stand on what we must do to receive Your help. May we be obedient followers today, is my humble prayer, for I ask this in the powerful name of Jesus, AMEN!

Nuggets From God's Word

Tag: Bible